Why the deck is stacked against working-class feminists

For Brittany Bronson, clocking in on the job means putting aside her deeply held feminism.

Bronson serves cocktails at a casino in Las Vegas, a job she uses to supplement her income from teaching English at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and writing op-eds for the New York Times. In a recent op-ed, she wondered, "Can You Be a Waitress and a Feminist?"

Her answer seems to be a reluctant no.

"What I'm doing at work is more of a performance, and how I'd react outside of work is more truly reflective of my ideas and what's important to me," Bronson says. "When a man makes a sexist comment or an advance that I find inappropriate, I have to act in a different way for the sake of my job."

Bronson says she would never tolerate the sexual harassment she faces as a cocktail server in any other job.

"I would say something back, I would walk out, I would exit from the situation," she says. "But in a restaurant setting, where I'm meant to be cordial and have a relationship with my guests, I'll laugh or I'll make a joke. I'll smile and pretend that I'm on board, even though inside I don't feel comfortable with what comment is being made, or if a hand is on my shoulder or on my hip."

According to a report last fall from Restaurant Opportunities Center United, a group that advocates for the rights of America's 14 million restaurant workers, servers are twice as likely to experience sexual harassment, and many tolerate it in exchange for a larger tip. Bronson agrees.

"I make a compromise to ensure and protect my income," she says. But she also argues it's not just servers or waitresses who face that challenge: "Women in the service industry — not just those who are in a highly sexualized position like mine in cocktailing, but across the country — have to deal with this at a much more frequent rate … than their male colleagues working the same position."

Bronson cites the report as evidence that the playing field is slanted against servers like her and other working-class women.

"The more crucial that tip is as your income versus a steady wage, the more likely you are to excuse sexual harassment or interpret it as less severe or as not as much of a problem," Bronson says. "For a working-class woman, it can be more difficult to access those feminist ideals."

This story is based on an interview from PRI's The Takeaway, a public radio program that invites you to be part of the American conversation.