Slate reports on research by American economist Caitlin Kowles showing that women wait abot 20 seconds longer than men to be served at coffee shops. Check out the original paper here. Knowles has eliminated a few possible causes other than sexism - no surprise, it’s not because women order fancy drinks or flirt with the barristas.
Tyler Cowen, over on economics blog The Marginal Revolution suggests that women are more indecisive, but doesn’t really dispute Knowles’ main conclusion: “The simplest explanation, however, is that the staff feel more implicit psychological pressure to meet the needs of the male customers.”
Not a life-altering injustice, surely, but just another reminder that sexism lives in all of us, and intrudes on our lives almost constantly.
On the upside, it’s nice to see some feminist economics getting press coverage. I love feminist economics.
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three comments
"...the staff feel more implicit psychological pressure to meet the needs of the male customers." Sad but probably quite true. From my years working as a server, it's definitely true that the more you make a fuss and assert your needs, the more a server will pay attention to you, if only because it is too much trouble not to - and consequently well-behaved tables will put up with a wait when demanding tables won't.
I always felt bad about rewarding bad behaviour, but when you've been on your feet for four hours straight, are dying of hunger, and can't quite remember your own name, you tend to respond to what's right in front of you instead of making value-based decisions. So sad.
Though that's not to say that women should be more assertive and forceful in coffee shops in order to balance out this particular gender gap...
Posted by Thea
November 18, 2007, 5:01 PM
Wait, Thea, so I shouldn't start slamming my fists down on coffee shop counters and demanding that someone serve me NOW, NOW, NOW in the interests of gender parity? Darn.
In all seriousness: this is an interesting study. I'm going to start paying more attention when I'm standing at the counter, just out of curiosity...
Posted by melinda
November 19, 2007, 10:01 PM
Is it definable as sexism living inside us, or gender-specific anxiety? The anxiety to please or dispel male anger our of fear or what have you?
Posted by Danielle
November 20, 2007, 12:25 AM
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