What are the implications of the new economy for gender equality in labor markets? Does an economy that privileges ‘immaterial’ labor (the production of ideas) over ‘material’ labor (the manual production of goods) signal the possibility for greater labor market inclusion? Building on critical accounts of the new economy, I examine the bases for continued gender hierarchies through an analysis of the contemporary restructuring of the fur industry in Canada. As a traditional craft industry, fur has sought to adapt to new-economy imperatives by incorporating ‘immaterial’ labor in the form of fashion design. However, these efforts have been limited, as the (predominantly male) fur manufacturers have sought to retain authority in a changing economy by integrating design as a subordinate activity—a subordination made possible through a coding of design as feminine and through the deployment of the fashion designer as a flexible source of labor. Drawing on interviews with manufacturers, designers, and other industry actors, I analyze how new-economy imperatives intersect with local institutional practices and ideologies to reproduce a gendered labor market.
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