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Cited by 44Names, Identity, and Discrimination ResearchSocial and Cultural DynamicsLabor market dynamics and wage inequality

The Labor Market Value of Taste: An Experimental Study of Class Bias in U.S. Employment

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Thomas, Kyla·2018·Sociological Science
DOI 10.15195/v5.a24
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Abstract

This article investigates cultural forms of class bias in the middle-income U.S. labor market. Results from an audit study of employment discrimination in four U.S. cities reveal that cultural signals of class, when included in résumés, have a systematic effect on the callback rates of women applying to customer-facing jobs. For these women, displays of highbrow taste—the cultural signals of a higher-class background—generate significantly higher rates of employer callback than displays of lowbrow taste—the cultural signals of a lower-class background. Meanwhile, cultural signals of class have no systematic effect on the callback rates of male and/or non–customer-facing job applicants. Results from a survey-experimental study of 1,428 U.S. hiring managers suggest that these differing patterns of employer callback may be explained by the positive effect of higher-class cultural signals on perceptions of polish and competence and their negative effect on perceptions of warmth.

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  1. Collins, Randall. 1992. "Women and the Production of Status Cultures." Pp. 152-86 in Cultivating Differences: Symbolic Boundaries and the Making of Inequality, edited by M. Lamont and M. Fournier. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
  2. DiMaggio, Paul. 2012. "Sociological Perspectives on the Face-to-Face Enactment of Class Distinction." Pp. 15-38 in Facing Social Class: How Societal Rank Influences Interaction, edited by S. T. Fiske and H. R. Markus. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.
  3. Hout, Michael. 2008. "How Class Works: Objective and Subjective Aspects of Class since the 1970s." Pp. 25-64 in Social Class: How Does It Work?, edited by A. Lareau and D. Conley. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.
  4. Kirschenman, Joleen, and Kathryn M. Neckerman. 1991. "'We'd Love to Hire Them But...': The Meaning of Race for Employers." Pp. 203-35 in The Urban Underclass, edited by C. Jencks and P. E. Peterson. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.
  5. Marx, Karl. [1867] 1978. Capital, Vol. 3. Pp. 439-42 in The Marx-Engels Reader, edited by R. Tucker. New York, NY: W. W. Norton and Company.
  6. Peterson, Richard, and Albert Simkus. 1992. "How Musical Tastes Mark Occupational Status Groups." Pp. 152-86 in Cultivating Differences: Symbolic Boundaries and the Making of Inequality, edited by M. Lamont and M. Fournier. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
  7. Weber, Max. [1922] 1958. "Class, Status, Party." Pp. 180-95 in From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology, edited by H. Gerth and C. W. Mills. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

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Authors
Thomas, K.
Affiliations
University of Southern California (US)
Corresponding author
Thomas, Kyla
ORCID
Thomas, Kyla
Venue
Sociological Science
Publisher
Society for Sociological Science
Published
2018
Volume
5
Pages
562-595
ISSN
2330-6696 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.15195/v5.a24
OpenAlex
W2891060530
Cited by
44
References
82
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 2
FWCI
7.97
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • Sociological Science (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
  • Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
  • American Council of Learned Societies
  • University of Southern California
  • Princeton University
  • University of Michigan
  • Fahs-Beck Fund for Research and Experimentation
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Names, Identity, and Discrimination Research
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Cultural Dynamics
  • Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Labor market dynamics and wage inequality
Keywords
class bias, cultural taste, employment discrimination, callback rates, gender discrimination, hiring managers, perceived competence, labor market

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