428 I English for Psychologists and Sociologists

tie; why not the shape of your ears?» said Frederique Rollet, a psychotherapist in Paris who is the author of several books on morphopsychology.

XVIII. According to the text above, are the following statements true or false?

1. Good-looking people are often more successful than others.

2. British Airways does not allow its pilots to work if they are 20 per cent overweight.

3. Attractive women have problems reaching managerial positions.

4. Morphopsychology is sometimes used as the only criterion when selecting candidates.

5. Employers' attitudes to «unfair» recruitment practices have not changed.

XIX. Discuss in the group.

1. Do you think a certain type of appearance is necessary for some jobs? Explain why.

2. In your opinion, is morphopsychology a useful recruitment technique?

3. How are employment practices monitored in your country? Give examples.

XX. // you were a manager, would you employ:

1. a woman with pink hair;

2. a man with a beard;

3. unattractive people;

4. a heavy smoker;

5. an overweight person.

XXI. Speak on:

1. requirements to be employed for airlines and police forces;

2. female chances for managerial positions;

3. morphopsychology.

Sociology. Unit XI I ⁴²⁹

XXII. You are a manager. What application form would you offer for a candidate to fill in?

23. Make up a questionnaire for employment practice. Do you consider such a questionnaire to be a useful recruitment technique?

24. Translate the text in writing:

Female Status Attainment

When the Canadian sociologists analyzed their data on female status attainment, they also found some surprising results. First of all, native-born Canadian women with full-time jobs come from higher-status family backgrounds than do their male counterparts. On the average, their fathers have nearly a year more education and hold higher-status occupations. Second, the average native-born Canadian working woman has a higher-status occupation than do similar males.

Finally, the correlations between women's occupational prestige and their fathers' education and occupational prestige are much lower than for men. Moreover, these same findings have turned up in American studies; it has now become standard practice to include women in status attainment research. How can these patterns be explained?

First of all, women are less likely than men to hold full-time jobs and are especially unlikely to work the lower their job qualifications. For many married women, especially those with young children, low-paying jobs offer no real economic benefits; the costs of working (including child care) are about equal to the wages paid. In conse­quence, low-paying, low-status jobs are disproportionate held by males. This fact accounts for women having jobs of higher average prestige. But women are also underrepresented in the highest-prestige jobs.

English for Psychologists and Sociologists

As a result their occupational prestige is limited to a narrower range than that of men, which reduces correlations with background variables. That the average working woman's father has more education and a better job than does the father of the average employed male can be understood in the same terms. More qualified women come from more privileged homes; the daughters of the least-educated and lowest-status fathers aren't in full-time jobs.

In fact, the husbands of working women have occupations with higher than average prestige. This is because of a very high correspondence between the occupational prestige of husbands and wives when both are employed full-time. People who marry tend to share very similar levels of education and similar family backgrounds. Indeed, divorce and remarriage contribute to the similarity of husbands and wives in terms of occupational prestige.

These findings must not cause us to overlook the fact that women long were excluded from many occupations and are still underrepresented in elite managerial and professional careers. What they do show, however, is that within the special conditions outlined here, female status attainment does not differ much from that of men.