6. The Perceived Role and Status of Women in UK Librarianship
| Published date | 01 April 1984 |
| Date | 01 April 1984 |
| Pages | 32-36 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb054873 |
| Author | Gillian A. Burrington |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science |
6. The Perceived Role and Status
of Women in UK Librarianship
by Gillian A. Burrington
Research into the role and status of women in British librarianship was undertaken
between 1980 and 1984[1]. The hypothesis examined was that women's under-
representation in senior librarianship posts is the result of their lack of ambition and
their orientation to domestic and gender roles. No evidence was found to support
this view for women librarians overall.
Survey results demonstrated that in areas such as reasons for choosing a librarian-
ship career, academic qualifications, levels of ambition, job applications, posts
shortlisted for, attendance at professional meetings, reading professional journals
and plans for gaining further qualifications, there are no statistically significant
dif-
ferences between men and women; significant differences are found in salaries and
status.
Analysis of publishing activity, committee structure and observation at professional
meetings, indicated that there is some discrimination, often subtle and seldom
recognised by women or men, which results in women's silence and invisibility in
the wider professional sphere[2]. The effect of this is to reinforce women's apparent
lack of interest in their occupation, since there are few models of active women
professionals.
Female and male librarians were talked to; no difference was found in the extent
of orientation to work between the sexes, but it was noted that those in senior
posi-
tions saw women as "properly" occupying the low status posts and work which
involves contact with readers. Some women also considered that they would not
be competent in management posts.
Observation of interviews, and discussions with those concerned with selection
policies as well as talks with interviewees, revealed that expectations of gender-
appropriate behaviour and abilities play a major part in determining women's career
opportunities.
The overall conclusion of the research is that women librarians are achieving less
in terms of status and pay than are men. This cannot, however, be seen to be the
result of their having markedly lower levels of qualification or lower levels of interest
in their work than men. Women were found to be interested in librarianship as a
whole,
to be attending meetings, to be reading their professional literature, and to
be seeking the same type of qualifications as men. They were also found to believe
that the reasons for their relative failure lie primarily with themselves and not with
the occupation in which they work.
This can be related to ideologies of gender and the ideology which exists in librarian-
ship concerning equality of opportunities for those with the same abilities[3]. Women
accept that they are responsible for things domestic, and that they must defer in
particular to the needs of their children. Men also believe such tasks are for women.
This is related to wider gender norms. Gender norms have been demonstrated to
be significant in a variety of ways.
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