Anonymous Patron wrote in about a list of 39 jobs where women make more than men. The list includes library assistants, library technicians, and library workers. So, given this data along with the fact that men are still minorities in libraries, what conclusions can we leap to as to the cause of these inequities?
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initial thoughts…
This is a favorite topic of mine.
The answer to the question seems to be very simple. It is so simple, yet it still seems to be taboo to discuss it. I’ve always wanted to scream out a simple answer to the question about this particular inequity in our field. I won’t do that today, but I will leave some hints for now. I might elaborate later.
I’m a man, and I entered my career in libraries fully accepting that it is not lucrative, and that I might eventually earn less than my peers in this field just because I’m me.
Sanity is not statistical…
I believe that the reason these top the list is purely mathematical.
The data for the list is based on the median earnings, rather than an average. Because we all know (and as the previous commenter points out) that the salaries vary greatly depending on library type, location, etc. (using the same data, there’s almost a $15k difference between the middle 50%!!), and it is highly unlikely that the men are perfectly evenly distributed throughout the salary ranges. So, for the sake of an example, if 1 out of every ten library techs were male, and there were 10 salary brackets, that 1 male can only be in one bracket. So if he’s in the top 5 brackets, then his median salary will be higher than the females and vice versa. If you apply that on a larger scale, as is the case with the data used in the story, there can only be so many men in so many brackets. It’s possible that the highest 3 library tech salaries all go to men, but the remainder of the male salaries are so abysmal that the median is much, much lower.
Unfortunately, for the sake of comparison in an instance where one set is clearly a minority, I don’t think the median is the best statistic to use in order to convey the big picture. I’d really like to see an average as well (and perhaps a more in-depth analysis controlling for cost of living and library type), before I leap to any conclusions about the data.
Re:Sanity is not statistical…
Here’s another take:
Lowest salaries are paid to newest employees. Perhaps men have begun entering the profession in higher numbers recently because the job market is so poor. Remember when women first started moving up in management? The consensus was that their salaries were lower than men’s because it would take them awhile to move up.
Plus–look at ALA’s statistics for the top earners: “The percentage of directors who are men exceeds the percentage of librarians who are men. Also, men’s salaries tend to be higher than women’s, even for the same position.”
http://www.ala.org/ala/hrdr/libraryempresources/li brarydirectors.htm
Re:Sanity is not statistical…
I think that men are less likely than women to remain in clerical positions. (I’ve definitely seen that trend in the libraries where I’ve worked.) So while a woman may earn $23,608 as a library assistant, it’s because she’s been in the position for X number of years and has gotten her dinky annual increase every year. A man may earn $18,512 as an inexperienced library assistant, but he’s probably only going to stick around in that job for a year or two before going off to do more manly, lucrative things…
A good comparison would include experience with relationship to salary.
More thoughts
A follow-up…
I’ll be up front here. In this field, I often feel like I’m surrounded mostly by married women. I really hate to say this, but… our past is still present. That is to say, I feel like the single-earner marriage and the stay-at-home mom (if applicable) are making a bit of a comeback, given recent changes in the economy in certain parts of the country. In some regions, these concepts never really went away.
These two are closely connected, and they have a lot to do with the issue from the original post, which dealt more with non-professional library jobs. I’ve taken a look at various job postings for library assistant/technician positions lately (for information purposes), and what I’ve found is that it’s not the compensation that determines who will more likely apply for and get these jobs (especially the part-time ones). It’s really the hours. Many jobs are for 10-25 hours a week, with a required mix of days, evenings, and weekends at any point during the week. I can think of two groups of people who will most likely be working these jobs — and one group consists of LIS students.
To get back to the point a bit… when I was in library school, I noticed that the number of stay-at-home wives or moms whose youngest children were around middle-school age vastly outnumbered the number of men who had only themselves to depend on for financial support. I also noticed that many of the (few) men fell into one of two categories — those who were college or grad school graduates within the past few years, looking to truly start a first career; and those who had been firmly established in a career different from libraries, and was looking for a total career change (this includes retirees). Who is more likely going to be able to work that 10AM-2PM, Tues-Fri part-time circ desk position? The last time I checked, someone who works a 9-5, M-F (or even more than that) can’t do what Superman did in that one episode and be in two places at once.
I completely agree with Anonymous Patron #2… men are perceived as flight risks — and for very good reason. I will admit it — I feel like I am a flight risk myself. (I’m one of the two youngest in my library, and one of only two men under 30.) However, I stay because I know that this is my career, and if I leave my current job, I may as well turn my back on librarianship as a career goal. It’s hard enough for men in this field who are not in professional positions to be taken seriously, especially those of us on the extreme younger end. A flight risk who follows through as expected provides a horrible return on investment for both employer and employee. I have set as my goal to remain in my place of employment for another 25-30 years, possibly in the same position, well past the point at which I hope to get the MLS. It’s not realistic, I know… but it setting such a goal prevents me from being seen as a flight risk. But to be realistic, one must be able to fully support oneself. I hate to say this (really, I do), but I challenge anyone to disprove that this applies to men in far more cases in general than it applies to women.
Which leads me to… the perception of “second incomes” within marriages (which I would define as the extra money that’s nice to have, and can raise socioeconomic class, social standing, and standard of living, but is not necessary to comfortably get by). Again, the past casts its shadow on the present. THIS is what I believe keeps compensation lower within the field — the notion that many (if not most) of the employees are not dependent on the money to fully support themselves, a notion that I feel is totally false. (I wonder what percentage of Wal-Mart’s employees who have health insurance get it through a spouse, and then complain about their company-mates who complain about the high cost of getting health insurance through the company.) This perception ultimately keeps men from staying in non-professional positions for long periods of time. (Again, a nod to Anon #2.) Back to return on investment… do women also tend to get better pay raises in non-professional library positions than their male counterparts?
Re:More thoughts
While were on the subject of ‘the perception of “second incomes” within marriages‘
I am a woman, I am employed as the Librarian in a small company, my salary is a pittance and I am the primary income earner in my marriage.
I would love to move on to another position with better pay and higher job satisfaction, but there is limitless competition with other qualified and experienced individuals and there aren’t that many well-paid jobs out there.
In my current position, the main problem that I have run into when the subject of pay has arisen is ‘male chauvinism’ from management and their belief that all female personel are either lowly clerks or secretaries, who should be on minimum wage.
From my experiences in Canada and the UK, all librarians (regardless of sex) still have a long way to go, to achieve equality and recognition for the profession, in the workplace.
Re:More thoughts
I am a married woman, and I am the sole breadwinner for myself and my husband (who is a full-time student).