The work plan of this project has been organized in four main research stages and eleven work packages.

In Stage 1 the aim is to map how local economic structures condition the integration of women into the labour market, and stage 1 is subdivided into two work packages. In WP 1 the degree and structure of women’s local labour market integration will be analysed. This includes an analysis of women’s formal and informal work patterns, women’s employment rates, and the structures of the employment of women concerning working times, qualification level, and wage structures, as well as how women’s labour market integration interacts with social class, ethnicity and stages in the life course. In WP 2 local production systems and demand structures will be analysed. This includes an analysis of the character of the local economy, i.e. whether the local economy is based on industry, service, agriculture, construction, tourism etc., and to get insights as to which local economic structure are most conducive to women’s labour market integration.

In Stage 2 focus is on formal institutional factors conditioning female labour market integration and Stage 2 is composed by two WPs. In WP 3 an analysis will be made of 11 local welfare systems, and factors such as the local welfare mix, the local governance and partnership structure, as well as the quality of welfare services will be analysed. The vertical integration between the EU, national and local level will be analysed in WP 4: Local policy formation/local political actors. Focus will be on the autonomy of local policy makers and how the mindsets (preferences, interests, world views and cultural orientation) of local policy makers affect policy formation in the local welfare state.

In Stage 3 the motives behind women’s decision to enter the labour market will be analysed. As such, the aims of WP 5 and 6 are somewhat overlapping. Both WPs focus on how cultural orientations have an impact on women’s self-image and dispositions towards the labour market, although different methods in the two WPs are employed: WP 5 is a survey questionnaire, whereas WP 6, entitled women’s decision making employs focus group interviews. The two WPs furthermore aim to get insights as to how women grasp and make use of welfare provisions; how women conceive of their formal and informal work condition and work situation, and their own role perception in a citizenship perspective.

In Stage 4, drawing on WP 1-6, it will be analysed, whether women’s integration into the labour market fosters social cohesion. This will be done in WP 7: Social structures: cohesion or cleavages and segregation.
Across Stage 1-4 three WPs are engaged in dissemination; i.e. WP 8: academic dissemination, WP 9: policy implementation and policy recommendation, and WP 10: web-page and electronic dissemination. Dissemination has been subdivided into three different WPs in order to make dissemination focused and effective.
WP 11: project management is the centre for general coordination and management.