Chapter 8
Gender Inequality
Gender Stratification
Sources of Gender Differences
Sociological Perspectives on Gender Stratification
McGraw-Hill © 2013 McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights Reserved.
8-2
Gender Stratification
Sex: genetic definition; determines role in reproduction
Gender: sociological distinction between males and females
Gender identity: one’s self-concept of being male or female
Gender roles: cultural expectations about behavior of each sex
What is the difference
between Sex and Gender? SEX GENDER
Primarily refers to physical attributes-body
characteristics notably sex organ which are
distinct in majority of individuals.
Is the composite of attitudes and behavior
of men and women (masculinity and
femininity)
Is biologically determined – by genes and
hormones media; thus it
Is learned and perpetuated primarily
through: the family, education, religion
(where dominant) and is an acquired
identity
Is relatively fixed/constant through time
and across cultures
Because it is socialized, it may be variable
through time and across cultures.
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8-4
Gender Stratification
Sexism: gender inequality perpetuated by complex processes
― Individual level: belief that one sex is superior to the other
Roles are primary cause of differential distribution of power, status, and income
― Institutional level: policies, procedures, and practices that produce unequal outcomes for men and women
8-5
Gender Stratification
Do women constitute a minority group?
Prejudice and discrimination
Physical and cultural traits
Self-conscious social group
Membership is involuntary
Only endogamy does not apply to women
8-6
Gender Stratification
Patriarchy: system of social organization in which men have disproportionate share of power
Lorber: early societies were egalitarian
Davis-Kimball: archaeological evidence of female military and social power
8-7
Gender Stratification
World Gender Inequality
U.S. State Department Annual Human Rights Report of 194 nations
Sex trade and forced labor
Ghana, Bangladesh, and others
Honor killings
Worldwide, an estimated 350,000 women annually die during pregnancy, childbirth, or the first six weeks after delivery
8-8
8-9
Gender Stratification
World Gender Inequality (continued)
Women sexually victimized throughout the world
Female genital mutilation
Transmission of HIV to young women and girls by older men
2/3 of world’s illiterates are female
Some women around the world do better than U.S. women in some areas
8-10
Gender Stratification
U.S. Gender Inequality (continued)
Sexual inequality sustained by assigning economic-provider role to men and child-rearing role to women
Today, marriage and family less of an organizing force in women’s lives
Delay marriage and childbearing
More help from males at home
Women still carry most of the child care and housework burden in families
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Gender Stratification
U.S. Gender Inequality (continued)
U.S. women’s labor-force participation is 59% (2010)
Women entering college in higher numbers than men
Little change in gender segregation of occupations between 1900 and 1970
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Gender Stratification
U.S. Gender Inequality (continued)
The Glass Ceiling
Number of women top executives and board directors increased over years, but top positions still elude women executives
16.1% of Fortune 500 companies’ board seats were held by women (2011)
14.1% of their corporate officer positions were filled by women (2011)
7.5% of the country’s top earners were female (2011)
8-15
Gender Stratification
U.S. Gender Inequality (continued)
Disparities in Pay
On average, women employed full-time in 2010 earned only 81.2 cents for each dollar earned by males, up from 60.7 cents per dollar in 1960
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Gender Stratification
U.S. Gender Inequality (continued)
Career Patterns: Out of Sync with Family Life
Women who have children encounter substantial career disadvantages
Equal opportunity for women in public sphere remains substantially frustrated by gender-role differentiation within family
8-20
Gender Stratification
Sexual Harassment and Rape
Sexual harassment
“Unwelcome” sexual attention, whether verbal or physical, that affects an employee’s job conditions or creates a “hostile” working environment
Rape most violent form of sexual victimization
Culture and gender inequality combine to powerfully influence prevalence of rape and sexual aggression
8-21
Gender Stratification
Politics and Government
Number of women in politics in U.S. increased in recent years
35 states have had female governors
U.S. Senate had 17 women serving in 2011; 76 representatives were women
Women have turned out in greater numbers than men to vote in recent elections
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Gender Stratification
Politics and Government (continued)
Political success not steady pace
Structural factors include low “supply” of women candidates
Political factors include low “demand” for women candidates
Ideological beliefs
8-23
Gender Stratification
Women’s Movement
Substantial impact on way Americans think and act; legal and social equality
Opportunities for women changed over past several decades
Women still significantly disadvantaged
As more women reach positions of economic, political, and social power, changes may occur at more rapid pace
8-24
Sources of Gender Differences
Gender and Biology
Hyde: 78% of gender differences in meta-analyses were small or close to zero
Males and females differ little in life satisfaction, happiness, self-esteem, attitudes about work, approaches to leadership, reading, and mathematics abilities
Hyde: information showed some gender differences change with growth and development
Others depend on social context
8-25
Sources of Gender Differences
Gender and Culture
All societies assign gender roles
Born into societies with well-established cultural guidelines for behavior of men and women
Great variation in gender roles from one society to another
Gender roles largely social definition and socially constructed messages
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Sources of Gender Differences
Gender Identities
Cultural Transmission Theory
Acquisition of gender identities and behaviors is gradual process of learning that begins in infancy
Children given cues to their gender roles
Cognitive Development Theory
Children label themselves “boys” or “girls” between 18 months and 3 years of age
Use stereotyped images to organize behavior and cultivate gender-based attitudes and actions
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Sources of Gender Differences
Gender Identities
Self-Construals and Gender
Independent self-construal model describes men better than it does women in U.S.
Interdependent self-construal model describes U.S. women best
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Sociological Perspectives on
Gender Stratification
The Functionalist Perspective
Gender division of labor promoted survival of species
Critics: view becomes powerful justification for existence of gender inequality
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Sociological Perspectives on
Gender Stratification
The Conflict Perspective
Gender inequality benefits men, who use the power it gives them to ensure its perpetuation
Exploitation of labor
Availability of sexual gratification
Availability of tools for procreation
Acker: in industrial capitalist societies, production is privileged over reproduction
8-31
Sociological Perspectives on
Gender Stratification
The Interactionist Perspective
Gender socially constructed and internally based
Societal behavior follows internal meanings of gender
Linguistic usages of gender terms such as “men,” “he,” “she,” “boys,” and “girls”
8-32
Sociological Perspectives on
Gender Stratification
The Feminist Perspective
Johnson: patriarchal culture favors instrumental functions over expressive ones
Ferree and Hall: grouping process is socially costly repression of individual variation and potential
Ridgeway and Smith-Lovin: everyday interactions recreate the gender system