The Gender Equality Checkpoint

[DanaC]

Found another interesting article about men in paralegal profession.

Experts who study the labor market have hypothesized that an unstable job market may lead more males to seek employment in alternative careers. And does that come as a surprise? Women who cross into traditionally male-dominated professions often do so for financial reasons and end up earning bigger paychecks than they would in traditionally female jobs.

Men who do the reverse may not be rewarded with larger salaries, but they may find more job security. Additionally, men are frequently able to advance further and faster in traditionally female jobs than their female counterparts. This is what is sometimes known as the glass-elevator effect.

Howard Lee is a legal assistant at law firm Allen, Allen, Allen & Allen in Richmond, VA. He said that he feels being a man in a traditionally female profession has its benefits.

"I feel [male] paralegals have great chances of securing final interviews and, ultimately, job placement," said Lee. "Many HR departments are trying to get more diversity in the paralegal workforce."

In addition to contributing to gender diversity, male paralegals may be having other effects on the profession. For example, since men are often paid more than women for doing the same jobs, salaries may begin to increase as more men enter the paralegal profession. Also, the presence of men may increase the perceived status of the job because men are often automatically considered more qualified and more serious about their careers.

http://www.lawcrossing.com/article/2...lass-Elevator/

I've never heard the term 'glass elevator' before. This process of jobs gaining status and wage increases when men enter the profession is a fascinating one. There's a fantastic book, called The Struggle for the Breeches, which looks at male and female working patterns from the middle ages onwards. One of the case studies was the changing status of ale and beer making. Originally, brewing was a female task - something most women undertook as part of their role as homemaker. As brewing processes changed, becoming more complex and 'skilled' and requiring more equipment it moved out o fthe home and became a male profession. Women still made ale at home - but it was a low status occupation. The male brewers, who brewed beers, were considered a much higher status - skilled work. They then prevented women from undertaking such work - through the guild system, which operated as a closed shop disallowing female workers - except in auxillary roles as helpmates for their brewer husbands.

The wholescale entry of men into a field pushes up that field's status - at the same time, the wholescale entry of women into a field pushes down that field's status (teaching being the obvious example).

Obviously, when I say 'field' I am talking in broad terms - but it works for task types within a field too. Spinning or carding versus weaving for example.