Inequality can be seen in all aspects of life, including the workplace; Christine L. Williams discusses such inequality in her book Inside Toyland. In order to conduct research on social inequality, Williams obtained jobs at two toy stores and found clear cut evidence of inequality, including gender inequality. Some of the happenings she observed are things that I, myself, have experience throughout my various jobs. The most prominent being gender separation of tasks and her reasoning for this separation.
Throughout high school I worked at a local country club as a hostess in the dining area; I was one of three hostesses, all female. A hostess in any restaurant setting is typically a female and is often seen as “female work.” Williams refers to this phenomenon as “gendered” jobs, meaning that “qualities culturally associated” with men and women are built into job descriptions (54). Women are often associated with “dexterity, passivity, [and] nurturing orientation” (54). Due to this fact, women are often hostesses because society believes that they can make guests feel more welcome and communicate with them, due to their nurturing demeanor. Williams also experienced this in her experience at the toy stores; she states that, “only women were regularly assigned to work as cashiers at the Toy Warehouse” (56). Interaction at stores mainly occurs with cashiers as people are purchasing their items, thus women are seen as “more fit” for this job.
I also experience the appeal of women’s “nurturing behavior” when working at The University of Illinois in the summer camps department. Parents would often call with complaints, and when a parent was angry enough, my boss (a male) would often ask if I would be willing to speak with them. This was not because he was avoiding a conflict, but rather because people often respond to females better in an argumentative setting. Men are portrayed as having the characteristics of “leadership, physical strength, and aggression,” and due to this, they can often be seen as attacking a customer (54). By having a “nurturing” female speak with an upset customer, the problem may be resolved easier and more calmly.
This desire to have women as the front-stage workers, who work with customers, comes from the societal expectations of all who are involved in the customer service experience. Thus, “job segregation…reflects the dynamic outcome of conflict between workers’ desires, managers’ interests, and customers’ expectations” (56). In other words, despite what positions workers may wish to have, customers believe women should be hostesses or cashiers, and thus managers assign them to such positions.
