Nezaměstnaná žena a nezaměstnaný muž

This paper deals with issues of unemployment on the phenomenological and conceptual levels, in terms of the chain of relations ‘bread – work – employment’. It includes an elementary survey of approaches and works dealing with the phenomenon of unemployment in the last twenty years in the Czech Republic. The paper describes historical and current data, the differences in the position of men and women on the labour market, and the function of this position in terms of social (gender) roles. On this basis the paper establishes the hypothesis that job loss and unemployment cause greater stress to men than to women. The purpose of the study is to prepare a conceptual framework for empirical research which will verify this hypothesis.