The six subprojects in Project Area A focus on examining the sociopolitical dynamics of inclusivity and the scope of benefits in specific social policy fields from a global and historical perspective. In total, Project Area A analyzes eight policy fields. All subprojects collect data on the scope of benefits and inclusivity and feed this data into the WeSIS information system.

Duration:
18 January 2022 - 31 December 2025

Research Team:
Prof. Dr. rer. soc. Irene Dingeldey (Head of project)
Prof. Dr. Ulrich Mückenberger (Head of project)
Heiner Fechner
Andrea Schäfer

The aim of sub-project A03 in the second phase of the SFB was to expand knowledge of various forms of legal segmentation and to explain their origins and their dissemination by international actors such as the ILO. To this end, quantitative analyses utilised the CBR-LRI, as well as its extension and adaptation to the project’s research questions in the form of the WoL dataset (35 indicators on labour law and its segmenting elements, covering more than 153 countries across various time periods between 1880 and 2022) as part of WeSIS.
This was supported by in-depth historical studies to examine the enduring influence of colonialism and pre-colonial legislation on the patterns of contemporary legal segmentation, particularly with regard to race, gender and the prevalence of informal work. Furthermore, we examined the impact of labour law on the current de facto segmentation of the labour market. We analysed the influence of various forms of legal segmentation in conjunction with power relations between (international) employers and national trade unions in relation to different employment practices in South Africa’s automotive industry.

 

 

Duration:
18 January 2022 - 31 December 2025

Research Team:
Prof. Dr. rer. soc. Irene Dingeldey (Head of project)
Prof. Dr. Ulrich Mückenberger (Head of project)
Heiner Fechner
Andrea Schäfer

Project Type:
Third-party funded project

Dingeldey, Irene; Gerlitz, Jean-Yves (2022): Labour Market Segmentation, Regulation of Non-Standard Employment, and the Influence of the EU, in: Nullmeier, Frank; González de Reufels, Delia; Obinger, Herbert (Hg.), International Impacts on Social Policy. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 247–260.

Dingeldey, Irene; Gerlitz, Jean-Yves (2022): Not Just Black and White, but Different Shades of Grey: Legal Segmentation and its Effect on Labour Market Segmentation in Europe, International Labour Review 161(4), 593–613.

Dingeldey, Irene; Fechner, Heiner; Gerlitz, Jean-Yves; Hahs, Jenny; Mückenberger, Ulrich (2022): Worlds of Labour: Introducing the Standard-Setting, Privileging and Equalising Typology as a Measure of Legal Segmentation in Labour Law, Industrial Law Journal 51(2), 560–597.

Dingeldey, Irene; Fechner, Heiner; Mückenberger, Ulrich (2025): Introduction: Constructing Worlds of Labour in the Context of Social Policy, in Mückenberger, Ulrich; Fechner, Heiner; Dingeldey, Irene (Hg.), Constructing Worlds of Labour: Coverage and Generosity of Labour Law as Outcomes of Regulatory Social Policy Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 1–21.

Dingeldey, Irene; Fechner, Heiner; Julián-Vejar, Dasten (2026): Editorial: Standard Employment Enclaves, Precarity and Informality: Explaining Employment Configurations in the Global South, Frontiers of Sociology 11.

Dingeldey, Irene; Schäfer, Andrea (2026): Standard Employment and Segmentation Practices within the Automotive Industry in South Africa, Frontiers of Sociology 11.

Fechner, Heiner; Mückenberger, Ulrich; Dingeldey, Irene (2025): Legal Segmentation in the Global North and South: Concept, Historical Emergence and Tentative Explanations, in: Mückenberger, Ulrich; Fechner, Heiner; Dingeldey, Irene (Hg.), Constructing Worlds of Labour: Coverage and Generosity of Labour Law as Outcomes of Regulatory Social Policy Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 23–60.

Gerlitz, Jean-Yves; Dingeldey, Irene (2025): The Evolution of Standard and Non-Standard Employment Regulation Around the World: A Sequence Analysis of Regulation Trajectories over Four Decades, in: Mückenberger, Ulrich; Fechner, Heiner; Dingeldey, Irene (Hg.), Constructing Worlds of Labour: Coverage and Generosity of Labour Law as Outcomes of Regulatory Social Policy. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 219–250.

Mückenberger, Ulrich; Dingeldey, Irene (2022): Introduction: Worldwide Patterns of Legal Segmentation in Employment Laws, International Labour Review 161(4), 511–534.

Mückenberger, Ulrich; Dingeldey, Irene (Hg.) (2022): Overcoming Legal Segmentation: Extending Legal Rules to All Workers? International Labour Review 161(4).

Mückenberger, Ulrich; Fechner, Heiner; Dingeldey, Irene (Hg.) (2025): Constructing Worlds of Labour: Coverage and Generosity of Labour Law as Outcomes of Regulatory Social Policy, Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.

Mückenberger, Ulrich; Dingeldey, Irene; Fechner, Heiner (2025): Conclusion and Outlook: Overcoming Segmentation within Regulative Social Policy on a Global Scale, in: Mückenberger, Ulrich; Fechner, Heiner; Dingeldey, Irene (Hg.), Constructing Worlds of Labour: Coverage and Generosity of Labour Law as Outcomes of Regulatory Social Policy Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 343–367.