Sociology
Eleventh Edition
Richard T. Schaefer
Chapter 12:
Stratification by Gender
© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Stratification by Gender






Slide 2
The Social Construction of Gender
Sociological Perspectives on Gender
The Oppressed Majority
Emergence of a
Collective Consciousness
Intersection of Gender, Race, and Class
Social Policy and Gender
Stratification: The Battle over
Abortion from a Global Perspective
© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
The Social Construction of Gender

Gender role: expectations regarding
proper behavior, attitudes, and activities
of males and females



Slide 3
Most people do not display strictly
“masculine” or “feminine” qualities all the time
Evident in work and in how we react
to others
We construct behavior socially to create or
exaggerate male-female differences
© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Gender Roles in the United States

Gender-Role Socialization

Boys must be masculine
Active
 Aggressive
 Tough
 Daring
 Dominant


Girls must be feminine
Soft
 Emotional
 Sweet
 Submissive

Slide 4
© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Gender Roles in the United States

Homophobia: fear of and prejudice
against homosexuality



Slide 5
Important element in traditional views of
masculine and feminine behavior
Parents normally first and most crucial
agents of socialization
Other adults, older siblings, mass media,
religious institutions, and educational
institutions exert important influence
© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Gender Roles in the United States

Women’s Gender Roles

Feminine self-image, in part, starts with
identifying with females and males in family,
neighborhood, and media
Persistent differences between men and
women in North America and Europe
 Traditional gender roles restricted females
more than males

Slide 6
© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Gender Roles in the United States

Men’s Gender Roles

Attitudes toward parenting changing, little
change in tradition male gender role
Men’s roles socially constructed
 Boys who successfully adapt to cultural
standards of masculinity may grow up to
be inexpressive men
 In last 40 years, more men in U.S. criticize
restrictive aspects of traditional male
gender roles

Slide 7
© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Table 12-1: An Experiment in Gender Norm
Violation by College Students
Source: Nielsen et al. 2000:287.
Slide 8
© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Cross-Cultural Perspective

Mead’s research points to importance of
cultural conditioning in defining social
roles of males and females

Gender stratification requires
Individual socialization into traditional gender
roles within family
 Promotion and support of traditional roles by
other social institutions


Slide 9
Every society has men and women who
resist and oppose stereotypes
© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
The Functionalist View

Gender differentiation contributes to
overall social stability

Women take expressive, emotionally
supportive role while men take instrumental,
practical role
Instrumentality: emphasis on tasks, more
distant goals, and concern for external
relationship between one’s family and other
social institutions
 Expressiveness: concern for maintenance of
harmony and internal emotional affairs of family

Slide 10
© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
The Conflict Response



Slide 11
Functionalists mask underlying power
relations between men and women
Division of labor by gender into
instrumental and expressive tasks is not
neutral to women
Relationship between men and women
traditionally one of unequal power
© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
The Feminist Perspective



Slide 12
Engle argued women’s subjugation
coincided with rise of private property
during industrialization
Discussion of women and society
distorted by exclusion of women from
academic thought
In U.S., male dominance goes beyond
the economic sphere
© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
The Interactionist Approach


Study gender stratification on micro-level
of everyday behavior
Men more likely than women to




Slide 13
Change topics of conversation
Ignore topics chosen by women
Minimize ideas of women
Interrupt women
© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Table 12-2: Sociological Perspectives on Gender
Slide 14
© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Sexism and Sex Discrimination

Women suffer from sexism: ideology that
one sex is superior to the other


U.S. society is run by maledominated institutions

Slide 15
Institutional discrimination: denial of
opportunities and equal rights to individuals
and groups that results from normal
operations of a society
The power and privilege of men no
guarantee of well-being
© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Research In action

12-1: Differences in Male and Female
Physicians’ Communication with Patients


In your own experience, have you noted a
gender difference in the way doctors
communicate with their patients?
Why is the quality of a doctor’s
communication with patients important?

Slide 16
What might be the benefit of female physicians’
superior communication style?
© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment: when work benefits
are contingent on sexual favors or when
touching, lewd comments, or appearance
of pornographic material creates a
“hostile environment” in the workplace


Slide 17
Must be understood in context of continuing
prejudice and discrimination against women
African American women and Latinas more
likely to experience sexual harassment
© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
The Status of Women Worldwide

Women everywhere suffer from secondclass status



Slide 18
Link between wealth of industrial nations and
poverty of women in developing countries
In industrial countries, women’s unequal
status seen in division of housework, jobs
they hold, and pay they earn
Women are mobilizing, individually
and collectively
© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Women in the Workforce
of the United States

Labor Force Participation



Slide 19
Women’s participation in U.S. paid labor
force increased steadily throughout
20th century
Majority of women now members of paid
labor force
Women underrepresented in occupations
historically defined as “men’s jobs
© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Women in the Workforce
of the United States

Compensation



Slide 20
Substantial gender gap in median earnings
of full-time workers
Census Bureau found 2 occupations out of
821 in which women typically earn about 1%
more income than men
Men enjoy advantage even in femaledominated occupations
© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Women in the Workforce
of the United States

Social Consequences of
Women’s Employment



Slide 21
Face challenge of juggling work and family
Clear gender gap in housework
Second shift: women work outside the
home followed by child care, sometimes
elder care, and housework
© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Sociology in the Global Community

12-2: The Head Scarf and the Veil:
Complex Symbols


Slide 22
Consider life in a society in which women
wear veils. Can you see any advantages
from the woman’s or man’s points of view?
Do you find the Western emphasis on
physical beauty oppressive?
© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Figure 12-1: Gender Inequality in Industrial Nations
Notes: Housework includes laundry, grocery shopping, dinner preparation, and care for sick family members. Empowerment
includes the proportions of women in parliament, in management, and in professional/technical positions, as well as gender
inequality in income.
Source: Adapted from Fuwa 2004:757.
Slide 23
© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Figure 12-2: Trends in U.S. Women’s Participation in
the Paid Labor Force, 1890–2005
Sources: Bureau of the Census 1975; 2006a:379.
Slide 24
© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Table 12-3: U.S. Women in Selected
Occupations, 2005: Women as a Percentage
of All Workers in the Occupation
Note: Women constitute 45 percent of the entire labor force.
Source: Data for 2005 reported in Bureau of the Census 2006a:388–391.
Slide 25
© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Emergence of a Collective
Consciousness

Feminism: belief in social, economic,
and political equality for women



Slide 26
Early 19th century feminists won many
victories, including 19th Amendment
2nd feminism wave emerged in U.S. in 1960s
As women became aware of sexist
attitudes and practices, began to
challenge male dominance
© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Intersection of Social Inequality

Many women suffer differential treatment
because of gender, race, and ethnicity

Collins termed convergence of social forces
that contribute to women’s subordinate status
a matrix of domination
Gender roles among African Americans
 Native Americans exception to patriarchal
tradition in North America
 Latinas usually considered as members of
Hispanic or feminist movements

Slide 27
© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Figure 12-3: Why Leave Work?
Note: Based on a representative
Harris Interactive survey of “highly
qualified” workers, defined as those
with a graduate degree, a
professional degree, or a high
honors undergraduate degree.
Source: Figure adapted from Sylvia
Ann Hewlett and Carolyn Burk Luce,
2005. “Off Ramps and On-Ramps:
Keeping Talented Women on the
Road to Success,” Harvard
Business Review, March 2005.
Copyright © 2005 by the Harvard
Business School Publishing
Corporation, all rights reserved.
Reprinted by permission of Harvard
Business Review.
Slide 28
© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Figure 12-4: Matrix of Domination
Source: Developed by author.
Slide 29
© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
The Battle over Abortion in
a Global Perspective

The Issue



Slide 30
U.S. Supreme Court granted women the right
to terminate pregnancies (1973)
Pro-choice groups believe women have right
to make decisions about their bodies
Pro-life believe life begins at the moment of
conception, so abortion is an act of murder
© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
The Battle over Abortion in
a Global Perspective

The Setting


Parental authority becoming important issue
Changing technology impacts the debate
RU-486 “day-after” pills approved
 Using ultrasound, doctors can terminate
pregnancy as early as 8 days after conception


In U.S., people appear to support legal
abortion with reservations

Slide 31
Only 19% feel abortion should be legal under
any circumstances
© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
The Battle over Abortion in
a Global Perspective

Sociological Insights


Feminists tend to support abortion on basis
men and women are essentially similar;
antiabortion activists tend to believe men and
women are different
Gender and social class defining issues
surrounding abortion
Poor effected by Hyde Amendment, which
banned the use of federal funds for abortions
 Poor have less access to legal abortions

Slide 32
© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
The Battle over Abortion in
a Global Perspective

Policy Initiatives




Slide 33
Supreme court continues to hear cases
Most European nations liberalized abortion
laws beginning in the 1970s
Through 1980s and 1990s, Congress often
blocked foreign aid to countries that might
use the funds to encourage abortion
Estimated 40% of abortions worldwide are
performed illegally
© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Figure 12-5: Restrictions on Public Funding
for Abortion
Note: As of January 17, 2007.
Source: NARAL Pro-Choice America 2007.
Slide 34
© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Figure 12-6: The Global Divide on Abortion
Note: Data current as of December 2004. Countries that prohibit abortion under any circumstances are Chile, El Salvador,
Malta, and the Holy See (Vatican City).
Sources: Developed by the author based on Gonnut 2001; United Nations Population Division 1998, 2004, 2006.
Slide 35
© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.