I criteri di valutazione della desiderabilità sociale delle occupazioni

In this paper we study the evaluation criteria used by individuals to rank occupations according to their social desirability. We use qualitative and quantitative data from the recent national study "The social evaluation of occupations in Italy" The process of evaluating occupations has a multidimensional nature. Interviewees adopt not only traditional criteria but also a series of new elements peculiar to the current Italian social and economic system. They also introduce some issues, such as the gender of the person who performs an occupation, the type of contract and the place of employment. The hierarchies behind the evaluation criteria seem to be shared by the majority of the interviewees and they also seem to be relatively constant over time. The emphasis given to each criterion, or to the underlying social construct, tends to vary in a structured way amongst interviewees. Considerations on the use of the stratification scales and on the relative methodological implications are drawn