Episode 94: Class and Career
/“This will sound funny but I feel like I wouldn’t advise it, this path that I was on. You have moments of pleasure you have to enjoy and appreciate, but it’s grueling.”
Denise McKenzie
In this show we look at how class can play out at work. Each of my guests works in a professional setting - Julie O'Heir in academia, Denise McKenzie in law. But both grew up in blue-collar households, and each has had trouble navigating the white-collar workplace and the attitudes of some of its workforce. When you're a black female working in a majority-white office, the issues multiply.
I also talk to Daniel Laurison, a sociology professor at Swarthmore. He co-authored a study on the 'class ceiling' in Britain. It showed that on average, people in high-status professions who began life in a working-class household earn less than their more privileged peers.
You can also read a transcript of the show.