GENDER RELATIONS
By Tasveen & Heather
Introduction
Chapter focuses on how relationships of inequality are
constructed, expressed, maintained and challenged.
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Individuals express an interest in the cultural meaning of
womanhood and manhood as they vary over time and place.
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Biology may determine our sex as male or female, but
culture shapes what is perceived as male or female.
Problems that occurred:
A)
Women and children regarded as male property
B)
Rape within marriage was dismissed as a contradiction in
terms
C)
Women criticized for undermining family values when
gainfully employed
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FRAMING THE PROBLEM
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Many books and articles were being published in the mid
1900s to raise consciousness about gender relations.
It was known as a “problem with no name.”
Books such as “The Second Sex” reinforced the perception of
women as second class citizens whose worth and work
suffered because of a male dominated world.
1951 article published by Helen Mayer Hacker framed women
as a “minority.”
Article informs about discriminatory practices at educational,
economic, political & social levels
“The Feminine Mystique” published in 1963 really started to
get people thinking.
TRANSFORMATION IN GENDER
RELATIONS
BEFORE
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Achievements and contributions were undervalued
Regulating to lesser-paying jobs
Ghettoizing them into less prestigious corporate domains
Excluding women from positions of power
AFTER
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Women are occupying the corridors of power at both economic and political levels
Growing number of women in paid work
Going into occupations traditionally perceived as male
Income gap between men and women is closing in as well, but slowly
Single, university-educated women are doing as well as their male counterparts
Girls performance in school is drawing attention to a pending crisis in male
performance, if these trends continue
Women are now deciding if and when to have children with more concentration on
their careers
PROGRESS YES, EQUALITY NO
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Women are still taken less seriously, judged on the basis of
what they look like, rather than what they do
Assumed to excel as caregivers rather than money-makers
Stereotypes still persist
Women : passive, emotionally “soft” & obsessed with
appearances
Men: assertive, ambitious, competitive & goal-oriented
GENDER CRISIS
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Women may be living longer than men
Men now are experiencing as much perplexity as women in redefining who
they are, what they can do, & what they can get away with
Men are no longer central as hunters & providers in the lives of women and
children, the legitimacy of manhood has suffered
Discriminatory public policy initiatives have disconnected men from
significant involvement in family life.
The situation also looks pretty grim on the genetic side
Bryan Sykes a professor of human genetics at Oxford Uni. states that not
only are men genetically modified women, but the male chromosome is
decaying at a rapid rate because of molecular damage, that men run the risk
of extinction.
GENDER CRISIS
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Many of the attributes once negatively associated with feminism are now
perceived as strengths
Female style is no longer dismissed, but is increasingly valued as a
preferred style in the teamwork oriented workplace environment
The caring, cooperative & more empathetic world of women would replace
male-dominated hierarchies based on power, violence & aggression
However Canadian society continues to be organized around male interests
& priorities & women must work within a framework that reflects,
reinforces & advances male interests.
The forces of change & diversity have been relentless & disruptive
Confusion is so pervasive because of perceived unfairness & perceptions of
double standards
GENDER CRISIS
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For example, why is it that the violence of women in domestic relations is
treated less harshly by the legal system than male violence?
ANSWER: because men and women are not equal in a violent relationship
since the physical and economic consequences are potentially more serious
for women than for men
How do we justify women-only clubs? – from health spas to golf
clubhouses – yet the Augusta National Golf Club is severely criticized for
not allowing female members?
ANSWER: in a patriarchal society, women-only & men-only are not the
same thing. Feminists argue that men are trying to monopolize power while
women are trying to gain power while creating safe space in a society that
disdains female culture
DIVIDING WORLD INTO
MALE/FEMALE
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Every society imposes different meanings upon women & men
Feminism has helped in expanding options & choices for
women in contemporary society
But social practices are not always kept pace with cultural
beliefs
Canadians are increasingly unsure of how to embrace change
in gender roles, rules, status & relationships
Traditional rules about gender relationships no longer seem
applicable
According to the Worlds Values Survey 1995-2001,
commitment to gender equality is highly valued in many parts
of the world
DIVIDING WORLD INTO
MALE/FEMALE
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But persistence & pervasiveness of gender inequality persists
even in societies that aspire to equity between women & men
Men and women are differently situated economically and
politically because of unequal access to cultural and material
resources that defines who gets what
Women represent about half the world’s population, & perform
nearly 67% of the work, but earn about 10% of the income, &
own less than 1% of the property
GENDER RELATIONS IN
CANADA
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In a UN Development Programme survey of selected countries
ranked according to the Gender Empowerment Measure in
2001, Canada came in 5th
Canada’s score of 0.783 meant that Canadian women are about
4/5 of the way to equality with men
This was based on women’s share of parliamentary seats,
proportion of administrative, professional & managerial jobs,
& the amount of women’s earning power
EMPLOYMENT STATUS
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46.7% of Canada’s labourforce is comprised of women according to 2001
census data
This is an increase compared to 45% of the workforce in 1991
Nearly 58% of adult women were in paid-employment compared to only
24% in 1950
# of women in info-technology jobs has doubled to 110 000 from 61 000
There is a gendered division of labour because women continue to
concentrate in 4 occupations – elementary teaching, nursing/health related
jobs, secretaries & office clerks, or retail/services
While women are making major advances in their careers, they spend more
time then their male partners in looking after children & housework
In 2001 census data it showed that 15% of women did 30 or more hours of
unpaid family related work compared to 6% of men
INCOME EARNINGS
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Overall women earn about 61% of what men earn
Women in full time full-year employment earn around 0.70 for
every dollar a man earns
Single woman earn 95.5% of what single men earn and
married women earn 67.5% of what married men earn
Young female graduates earned more than young male
graduates but in only one occupation – social work
EDUCATION
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Girls are outperforming boys across the board in math, writing
& reading in Ontario primary schools
Young women make up 58% of university graduates, up from
52% a decade ago
Faculties such as computer science & engineering still remain
overwhelmingly male, while women tend to graduate more
from the disciplines of arts & social sciences
Theories continue to circulate that girls brains are hard-wired
very differently then boys, with the result that only a small
percentage of women become engineers
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. How powerful is the media in the way that
they portray men and women? Does the
media speak with one voice about
masculinity and femininity?
2. Is there more tension between genders today
than 30 years ago?