Chapter 10- Gender Stratification

Question 1

What is Gender Stratification?

Answer 1

the unequal distribution of wealth, power, or privilege between men and women

Question 2

Can you define Gender?

Answer 2

refers to the meaning culture attaches to being female or male

Question 3

What are the 3 important studies that highlight just how different “masculine” and “feminine” can be?

Answer 3

1. the Israeli kibbutz
2. Margaret Mead’s Research
3. George Murdock’s Research

Question 4

What is the Israeli Kibbutz?

Answer 4

a collective settlement where men and women have social equality (in work & decision making)

Question 5

What entails Margaret Mead’s Research?

Answer 5

concluded that culture is the key to gender distinctions, because what one society defines as masculine another may see as feminine

Question 6

What entails George Murdock’s Research?

Answer 6

found some global agreement on which tasks are feminine and which are masculine (matriarchy/patriarchy)

Question 7

What is a Matriarchy?

Answer 7

a form of social organization in which females dominate males

Question 8

What is a Patriarchy?

Answer 8

a form of social organization in which males dominate females

Question 9

Can you define Sexism?

Answer 9

the belief that one sex is innately superior to the other

Question 10

What is the importance of Socialization to Gender?

Answer 10

through the socialization process, gender becomes part of our personalities (gender identity) and our actions (gender roles)

Question 11

What are the Major Agents of Socialization that reinforce the cultural definition of what is masculine and feminine?

Answer 11

family, peer groups, schools, mass media

Question 12

How does Gender Stratification shape the Workplace?

Answer 12

1. women make up about less than half the workforce in Canada
2. about more than half of women are employed in the 5 C’s occupations (caring, clerical, cleaning, catering, cashiering) (aka: “pink-collared jobs”)
3. men dominate in most other job categories (skilled trades, CEO’s, etc)
4. women earn 79% as much as men

Question 13

How does Gender Stratification shape Family Life?

Answer 13

1. most unpaid housework done by women (no matter if they had jobs outside the home)
2. pregnancy and raising small children kept many women out of workforce at a time when their male peers are making important career gains

Question 14

How does Gender Stratification shape Education?

Answer 14

1. women now earn 59% of all bachelors degrees
2. women make up 78% of graduates who earn health related degrees and are an increasing share of graduates in professions traditionally dominated by men

Question 15

How does Gender Stratification shape Politics?

Answer 15

1. number of women in politics has increased significantly, most elected officials (at national levels) are men
2. women make up only 15% of Canadian military personnel

Question 16

How is Violence against Women and Men linked to how a Society Defines Gender?

Answer 16

1. sexual harassment- mostly victimizes women bc our culture encourages men to be assertive and see women in sexual terms
2. pornography- portrays women as sexual objects, can dehumanize women, power issue

Question 17

What is a Minority?

Answer 17

any category of people distinguished by physical or cultural differences that a society sets apart and subordinates

Question 18

What is Sexual Harassment?

Answer 18

comments, gestures, or physical contacts of a sexual nature that are deliberate, repeated, and unwelcomed

Question 19

What does Structural-functional theory suggest about Gender Stratification in Pre-industrial societies?

Answer 19

distinctive roles to males and females reflects biological differences between the sexes

Question 20

What does Structural-functional theory suggest about Gender Stratification in Industrial societies?

Answer 20

marked gender inequality becomes dysfunctional and gradually decreases

Question 21

What does the Symbolic-interaction theory suggest about Gender Stratification?

Answer 21

gender plays a part in shaping how we socially construct reality through everyday interactions

Question 22

What does Social-conflict Theory suggest about Gender Stratification?

Answer 22

gender inequality benefits men and disadvantages women & gender is a dimension of social inequality

Question 23

What does Intersection Theory suggest about Gender Stratification?

Answer 23

visible minority women encounter greater social disadvantages than non-visible minority women (and earn much less than non-visible minority men)

Question 24

What is intersection Theory?

Answer 24

analysis of the interplay of race, class, and gender, which often results in multiple dimensions of disadvantage

Question 25

What is Liberal Feminism?

Answer 25

seeks equal opportunity for both sexes within the existing society

Question 26

What is Radical Feminism?

Answer 26

seeks to eliminate the concept of gender itself and to create a egalitarain and gender free society

Question 27

What is Socialist Feminism?

Answer 27

claims that gender equality will come about by replacing capitalism with socialism