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Original poster

Why do ''feminine'' jobs pay a lot less?

53 replies

Annie11111 · 07/08/2014 11:15

First being almost all male, second all female :

Engineer vs teacher - both require degrees
Plumber vs hairdresser - both trades
Construction worker vs cleaner - both manual work

Probably others as well.

OP posts:
CaptChaos · 07/08/2014 16:54

I thought it would be automatic as I started my man course. Will be far to busy for any of that surgery shite. Although I can feel my uterus shrivelling with each day closer I get.

AICM · 07/08/2014 16:29

In the case of bin men and cleaners although I accept the skill level the same and I feel that the physical demands of the job re not the same. Wheelie bins have undoubtedly made the job easier but I still think being out in the pouring rain/freezing cold doing a physical job is harder than being in a warm/dry office polishing.

Original poster
Annie11111 · 07/08/2014 14:39

I believe SRS is free on the NHS . Rumor has it you also get £1 mill spending money , Oxbridge entry and guaranteed FTSE 100 executive position right after uni. Enjoy you ride!

OP posts:
ABlandAndDeadlyCourtesy · 07/08/2014 14:32
CaptChaos · 07/08/2014 14:07

You assume wrong.

Funny that.

It's just a stopgap until I go and become a male and get my mans masters degree so I can do my mans job. I'm assuming my vagina will seal over as I fill in the UCAS form.

sleepyhead · 07/08/2014 13:53

Also cf the decline in perceived prestige in some jobs as they moved from male to female dominated:

Teachers, librarians, secretaries are examples.

sleepyhead · 07/08/2014 13:51

I've just been talking to dh about this, BiggerYellowTaxi. He's noticed that his Union seem to spend far more time on the pay and working conditions of a traditionally male workforce (telecomms engineers) while neglecting the far more numerous; more likely to be female; and shat on from on high re pay & conditions call centre workforce.

This (imo) has long been a failure of the traditional Labour movement who seem to be wedded to the idea of working man = family breadwinner. An idea which is outdated. The Unions were highly complicit in trying to undermine the "equal pay for equal work" local authority actions.

When Agenda for Change came in in the NHS a similar thing was found re: wildly differing pay rates for "seamstresses" compared to male dominated skilled jobs.

phonebox · 07/08/2014 13:51

That's a good point. I can't think of a famous female hairdresser off the top of my head.

ABlandAndDeadlyCourtesy · 07/08/2014 13:46

Does it rhyme with hierarchy, Think?

ThinkAboutItTomorrow · 07/08/2014 13:44

I think the more interesting question is why are the top of the profession always men. Cooking is female and low paid until men do it and are 'chefs and restauranters' hairdressing is female and low paid until men do it and are 'celeb hairdressers'
Healing the sick is low paid and for women until it is surgery and men do it.

I don't see a profession distinction, just a hierarchy with men at the top. Now, what is it they call that again...?

BiggerYellowTaxi · 07/08/2014 13:42

There have been cases recently where council jobs were reevaluated. It was found that the more traditionally male jobs such as bin collectors were being paid an awful lot more than the more traditionally female jobs of cleaners despite the jobs being comparable in the skills required. The cleaners got a pay rise and back pay. I think the argument for the bin men having been paid more was that they needed more money to support their families Hmm

Original poster
Annie11111 · 07/08/2014 13:38

Hey Cap, I read about your new possible job. PE teacher, I assume?

OP posts:
Original poster
Annie11111 · 07/08/2014 13:35

Is it the same sort of thing as a "more or less ban"?

I wish I could edit it but I can't because this forum seems to have been created with software used in 1996 (and I'm being generous). Can we please discuss the issue instead of clinging on to ad hominems and straw men? And the France ban is not legally a ban but an absolute pain in the ass for all involved, obviously made so to discourage it. Kind of ironic to hear this on a feminist forum since women are not actually banned from being PM or CEO but things aren't exactly made easy for them , are they? Should we call it a male paternity glass ceiling then?

OP posts:
CaptChaos · 07/08/2014 13:30

9

ABlandAndDeadlyCourtesy · 07/08/2014 13:03

engineers and doctors both require degrees - not sure of the gender split and pay comparables there.

AICM makes good points though.

ABlandAndDeadlyCourtesy · 07/08/2014 13:02

Is it the same sort of thing as a "more or less ban"?

AICM · 07/08/2014 13:02

Its a lot to do with market forces. Jobs that generate money for the company will always come with a higher salary then those that don't.

Teachers, nurses, carers and cleaners don't generate a penny for anybody. In many cases women seem more drawn to these jobs than men.

There are other factors too but this is s significant one that can not be ignored.

ABlandAndDeadlyCourtesy · 07/08/2014 12:51

What does "almost all" mean to you, for reference?

Original poster
Annie11111 · 07/08/2014 12:49

I just forgot another almost.

OP posts:
EBearhug · 07/08/2014 12:40

I used to work in IT for a multinational. Opposite our building was a hospital. Nurses probably need at least as much training as my techy job needed, if not a lot more. If they screw up, someone might die. If I screwed up, at worst, the company would lose some money - possibly in the millions or more, but nonetheless, it is money, not human lives.

A lot of it is down to money, and people hiring people like them.

AICM · 07/08/2014 12:28

First being almost all male, second all female

None of the jobs you quote as ALL FEMALE are all female.

ABlandAndDeadlyCourtesy · 07/08/2014 11:55

And the jobs are very different even within construction (self employed builder doing a loft conversion vs someone constructing the Shard in a massive team)

Original poster
Annie11111 · 07/08/2014 11:54

Because society teaches women to be submissive and take what they can get. And because ''feminine'' jobs are seen as easy and of low value or importance.

OP posts:
AICM · 07/08/2014 11:51

I would not pay a construction worker and a cleaner the same. The level of skill and physical effort is not comparable.

Squidstirfry · 07/08/2014 11:43

Yes, tell us what you think "Annie"