This article presents a comparative analysis of the career paths of men and women in order to study the gendered division of labour in the Spanish employment model. A qualitative approach was used to study these paths, taking into account the impact of structural factors and socio-cultural traditions. The results show that the gendered division of labour persists and helps to consolidate informal employment as a distinctive feature of career paths. Though this situation is found throughout Europe, the socio-cultural context and the labour market in Spain shows particular features and in times of crisis career paths involve a continuum of formal and informal employment. This situation shows continuing inequalities between men and women.