In this article, Rachael discusses the barriers that working class young women face at work, and what companies and organisations can do to better support them when entering and progressing in the workforce.

Young women from working-class, state-educated backgrounds in Scotland today face significant barriers when entering the modern workforce. Challenges on individual and institutional levels stem from a combination of gender and class discrimination which exacerbate long-existing issues such as limited access to professional networks, structural inequalities in education, bias in recruitment, pay gaps and underrepresentation in senior roles – making career progression and the initial entry and building of said careers, increasingly more difficult 

By implementing and defining fairer hiring practices, ensuring adequate mentoring and support for young working-class women, organisations can aid in breaking the barriers down and building a new, equitable and unbiased workforce – one that includes and recognises the young women of Scotland, their skills and their work. 

What is the problem?

Working class accents face relentless ridicule, and those belonging to women face further extensive policing – sexist remarks on the number of times ‘like’ has been sprinkled in a sentence, or the volume at which said accents are heard – it’s always too loud, too fast, too quiet or too sheepish – never the steady, serene tone babbled by male peers. 

The lack of logos working class professionals possess in their wardrobe in comparison with what their more affluent peers can flaunt, is highlighted tenfold through patriarchal beauty standards – instead of not just having the latest Patagonia zipper, you now don’t have the latest Prada bag or Coach purse or Giorgio Armani foundation – oh, and your roots need touched up! You can’t face the clients or expect to move up if you don’t look the part! 

Confidence, or lack thereof, is another major issue – working-class individuals and women are socialised in a way that values conformity and deference, which can lead to them being less assertive in professional spheres. This lack of confidence, and the subsequent lack of resilience and resources it would lend you, can result in lower salaries due to anxious negotiations and a lack of promotions due to the individual not having the upbringing that would naturally allow them to champion their own achievements and value. 

Unconscious bias can result in harsher standards of judgement rooted in classism and sexism – women are often given harsher feedback that halts their advancement in comparison to male counterparts, and the feedback is typically centred on personality rather than their work. 

Working-class people and women have routinely lacked the resources their more privileged counterparts have, such as connections already in the industry, family funds to support them when they undertook an unpaid internship, the chance to attend debate club instead of their part-time retail job that paid rent, role models from similar socio-economic backgrounds representing them already in their desired field and many more. Young women from working class backgrounds have faced the isolation of both poverty and the patriarchy, and have suffered the lack of experience, inclusion and access because of it. 

What Can Workplaces Do? 

Implementation of blind recruitment, bias training, ensuring that interview panels are diverse and having consistent peer-reviews of those in positions of power could aid in rooting out bias in individuals. 

Working-class women’s confidence can be built through mentoring and company-hosted workshops, salary and promotion negotiations can be made equitable through pay transparency, under-representation can be remedied by hiring working class women at senior levels. 

The lack of access to resources and experience could be rectified through paid internships, targeted state-educated work experience for young girls, and flexible extracurriculars that facilitate a balance with part-time employment. 

More advanced bias training could assist in eradicating the harsher standards of judgement placed on young women from working-class backgrounds, and programmes aimed at supporting those who have already faced the double-edged discrimination of both classism and sexism should be implemented; such as professional networks for women, book clubs, and feminist committees. Ultimately, there are an abundance of solutions and therefore no reason for the problem to persevere. 

Acknowledging and dismantling gender and class bias simultaneously will enable more young women to enter and progress in the workforce, ensuring talent is valued over socio- economic privilege. Young women should be able to aspire to whatever they are capable of in their careers without facing socio-economic limitations, and workplaces should be facilitating them in doing so. Undertaking this work will eventually set the example we never had for ourselves – a welcoming and equitable workplace represented by and continually empowering young Scottish working-class women. 

This article is part of a series during the Young Women Work campaign, tackling gender inequality in the workplace. Read more about the campaign and its recommendations, and help us spread the word. Can you ask your workplace to sign the pledge and commit to being part of the change?