Pink collar positions are office jobs that have been dominated by women for the past 70 years or so–secretary, receptionist, administrative assistant, scheduler, etc.

In my life, I’ve only ever met a single man who worked as a receptionist in a medical office.

Recently in a thread about AI showing bias against job applications, someone mentioned male names being thrown in the discard pile for women’s positions.

If you’re a man who is in the field OR has tried to get into it, what’s your experiece been?

  • velma@sh.itjust.works
    0·
    4 months ago

    Just wanted to add that pink collar jobs also include child care, teaching, and nursing - care-oriented jobs essentially.

    And for context:

    Louise Kapp Howe popularized the term pink collar in her 1977 book Pink Collar Workers: Inside the World of Women’s Work.[5] She used the term to describe jobs predominantly occupied by women, such as secretarial, clerical, teaching, nursing, and other caregiving or service roles. These positions were seen as extensions of traditional domestic responsibilities and were characterized by lower pay, limited career advancement opportunities, and a lack of prestige compared to “blue-collar” or “white-collar” jobs.

    Howe’s analysis went beyond simply identifying these roles; she explored how social expectations, gender norms, and structural inequalities confined women to these positions. She critiqued how these jobs were undervalued despite their essential contributions to the economy and society. Her work aimed to raise awareness about the economic and social disparities faced by women in the workforce and to advocate for the recognition and improvement of conditions in these roles. While Baumol’s earlier usage of pink collar focused on economic categorizations, Howe expanded the term into a cultural and feminist critique, framing it as part of the broader struggle for gender equality in labour.

    Source

    • zikzak025@lemmy.world
      0·
      4 months ago

      teaching

      There’s some nuance to this one, but you basically bring up the gist of it. Early childhood education and elementary school are predominantly taught by women because it is seen as an extension of maternal roles, but higher level education does become more of an even gender mix, up until it becomes somewhat patriarchical in some post secondary institutions.

      It’s not nearly as bad relative to other fields, but I’m reminded of the traditional gender split in culinary positions that has only more recently started changing, where women are expected to be home cooks, but only men are chefs.