Jennifer Rayner will be in conversation with Frank Bongiorno on Jennifer's new book, Blue Collar Frayed. Working Men in Tomorrow's Economy.

Blue-collar jobs for Australian men are disappearing at a rapid rate, and this is not just a product of unstoppable economic forces – it’s also the result of our failure to acknowledge the importance of those jobs and the people who do them. The men now losing their jobs in heavy industry or trades will not easily find new work in Australia’s growing service industries; the evidence shows they are disengaging from the workforce instead.

Drawing on extensive research and many interviews, Rayner argues that there can be blue-collar jobs in our future economy; in fact, we can’t keep building a fair and prosperous Australia without them. Humane and clear-eyed, Blue Collar Frayed is a vital contribution to our national conversation.

Jennifer Rayner has worked as a economic policy adviser for federal and territory Labor, and holds a PhD from the Australian National University. Her last book, Generation Less (2016), was an urgent call-to-arms on generational inequality.

Frank Bongiorno, Professor of History at the Australian National University, is the author or co-author of four books and many scholarly articles and book chapters on Australian history. The Sex Lives of Australians: A History (2012), won the ACT (Australian Capital Territory) Book of the Year, as did The Eighties: The Decade That Transformed Australia (2015).

Please register for this event online.

Pre-event book signing will be available from 5.30pm and again after the event.This event is in association with Dymocks Canberra and books wIll be available to purchase.