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7. CHANGING PATTERNS OF WOMEN'S WORK IN WALES: SOME MYTHS EXPLORED Teresa L. Rees INTRODUCTION There have been major changes in the Welsh economy in the last decade, many of which were well documented in the last issue of Contemporary Wales (Day and Rees, 1987). Further changes are, of course, heralded by the removal of trade barriers in the European Community in 1992. A major difficulty faced by both employers and agencies designed to assist the Welsh economy to prosper is that myths abound about important facets of the emerging patterns of industrial restructuring, perhaps to a greater extent than in other parts of the UK. Indeed, a number of these myths have now taken on the respectability of 'known truths'. Based as they are on inadequate or indeed mistaken information, they can have a damaging effect on decision making in the labour market, at a time when Welsh industry needs to become more competitive in order to survive. Myths, we know, can be powerful factors in decision-making processes. It is widely known that the image of Wales as all coal-mines and slag heaps proves a major stumbling block in attempts by the Welsh Development Agency (WDA) to encourage companies to relocate in Wales. Mr Peter Walker, the Secretary of State, for example, is often quoted as saying that senior managers in finance houses will move from London to Wales 'over their dead bodies'; only to repeat the phrase in reverse some years later when being recalled to the skeleton 'head office' left in the City. Again, many would argue that the 'skill shortages' that allegedly dog the Welsh economy are mythological, and have more to do with employers being unwilling to pay the market rate for the job. The particular myths I want to focus upon in this paper, however, concern those that have now become part of conventional wisdom about the role of women in the labour force in