The Occupational Roles of Women and Ethnic Minorities on Primetime Television in Belgium: An Analysis of Occupational Status Measurements

Abstract

In this study, we investigate differences in occupational status between women and men, and between ethnic minority and majority members, by means of a content analysis of Belgian prime-time television in 2013. We evaluate the accuracy of these television portrayals using interreality comparison strategies. Results indicate that although in television content women obtain higher average scores for occupational status than men, this is mainly due to the underrepresentation of women in low-status occupations. Although previous studies focused on the absence of women in high-status jobs, this analysis shows for the first time that women are also absent in low-status manual and industrial jobs. Ethnic minorities have lower average scores for occupational status. Moreover, interaction terms made clear that this especially holds for female ethnic minorities, suggesting that mechanisms of intersectionality are at play. In general, the labor world as portrayed on television diverges strongly from the real labor world.

Notes

¹The current analysis is based only on nonfiction programs. If we also include fiction programs in the analysis, the number of observations rises to 3,172. In that case, the results of the analysis remain the same. It has to be noted, however, that the information about labor market roles is far less clear or reliable in television fiction than it is in nonfiction.

²Here we have confined ourselves to the 10 large ISCO-08 categories, as the labor statistics in Belgium only have records for the 10 largest categories.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Laura Jacobs

Laura Jacobs is a Ph.D. student at the Centre for Citizenship and Democracy at the University of Leuven. Her research interests include immigration, diversity in the news, media effects and prejudice.

Ellen Claes

Ellen Claes (Ph.D., University of Leuven, 2010) is an assistant professor at the Centre for Political Research at the University of Leuven. Her research interests include political socialization, citizenship education, and minorities in the political socialization process.

Marc Hooghe

Marc Hooghe (Ph.D., University of Brussels 1997 and University of Rotterdam, 2002) is a full professor at the Centre for Citizenship and Democracy at the University of Leuven. His research interests include social capital, prejudice and political attitudes.