Women in masculinized occupation: the case of bus driver profession

Abstract

Labor market continues to be the reflection of the social differences existing between men and women (Sallé and Molpeceres, 2010). Indeed, women and men work at different labor sectors and occupations, and labor conditions are in general worst in the domains where women work (Bettio and Verashchagina, 2009). The main objective of this research is to analyze the obstacles and discriminatory situations that women who are working in masculinized occupations might live. Precisely at the bus driver occupation. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten women and they were analyzed with the method of content analysis (Abela, 2011). Results showed that there is a plurality of discourses and experiences about the reality lived by female bus drivers. Whereas some women perceive their situation as normalized, other are more critical about the situation they live. Notwithstanding, the study emphasizes that there is still a relevant difference between male and female bus drivers.