Essentially Priceless By Celia Schild | Graphics by Mia Dugandzic In our capitalist society, professions are assessed by their prestige. Engineers, surgeons, and lawyers are regarded as exemplars of career success. These jobs are traditionally male-dominated, and until relatively recently in western societies, were closed off to women. In contrast, traditionally female-dominated jobs include nursing, teaching, aged-care and grocery work. These are classified as ‘feminine’ positions because they require stereotypically female qualities, such as being nurturing, caring and patient. These professions do not share the same connotations of prestige and success, which is reflected by their low salaries and status. One of the pandemic’s many ironies is the shift in the way we perceive occupational status thanks to the introduction of the term ‘essential worker.’ As Victorians, the gradual shut down of non-essential services such as mainstream entertainment has left us with only the absolute essentials. Often-ignored, disparaged female-dominated professions have suddenly been cast in a whole new light, gaining renewed prominence due to being rebranded as ‘essential’. In Australia, teaching is an undervalued profession, and the low status of teachers is not at all commensurate with the level of responsibility they bear. Teaching also tends to attract women much more than men, because of its associations with nurturing and motherhood. Across Australia, the mark required for entrance into a teaching degree is notably low. The prevailing societal view is that this low mark reflects the occupation’s value, rather than being representative of demand. Teachers, once hired, report commonly unmanageable workloads and low pay. A study in New South Wales found full-time teachers working 50 hours per week, relative to the 38-hour average of standard full-time workers.[1] Despite this, teachers have a lower chance of earning a high income than professions which do not require a university degree.[2] Teachers also report feeling undervalued by students, parents and the community. The pandemic has changed this. With schooling becoming confined to homes during lockdown, parents have realized the sheer effort teaching demands as they attempt to help their children with schoolwork, filling in for a role that requires a high degree of specialised knowledge and skills. As such, the recasting of teaching as ‘essential’ work has afforded it a more favourable standing. Shopping is one of the four reasons Victorians are currently allowed to leave home. Grocery stores have become fundamental, staying open long after other businesses have closed to provide us with the supplies needed to sustain ourselves at home. As a result, grocery staff have transformed into ‘essential workers.’ The social interactions between us and grocery staff have also gained renewed importance. Previously automatic exchanges with ‘checkout chicks’ have become moments of genuine social interaction, meeting needs that friends, family and colleagues can no longer provide. Grocery workers are not merely meeting our
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