Abstract

The article deals with the mechanisms of female employment. The author has set herself the task of comparing the conditions of employment of women during the Polish People’s Republic (PRL) and contemporary times. The main aim was to indicate the evolution of labour law relating to women workers from a series of instructions and regulations of the Council of Ministers defining the protection of women's work before 1974, through a variety of general rules applicable to all employees, to the regulations contained in the Labour Code and also current legislation. The article attempts to assess the ethical actions taken by the state to improve the conditions of employment of women in the workplace. The text indicates the importance of the work in the lives of women. Occupational status and income level strongly influenced the behaviour of women, who in many cases took up work intended only for men due to the fact that during PRL it was only such work which would allow them to obtain a higher salary. The article indicates that today there is a special emphasis placed on the prohibition of restricting the employment of women in jobs and on the conditions of the employment of pregnant women. The author of this article has evaluated the legislation introduced by the state, which contributed to the increase in female activity in the labour market. However, in ethical terms of ethical it is very difficult to unambiguously assess the actions taken by the state for the protection of women's work in the PRL, but also in contemporary times.