GENDER INEQUALITY
INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY
3/26/2013 8:59:43 PM
GENDER INEQUALITY – LECTURE OUTLINE
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Definitions
Female labor force participation
Gender inequality
Explaining gender inequality
Feminisms
GENDER INEQUALITY – LECTURE OUTLINE
•
•
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•
•
Definitions
Female labor force participation
Gender inequality
Explaining gender inequality
Feminisms
DEFINITIONS
• gender inequality
• any difference in status, power, and prestige between men
and women in groups, collectives, and societies
• patriarchy
• systematic domination of females by males
Who must know the way to make a
proper home,
A quiet home, a kosher home?
Who must raise the family and run
the home,
So Papa's free to read the holy
books?
The Mama, the Mama! Tradition!
GENDER INEQUALITY – LECTURE OUTLINE
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Definitions
Female labor force participation
Gender inequality
Explaining gender inequality
FEMALE LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION
• Over the past fifty years, women’s participation in
the paid labor force has risen continuously.
FEMALE LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION
• In 1978, only 14 percent of married women with preschool-age
children worked full time year round, but this figure has increased to
approximately two thirds.
ATTITUDES TOWARD MARRIED
WOMEN WORKING
PERCENTAGE OF RESPONDENTS
90
80
70
60
50
disapprove
approve
40
30
20
10
0
1936
1998
We now approve of married women working.
Single women are more likely to work than
married women.
In 2004, single women aged 16-24 with young children
were more likely to work than their married counterparts.
By 2004, the dampening effect of children on the labor force
participation of 25- to 44-year-old single women disappeared.
FEMALE LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION
• The increase in female labor force participation
over the last fifty years can be explained by the
following factors:
• There has been an increase in demand for clerical and
service work.
• Many women now postpone family formation to complete
their education and establish themselves in the labor force.
• A majority of women now work outside the home during
their child-bearing years.
GENDER INEQUALITY – LECTURE OUTLINE
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•
Definitions
Female labor force participation
Gender inequality
Explaining gender inequality
GENDER INEQUALITY
• education
• politics
• corporations
• female CEOs represent just about 3% of Fortune 500
company heads
• religions
• few women are leaders of religious groups
• home
• poverty
• gender wage gap
GENDER INEQUALITY
• education
• politics
• corporations
• female CEOs represent just about 3% of Fortune 500
company heads
• religions
• few women are leaders of religious groups
• home
• poverty
• gender wage gap
GENDER AND EDUCATIONAL
ATTAINMENT
Women earn more bachelor’s degrees than men.
SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING DOCTORATES
AWARDED TO WOMEN, 2005
Women now earn more doctorates
(all doctorates) than men.
EFFECTS OF EDUCATION AND SEX ON WEEKLY
EARNINGS OF FULL-TIME WORKERS, 2005
Educational Attainment
Men
Women
Total, 25 years and older
771
613
Less than 1 year of high school
413
321
Four years of high school
492
382
High school graduate
652
493
EFFECTS OF EDUCATION AND SEX ON WEEKLY
EARNINGS OF FULL-TIME WORKERS, 2005
Educational Attainment
Some college, no degree
Associate degree
Bachelor’s degree
Master’s degree
Professional degree
Doctorate degree
Men
753
791
1,071
1,333
1,558
1,536
Women
571
614
813
983
1,131
1,214
Women need about two more years of education
to make as much as men.
GENDER INEQUALITY
• education
• politics
• corporations
• female CEOs represent just about 3% of Fortune 500
company heads
• religions
• few women are leaders of religious groups
• home
• poverty
• gender wage gap
17% of seats in the US Congress are held by women.
GENDER INEQUALITY
• education
• politics
• corporations
• female CEOs represent just about 3% of Fortune 500
company heads
• religions
• few women are leaders of religious groups
• home
• poverty
• gender wage gap
INEQUALITY IN THE HOME
• “second shift” for
working women
• the burden of housework
that awaits a woman
when she returns home
from work
• In families where both
the mother and father
work full time, still, the
housework and
childcare is usually NOT
divided equally.
-- Women do most of the daily chores while
men do most of the occasional tasks.
-- Men do the jobs that give them the most
control over when to do them.
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INEQUALITY IN THE HOME
• Study guide question: Which of the following groups
does the most housework?
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unmarried childless women
married women with children (correct answer)
unmarried childless men
married men with children
unmarried men with children
GENDER INEQUALITY
• education
• politics
• corporations
• female CEOs represent just about 3% of Fortune 500
company heads
• religions
• few women are leaders of religious groups
• home
• poverty
• gender wage gap
In 2009, 29.9 percent of female
householder, no husband present
families in the US were poor.
GENDER INEQUALITY
• education
• politics
• corporations
• female CEOs represent just about 3% of Fortune 500
company heads
• religions
• few women are leaders of religious groups
• home
• poverty
• gender wage gap
Although in the past thirty years the pay gap between men and
women has narrowed, on average, men make substantially more than
women. In 2009, the ratio of women’s to men’s earnings among
full-time, year-round workers was 82.1 percent.
In 2008, in the US, 20-24 year old full-time
female workers come closest to what their male
counterparts made.
source: http://www.usnews.com/money/blogs/the-inside-job/2009/07/31/young-women-closing-in-on-gender-wage-gap.html
Black and Hispanic women pay a penalty for being
a woman and a penalty for being a minority.
In almost all areas, men make more than women (full-time workers).
In almost every occupation, men make more than women.
GENDER INEQUALITY – LECTURE OUTLINE
•
•
•
•
•
Definitions
Female labor force participation
Gender inequality
Explaining gender inequality
Feminisms
EXPLAINING GENDER INEQUALITY
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Human capital theory
Dual labor market theory
Occupational segregation theory
Social exchange theory
Discrimination
Ideology
EXPLAINING GENDER INEQUALITY
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•
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Human capital theory
Dual labor market theory
Occupational segregation theory
Social exchange theory
Discrimination
Ideology
HUMAN CAPITAL THEORY
• human capital theory
• an economic theory suggesting that people who invest
more in their schooling, on-the-job training, and work
experience get paid more
• According to the human capital theory, women earn less
than men on average because:
• women have not chosen to “invest” as much in their
schooling and job skills
• women choose occupations that are easier to
move in and out of
• Human capital theorists reason that women choose
occupations that are easy to move in and out of while
still providing a decent income because a woman’s
primary allegiance is to home and family
EXPLAINING GENDER INEQUALITY
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Human capital theory
Dual labor market theory
Occupational segregation theory
Social exchange theory
Discrimination
Ideology
DUAL LABOR MARKET THEORY
• Dual labor market theory argues that there are two
labor markets, the primary and secondary labor
market.
• Women are overrepresented in the secondary labor
market.
• Dual labor market theory implies that the solution to
gender inequality is to eliminate the secondary
labor market.
EXPLAINING GENDER INEQUALITY
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Human capital theory
Dual labor market theory
Occupational segregation theory
Social exchange theory
Discrimination
Ideology
OCCUPATIONAL SEGREGATION
THEORY
• Occupational segregation theory argues that men
and women do different work, and that the work
that women do have lower wages.
In 2009, women held 97 percent of
the secretarial jobs.
Sex segregation results in lower
pay for both men and women in
predominantly female jobs.
I
OCCUPATIONAL SEGREGATION
THEORY
• Study guide question: Why does gender inequality
exist?
• because men and women generally do different kinds of
work
• because women are responsible for child rearing
• because men hunt
• because men engage in military activities
• because the activities of men and women are valued
differently (correct answer)
EXPLAINING GENDER INEQUALITY
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Human capital theory
Dual labor market theory
Occupational segregation theory
Social exchange theory
Discrimination
Ideology
SOCIAL EXCHANGE THEORY
• Social exchange theory argues that we want to be
in relationships that are fair.
• Since husbands generally make more money than
their wives, in order to balance out the relationship,
women do more housework and childcare.
EXPLAINING GENDER INEQUALITY
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•
•
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Human capital theory
Dual labor market theory
Occupational segregation theory
Social exchange theory
Discrimination
Ideology
DISCRIMINATION
• glass ceiling
• a promotion barrier that prevents a woman’s upward
mobility within an organization
• glass escalator
• men in traditionally female occupations often experience a
glass escalator (Christine Williams, 1992)
• Example: John is an elementary school teacher who is
encouraged by management to apply for the vacant principal
position at his school. Even though there are equally qualified or
more qualified female teachers, he is told he will get excellent
recommendations.
“DAMNED IF YOU DO, DOOMED IF YOU
DON’T,”
• Surveyed 1,231 senior executives from the United
States and Europe.
• The High Competence Threshold – Women Leaders
Face Higher Standards and Lower Rewards Than
Men Leaders
• Extreme Perceptions – Too Soft, Too Tough, and
Never Just Right
• Competent but Disliked – Women Leaders Are
Perceived As Competent or Likable, but Rarely Both
DISCRIMINATION
• penalty for motherhood
• In the workplace, there is a significant penalty for being a
mother but not for being a father (see motherhood penalty
slides)
• mothers are less likely to be hired than non-mothers who have
the same work experience and qualifications
• mothers are offered significantly lower starting pay than equally
qualified non-mothers for the same job (Stanford University
sociologist Shelley Correll)
• gender typing
• when women are steered into poorly paid jobs with few
prospects for career advancement
(2007)
In the workplace, there is a
significant penalty for being a
mother but not for being a father
EXPLAINING GENDER INEQUALITY
•
•
•
•
•
•
Human capital theory
Dual labor market theory
Occupational segregation theory
Social exchange theory
Discrimination
Ideology
IDEOLOGY
• The ideological approach argues that women
internalize gender ideology and “freely” choose
their life.
• Women choose gender typical jobs
• Women choose motherhood
EXPLAINING GENDER INEQUALITY
•
•
•
•
•
•
Human capital theory
Dual labor market theory
Occupational segregation theory
Social exchange theory
Discrimination
Ideology
GENDER INEQUALITY – LECTURE OUTLINE
•
•
•
•
•
Definitions
Female labor force participation
Gender inequality
Explaining gender inequality
Feminisms
FEMINISMS
• Liberal feminism
• Radical feminism
• Black feminism
FEMINISMS
• liberal feminism explains gender inequalities in
terms of social and cultural attitudes, and argues for
solutions that involve working in the existing system
toward gradual reform
• Strategies supported by liberal feminists:
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laws that prohibit discrimination against women
laws that protect women from sexual harassment
affirmative action policies for women
family-friendly policies in the workplace
FEMINISMS
• radical feminism argues that men are responsible
for and benefit from the exploitation of women
• perspective most likely to advocate for the overthrowing of
the patriarchal order
• advocates abolition of the family and the power relations that
characterize it
• black feminism focuses on the interaction of race,
class, and gender in the disadvantages faced by
women
BLACK FEMINISM
• JULIE BETTIE. Women Without Class: Chicas, Cholas,
Trash, and the Presence/Absence of Class Identity
• “Women Without Class” is an examination of the way
sociological, and especially feminist, theory needs to
consider the way social class affects people differently,
depending on both their gender and their ethnicity.
• Bettie found that social class exerts a force felt by her
research subjects, but they had difficulty explaining or even
recognizing social class in discussions with her.
GENDER INEQUALITY – LECTURE OUTLINE
•
•
•
•
•
Definitions
Female labor force participation
Gender inequality
Explaining gender inequality
Feminisms