Inequalities of Gender
Chapter 10
Gender Inequality
 Gender Stratification – refers to men’s and women’s unequal
access to power, property, and prestige
 Gender = master status
 Label that guides our behavior and serves as a basis of power and
privilege.
Gender
 Sex – biological distinctions between male and female.
 Includes primary and secondary sex organs
 Gender – the expectations and behaviors which varies
from one society to another and refers to what is
considered proper for males and females; acquired
through socialization.
 Gender identity – an awareness of being masculine or
feminine, based on culture.
Gender
 Gender roles – culturally-based expectations
associated with each sex.
 Represent an ideal since people do not always behave as
expected.
 Sex stereotypes encourage men to be masculine
and women to be feminine.
Biological Evidence
 Biological determinism – attribution of behavioral
differences to inherited physical characteristics.
 Obvious differences between sexes include muscle
and bone structure and fatty tissue composition.
 Dominant Position in Sociology
 Social Factors Primary, Not Biological
 If Biological, Should Be Less Variation
Functionalist Perspective on Gender
 Division of responsibilities between males and
females survived because it was beneficial for
human living.
 Early humans found sex-based division of labor
efficient and endured because it promoted the
survival of the species.
 The traditional division of labor has dysfunctions,
especially for modern society.
Conflict Perspective on Gender
 Men and women have differential access to the
necessary resources outside-the-home success.
 By keeping the traditional division of labor intact,
men can maintain the status quo and preserve the
privileges they enjoy; protect their dominance of
women and society.
 Marxist and socialist feminists – position of women
in capitalist society:
 patriarchal (male-dominated) institutions and
 the historical development of industrial capitalism.
Symbolic Interactionism Perspective on
Gender
 Gender definitions are imparted through
socialization.
 They are learned and reinforced through interaction
with parents, teachers, peers, and the media.
 Gender socialization occurs through elements of the
mass media such as books, television, and
advertising.
Focus on Theoretical Perspectives:
Gender Inequality
Parents Contribution to Gender
Socialization
 Parents begin socializing children at birth.
 Transfer values and attitudes regarding the ways
boys and girls should behave.
 As parents respond to their children’s behavior, they
usually intentionally as well as unconsciously
continue to transfer their gender-related values.
 Children are evaluated according to their level of
conformity to gender definition.
Schools Contribution to Gender
Socialization
 Teachers encourage different behaviors from girls
and boys.
 Girls are systematically taught passivity, a dislike of math
and science, and a deference to the alleged superior
abilities of boys.
 Teachers are more likely to call on boys and accept
answers given by boys who call out answers.
Peer Contribution to Gender
Socialization
 Children who imitate the opposite sex meet
considerable opposition.
 Adolescence is the time when an individual is
establishing an identity, and identity is closely linked
with definitions of masculinity and femininity.
Media Contribution to Gender
Socialization
 In general, the media present the most
stereotypical version of gender definitions, thus
reflecting and reinforcing the limits on the options
available to both sexes.
 Nowhere in the mass media are gender role
stereotypes more prevalent than in advertising.
Women as a Minority Group
 Gender is the primary division between people.
 Women suffer the effects of sexism: a set of beliefs,
norms, and values used to justify sexual inequality.
 Sexist ideology – the belief that men are naturally
superior to women.
 Is sexism disappearing?
 Yes and No
Gender Inequality in the US
 Until the 20th century, US women did not have the
right to vote, hold property, make legal contracts, or
serve on a jury
 While women enjoy more rights today, gender inequality
still continues to play a central role in social life.
 Gaps continue to be reflected in the continuing
occupational, economic, legal, and political
inequality experienced by American women.
Gender Inequality in the US
 Evidence of educational gains made by women.
 More females than males enrolled in college.
 Females earn 56% of all bachelor degrees
 Women complete bachelor degrees faster than men
 Proportion of professional degrees earned by women has
increased sharply.
College Students by Sex and Race-Ethnicity
Gender Changes in Professional Degrees
Gender Inequality
 Despite gains some old practices persist
 Women’s sports are still underfunded
 Gender tracking – channeled into different fields
 81% of engineering degrees – males
 88% of library science degrees – women
 Higher education
 Women professors less likely to be in the higher ranks of academia
 Paid less than their male counterparts
 Less likely to be taken seriously
Gender Inequality in the Workplace
 The Pay Gap
 Women earn about 80 cents to the dollar of what men are
paid.
 All industrialized nations have a pay gap.
 Research found that half of the gender gap is due to women
choosing lower-paying careers.
 The other half is due to gender discrimination and the
“child-penalty” –women missing out on work experience
while they care of their children.
U.S. Labor Force Participation Rates
by Sex: 1890–2008
What Women Earn Compared to Men
Female-to-Male Earnings: 2004
Gender Inequality
 Women of all races and ethnic groups earn less
than men
 African American and Latino women have a
significantly lower wage gap with their male
counterparts than white and Asian women
experience
Women’s Wages Compared with Men’s Wages,
by Race and Ethnicity
Changing Face of Politics
 Women majority in population yet women are
underrepresented in government
 About ¼ of state legislators are women.
 Women occupy about 17% of the seats in the U.S. House
of Representatives, yet comprise about ½ of the
population.
 Women Underrepresented in Law and Business
Careers
 Patterns are changing – more women going into law and
business.
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Political Gender Equity
 The right to vote is now granted to practically
all people in the world.
 Female representation in national parliaments
slowly increased, from 11 percent in 1995 to
19 percent in 2010.
 On average across the globe, women hold
only 17 percent of cabinet positions, up from 8
percent a decade ago.
Changing Gender Roles in the US
Although men may not be aware that their suppression of
women is to their own advantage they can see little reason to
change the way things have always been.
1.
2. Even if men were willing to relinquish their dominant position,
it would be costly to them to do so.
3. Some women resist giving up some advantages they see for
themselves in the traditional gender role arrangement.
4. An ideology still exists that supports members of both sexes
who wish to maintain their traditional gender roles.
The Feminist Movement
 The women’s movement is a social
movement aimed at the achievement of
sexual equality—socially, legally, politically,
and economically
Gender Roles in the Future
 Women are living longer, bearing fewer children,
becoming better educated, and entering the labor
force in greater numbers than at any other time in
history.
 If these trends continue, certain gender role
changes should occur.
 Barriers Coming Down
 Activities Degendered
 New Consciousness
Questions for Consideration
 What are factors that promote change in
gender roles, gender inequality, etc.?
 What is your reaction to the identified
definition of feminism as “a social movement
aimed at the achievement of sexual equality”?
Based on this definition, would you classify
yourself as a feminist or non-feminist?
Gender Inequality
 More progress toward gender equality has
occurred in developed countries than in
developing countries, and gender parity
remains a future goal around the world,
despite some progress over the last two
decades.