Men doing women's dirty work: Desegregation, immigrants and employer preferences in the cleaning industry in Norway

Abstract

The literature on gender desegregation has documented the gendered nature of employment hierarchies and opportunities, but less work has examined how the influx of immigrants in the labour market might affect employment hierarchies and gender segregation. This study examines employers' perceptions of ‘the suitable cleaner' — a traditionally female‐dominated occupation that has received a substantial number of male immigrant workers. Departing from the notion that men in female‐dominated occupations are advantaged by a ‘glass escalator' effect, we analyse how employer preferences position different categories of workers as hireable. Building on interviews with employers in the Norwegian cleaning industry, the study demonstrates how three different but intertwined logics define employer preferences: effectivity demands, professionalization and devaluation. While the first logic favours men as workers and the second devalues ‘female' competence, opening the occupation for men, the third logic favours immigrants, combined positioning immigrant men on top of the hierarchy of suitability.

Stigma Beyond Levels: Advancing Research on Stigmatization

“…They can overlap, of course, as one's gender or class can increase the likelihood of being in a servile position relative to others (Hanna & Gough, 2019;Larsen, 2017). However, servile stigma can also stand on its own: taxi drivers are stigmatized for their servile relationship to clients (Phung, Buchanan, Toubiana, Ruebottom, & Turchick-Hakak, 2020;Turchick-Hakak, 2014), as are domestic workers and cleaners (Lucas, Kang, & Li, 2013;Orupabo & Nadim, 2020).…”

Prekærbegrepene – en teoretisk fristelse og forbannelse

“…Norge får en stadig mer eldredominert befolkning (SSB, 2020), noe som stiller høyere krav til velferdssystemet og muligheten til å innfri velferdstilbud. Innvandrere tenderer også til å vaere mer konsentrerte i spesifikke bransjer (Friberg, 2016;Orupabo & Nadim, 2020;Slettebak, 2020). Det er derfor ikke nok å bruke et fåtall enkelte variabler for å fange det prekaere empirisk, verken i livssituasjonen eller i arbeidet.…”

Spranget fra hvem somer rasist, til når , hvor og hvordan

“…I noen yrker vil innvandrerbakgrunn diskvalifisere deg, du blir diskriminert, mens i andre yrker er det nettopp din status som innvandrer eller minoritet som gjør deg attraktiv. Nyere studier illustrerer hvordan arbeidsgivere foretrekker innvandrere og styrer unna nordmenn i tradisjonelle arbeiderklasseyrker (Orupabo & Nadim, 2020;Friberg & Midtbøen, 2017). Mens nordmenn oppfattes som late og upålitelige, blir innvandrere oppfattet som arbeidsvillig attraktiv arbeidskraft.…”