For the workplace study presented, our group has studied a variety of workplaces in attempts to draw some similar patterns in gender structures. Sean observed the work environment of a Chipotle and the following are his observations: I decided to go to Chipotle to observe how gender structure played a role in workplace activity. Right away when I started observing I noticed there were more women to men in the front line that helped serve the customers. The exact numbers were 5 to 2. This follows a typical gender narrative as evidence by Williams’ article in which CRMs were women because they were better suited for greeting customers.
Despite this difference, front line workers tended to communicate better with each other and enjoy their position more than the chefs. When the front line called for food to the back the women tended to be more responsive than the men and brought the food quicker to the front. The chefs at Chipotle had relatively the same number of men to women but men were cooking meats and barbeque style food while the women were preparing sauces, vegetables, and guacamole. It was clear that they were more inexperienced than the front line workers and that being a chef was a less desirable job than a front line worker.
Although somewhat minimal, there are instances in Chipotle that form to gender norms and comply with typical gender structure within food companies. Meghan’s observations on Caffe Benne are as follows: The overall gender structures of this workplace were limited, as the majority of the staff was female. During my observation, out of the four employees, one was male and the supervisor for the shift was also female. However, the nature of the work could be seen as feminized so this ratio is not surprising. Much of the work involved customer interaction and preparation of specialty food and beverages.
The single male worker focuses much of his time acting independently, avoiding working the cash register and sweeping/cleaning the main seating area. This could be seen as an example of male worker’s interest of working in jobs with independence (Cottingham). The avoidance of working the cash register also mirrors William’s observation of the toy stores, suggesting that in most service jobs, men see working as cashier as a “female” job (Williams). We see ties to service industry, especially those focused on food service having a higher ratio of female to male workers.
Senor Frog was observed by Fama Marissa: Senor Frog’s Myrtle Beach is a Mexican- theme franchised “infamous party scene” bar located in many tourist destinations around the world. During my observation, I noticed that there were six shot girls, wearing short skirts and tiny tank tops, walking around the bar selling shots, specifically to males. A few of the girls asked a male friend of mines to purchase a shot maybe eight to nine times throughout the night and none asked the females. The purpose of using females is to make hard for guys to resist purchasing a drink from a beautiful girl.
Males were more inclined to purchase than females. It is obvious that this establishment is objectifying women into selling shots. Also, I noticed that three of fours bars located inside were filled with 2-3 male bartenders Only one bar had a female bartender and she was outside in the cold on the patio serving free drinks to “VIP” customers. The male bartenders were given the opportunity to socialize with more customers and make more tips. A reading that makes sense of my observations is Gendered Organizations in the New Economy. The reading discusses the persistence of gender inequality in the workplace.
The article identifies the mechanisms that reproduce gender inequality in the workplace. Although there isn’t a career map in bartending, males were given the opportunity to network with consumers and work with each other, while the female bartender in the back was left alone. The males were given the opportunity to make more tips. Overall, these observations demonstrate how gender and sexuality plays a role in structure and organization in bars and clubs. Vivian used the Harvard Pharmacy in Cambridge Massachusetts and the following are her observations: 1 originally was curious as to how it compared to pharmacy chains like Walgreens and CVS.
I figured the workers would be all female Asian American, Indian, and white. My assumptions turned out to be partially true. I was informed that majority of the pharmacists and technicians were all female except one other male that was a pharmacist and the supervisor. The two women working were opposites. The first woman was white, in her early forties working as a pharmacy technician; she was talkative and had an obvious New England accent. The other woman was an Asian American pharmacy student at Northeastern University that kept to herself.
Lastly was my sister, an Asian American, year out graduate student and the only licensed pharmacist working. My sister was technically the manager of the shift. Since all of the workers were female, they all got along, but the issue I noticed was the seniority difference. My sister was not the oldest or the youngest of the three so when it came down to her ordering tasks to be done felt ineffective. The technician who was significantly older and had more years of experience rebelled in ways of talking (mostly to me) and using her phone.
When customers came to pick up, she chose to slack off than be proactive during her shift. As for the pharmacy student, she was efficient and asked questions w needed help from my sister. Even in a female dominant environment, age is factor that controls how certain people act towards workers especially in different positions. Maria, at the Amazon Warehouse in Carteret, observed: Overall the majority of the workers do heavily intensive labor, such as unloading and uploading merchandise to the truck, were African American and Hispanic males.
Warehouse jobs pay meagerly but are accompanied by hard physical labor. Although most warehouse jobs tend to be composed of mostly men, the few women that did work there worked in a picking and packing section. Womens work tended to be followed by inequality regarding promotions, hourly pay, working conditions. You have to be a little bit desperate to work for them or, if you are lucky, know someone high up to get yourself easier tasks and decent pay and job security, since you are not promised shifts. They usually hire large numbers of temporary employees.
The majority of these employees are Hispanic. Tyson’s recountment of Vince’s Place: I decided to observe my Uncle’s restaurant called Vince’s Place. As I was sitting there waiting for my breakfast I noticed that their were only girls as servers. The restaurant only had waitresses no waiters. Nowadays you see both men and women working as servers but it tends to be categorized under female jobs. All of the girls were very organized on who would serve what table and worked very well together. The restaurant is usually busy so the girls are used to constant service to the customers.
The male workers in the restaurant worked back in the kitchen as cooks. At the cash register there was also a male working but this usually varies depending on the day. This is very difficult for some men to do because they view it as a female dominant job. The restaurant also has two cooks one being a man and one being a women. I found this out by asking my uncle more questions about the restaurant because I only saw a male cook when observing the kitchen. Overall, I feel that all jobs in a restaurant should vary between men and women.
I feel it depends on who is going to provide the best service for that particular area of the restaurant. I do not think either sex should be viewed as dominant over each in these occupations. I do feel that most men would agree that women are more suited as servers than men. Shiv used a Local YMCA in Edison. The place I observed was my local YMCA center and all its facilities like the gym, daycare, and the gym. Women generally held positions that were stationed outside or were involved in the daycare work. This plays into the concept that women are viewed as the more delightful an outgoing gender.
In “Where Do Women’s Jobs Come from? Job Re-segregation in an American Bank” Skuratowicz and Hunter’s case showed how men held management positions with their own office while women held positions out in the open as if they were receptionists. This bank setting can be paralleled with the setting of the YMCA. Men held the management positions and director positions while women held minor positions and a majority were receptionists and daycare workers. The interactions between men and women workers varied very differently.
Women working at the desk would greet everyone and say goodbye to everyone that walked by. Men generally did not say anything or greeted familiars that they knew as they walked in or out. When entering the YMCA most members have an ID card they must scan. Men did not consider or enforce whether members entering had their card. However, women were more concerned with following the rules of the YMCA and asked everyone to sign in when entering. Women seemed to care a bit more about following the rules of work while men just let people go.
In the fitness department | noticed women were more prone to picking up weights and placing them back after use. Men however, moved around asking people if they needed help and were giving pointers about gym goers form. In the daycare, men were more likely to just be on their phones or talk to their coworkers while the females watching the children in tandem to whatever they were doing. In the pool, more men were employed but in this regard women were more lax about pool rules then men were. Guys were more worried about people drowning but women did not get involved in any pool goers fun or games.
