TY - JOUR

T1 - “You can call me Susan!” Doing gendered class work in luxury service encounters

AU - Bernauer, Vanessa Sandra

AU - Sieben, Barbara

AU - Haunschild, Axel

N1 - Funding Information: The authors would like to sincerely thank the anonymous study participants for sharing their experiences and stories and enriching this article! The authors are grateful to all the colleagues who provided inspiring comments at various stages of the article’s journey, as well as the editors and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful feedback.

PY - 2023/5/4

Y1 - 2023/5/4

N2 - Purpose: With a focus on service encounters in the luxury segment of hospitality and tourism, the authors analyse how inherent social class distinctions and status differences are (re-)produced and which role gender plays in this process of “doing class”. Design/methodology/approach: The authors combine concepts of class work and inequality regimes with a focus on intersections of class and gender. The empirical study is based on interviews in Germany with first-class flight attendants, five-star hotel employees, and luxury customers on how they perceive and legitimize luxury services, working conditions and status differences. Findings: The authors identify perceptions and practices of status enhancement and status dissonance among luxury service workers, as well as gender practices and meanings such as specific feminized roles service workers take on. The authors also conceptualize these intersecting patterns of inequality reproduction as “gendered class work”. Originality/value: The study broadens empirical accounts of labour relations in the service industries. The concept of organizational class work is extended towards worker–customer interactions. With the concept of gendered class work, the authors contribute to research on the intersectionality of class and gender and the reproduction of inequalities.

AB - Purpose: With a focus on service encounters in the luxury segment of hospitality and tourism, the authors analyse how inherent social class distinctions and status differences are (re-)produced and which role gender plays in this process of “doing class”. Design/methodology/approach: The authors combine concepts of class work and inequality regimes with a focus on intersections of class and gender. The empirical study is based on interviews in Germany with first-class flight attendants, five-star hotel employees, and luxury customers on how they perceive and legitimize luxury services, working conditions and status differences. Findings: The authors identify perceptions and practices of status enhancement and status dissonance among luxury service workers, as well as gender practices and meanings such as specific feminized roles service workers take on. The authors also conceptualize these intersecting patterns of inequality reproduction as “gendered class work”. Originality/value: The study broadens empirical accounts of labour relations in the service industries. The concept of organizational class work is extended towards worker–customer interactions. With the concept of gendered class work, the authors contribute to research on the intersectionality of class and gender and the reproduction of inequalities.

KW - Class

KW - Gender

KW - Interactive service work

KW - Luxury services

KW - Status

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85131442576&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1108/EDI-10-2021-0272

DO - 10.1108/EDI-10-2021-0272

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85131442576

VL - 42

SP - 494

EP - 511

JO - Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

JF - Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

SN - 2040-7149

IS - 4

ER -