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The Glass Escalator, Revisited: Gender Inequality in Neoliberal Times, SWS Feminist Lecturer

Christine L. WilliamsView all authors and affiliations

Volume 27, Issue 5

https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243213490232

Abstract
References
Biographies

Abstract

When women work in male-dominated professions, they encounter a “glass ceiling” that prevents their ascension into the top jobs. Twenty years ago, I introduced the concept of the “glass escalator,” my term for the advantages that men receive in the so-called women’s professions (nursing, teaching, librarianship, and social work), including the assumption that they are better suited than women for leadership positions. In this article, I revisit my original analysis and identify two major limitations of the concept: (1) it fails to adequately address intersectionality; in particular, it fails to theorize race, sexuality, and class; and (2) it was based on the assumptions of traditional work organizations, which are undergoing rapid transformation in our neoliberal era. The glass escalator assumes stable employment, career ladders, and widespread support for public institutions (e.g., schools and libraries)—which no longer characterize the job market today. Drawing on my studies of the oil and gas industry and the retail industry, I argue that new concepts are needed to understand workplace gender inequality in the 21st century.

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Biographies

Christine L. Williams is professor and chair of sociology at the University of Texas at Austin, where she teaches courses in gender, sexuality, labor and labor movements, and qualitative research methods. She previously served as chair of the ASA sections on Sex and Gender, and Work, Occupations, and Organizations. She edited Gender & Society from 2004 to 2006.

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