Women's health at work: a qualitative study on women's health issues in relation to work participation. Experiences and perspectives from female teachers and managers in Norwegian high schools

Abstract

Background Public health and working life are closely related. Even though Norway is one of the world’s most equality-oriented countries, working life is still divided by gender. Women have a lower rate of participation in working life than men, they work more part-time and they have a higher sickness absence. Research has mostly focused on structural and cultural reasons for gender differences, rather than on the fact that women and men have different biology and face different health challenges. The aim of this project was to explore experienced associations between women’s health and female participation in working life.

Methods Qualitative methods were chosen for investigating women’s experiences. We carried out in-depth interviews with 11 female high school teachers and supplemented the material with a focus group with five managers from the same organisation. The interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. We used the six steps of reflexive thematic analysis for consistency in the analysis process.