SOC 310 Reading Questions

Week One-Week Two

In Nickel and Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich makes a case against jobs (waiting tables, housecleaning, retail sales) that employ large numbers of women. What negative characteristics do these jobs have in common, according to Ehrenreich? Identify at least three characteristics and give an example of each characteristic from each job.

Are there issues that these women workers face that they share with men who do typically male service work (e.g. janitors, cooks, gardeners)? Are there issues that are different from those of men in service work?

What are some of the ways that these workers respond to the conditions of their work? How does the work affect them? How do they relate to managerial authority?

Employment of immigrant women as housekeepers and nannies is on the increase. Why is there increasing demand for these services? Why is this demand not being filled by native born workers? Why is there a supply of immigrant women to do this work?

What role do gender relations in the family and in the workplace play in explaining the nanny chain?

What do you think might be some similarities and differences in the work done by immigrant women housecleaners and those that Barbara Ehrenreich worked with in Maine?

Occupational segregation by gender and race is a persistent feature of the occupational structure. How do race and gender intertwine in the restaurant industry as described by Nguyen.

How did organizers address the divisions among restaurant workers? Do you think these strategies could be used in other industries and workplaces?