Revealed: what sexism in call centres can teach us about sexism in society

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Anna Kristina Hultgren, The Open University

Although you are likely to have dealt with both male and female call centre agents, the fact is that 71% of workers in the global call centre industry are female. Dubbed the “female ghetto” or, more positively, “female-friendly workplaces”, women are significantly over-represented in call centres.

The reason for this is linked to one of the biggest conundrums in gender equality: how can it be that girls consistently outperform boys in schools and yet, by the time they reach adulthood and enter into the professional arena, they earn less, occupy fewer leadership roles and generally have a lower status and less influence?

My research sheds light on this phenomenon. After extensive interviews with call centre managers and agents, as well as an investigation into the industry’s working culture and practices in Scotland and Denmark, it became clear that call centres are built on the sexist attitudes embedded in society.

Playing by the rules

Call centres are intensely regulated and target-driven work places. Agents are instructed to speak to customers in certain ways. The extent to which they follow these instructions is monitored by managers, and their salaries and career advancement can depend upon it.

Agents may be told to use the customer’s name, create small talk and interject with prescribed “listening sounds” such as “aha”, “OK” and “I see”. The purpose is to ensure that agents keep the call on track and also give the impression of a personalised service.

Why call centre workers love to use your name – and why it's really annoying

When I compared male and female call centre agents’ compliance with the language prescriptions, an interesting pattern emerged: it was invariably the female agents who complied more. This was the case for both the Scottish and the Danish women.

In other words, the female call centre agents more often than their male colleagues acknowledged the customer’s problem, used their name, encouraged them to call back if necessary and finished with a personal touch, such as “have a good weekend” – just as they had been told to do by their managers.

School vs work

Why would female agents comply more than their male colleagues with the linguistic prescriptions?

There is evidence from