Chapter 4 - Gender Inequality

Question 1

Sex

Answer 1

biological differences between males and females

Question 2

Gender

Answer 2

the socially constructed sets of attitudes that dictate what behaviours, thoughts, and emotions are appropriate for each sex

Question 3

Sexuality

Answer 3

attitudes, beliefs, and practices related to sexual attraction and intimate relationships with others

Question 4

Gender Identity

Answer 4

a person’s innate, deeply felt psychological identification as a man, woman or some other gender, which may or may not correspond to the sex assigned to them at birth

Question 5

Gender Division of Labour

Answer 5

the process whereby tasks are separated on the basis of gender

Question 6

Gender Ideology

Answer 6

ideas of masculinity and femininity that are held to be valid in a particular society and time

Question 7

Sexism

Answer 7

the subordination of the female sex based on the assumed superiority of the male sex

Question 8

Heterosexism

Answer 8

the belief that heterosexuality is the only normal, natural, and moral kind of sexuality, and is thus superior to others

Question 9

Patriarchy

Answer 9

a hierarchical system of social organization in which cultural, political, and economic structures are controlled by men

Question 10

Violence Against Women

Answer 10

1993 National Violence Against Women Survey (VAWS; StatsCan)  86% of assaults, sexual assaults and sexual harassment are unreported (p. 64)
General Social Survey Criminal Victimization (StatsCan 2004)  ½ million people were victims of sexual assault but 88% did not report it (p. 78)

Question 11

Gender Inequality and Socialization

Answer 11

Agents of socialization = parents, peers, schools, media
Media:
Under-represents women; over-represents males
Reinforces gender stereotypes
Reinforces traditional male-female relations
Promotes rape culture = the pervasive system of cultural values, attitudes, and practices that support and perpetuate sexualized violence against women

Question 12

Gender Inequality and Social Structures

Answer 12

Gendered Division of Paid Work = women have high labour force participation, but are concentrated in different occupations
Job segregation = over-representation of women in service sector jobs, eg. education, healthcare, administrative support
The Wage Gap = the disparity between women’s and men’s earnings
Sexual Harassment = intentional or institutionalized unwelcome sexual attention at work, it is an abuse of power
Glass Ceiling = invisible barrier constructed by male management to prevent women from reaching top positions
Glass Escalator = invisible means of quick mobility for men to gain access to leadership positions in female-dominated occupations
Double Shift = The “second shift” that women work doing unpaid domestic work in addition to their responsibilities as wage earners

Question 13

Occupations and Job Segregation

Answer 13

A majority of women continue to work in traditional female occupations, eg. teaching, nursing and related health fields, clerical or other administrative positions, sales and services.

Women have expanded their representation in several professional fields, eg. business and finance, medicine and other health professionals, social sciences, religion. Among professionals in natural sciences, engineering and mathematics, women are still very much in the minority.

Women are increasingly taking up managerial positions, but it depends on the level.

Question 14

Women in Leadership

Answer 14

In 2013, women held 15.9% of board seats at Financial Post 500 companies, an increase ofalmostone and a half percentage points since 2011.
In both 2011 and 2013, approximately 40% of companies had no female board directors.
Although one-fifth of companies have 25% or more women serving on their boards, more than one-third have no women on their boards.
Women’s representation at public companies increased nearly two percentage points from 2011 to 2013, but public companies continue to have the lowest representation of women on their boards.

Question 15

Gender Pay Gap

Answer 15

When the gender pay gap is measured by comparing annual earnings of f/t, full-year workers, age 25-54 = 74¢
When the gender pay gap is measured by comparing the hourly wages of f/t workers = 88¢ (Moyser, 2017).
Even for women with a degree higher than a BA, the gender pay gap = 90¢ (next slide).
Hourly wage differences (in 2015)
women in nursing = $35.37; men in natural, applied sciences = $39.85;
women in administration = $25.11; men in construction work = $29.76;
women vs men in “white collar” occupations = $35.32 vs $39.88;
women vs men in clerical, admin, health services, education, legal/social/community services = $23.66 vs $28.26;
women vs men in retail and service jobs = $17.91 vs $22.74 (Moyser, 2017)

Question 16

Women in Paid Work

Answer 16

men’s labour force participation has dipped due to the erosion of “good” jobs, esp for those with low education.
Women’s educational attainment is twice as high as for men. Female univ degree holders = 35.1%; male univ degree holders = 28.6% (in 2015)
~ 56% of women are employed in the 5 Cs: caring, clerical, catering, cashiering, cleaning. This figure has not changed much since 1987 (59.2%).
24.4% of people employed in STEM fields are women. There are large differences between fields: 67% in math, statistics, and actuarial science; 17.2% in engineering

Question 17

Functionalist Perspective on Gender Inequality

Answer 17

Functionalism (early thought)
Men perform instrumental (goal-oriented) tasks
Women perform expressive (emotionally oriented) tasks
Differences are natural, so gender inequality is inevitable.
Functionalism (today)
Inequality is due to differences in human capital of men and women if women leave the labour force due to child care

Criticism = What about sexism  wage gap, harassment, job segregation?

Question 18

Conflict Perspective on Gender Inequality

Answer 18

capitalism separation of public, private spheres  designation of men’s and women’s work  inequalities
public = complex, bureaucratic institutions of modern life, eg. economy, the state, formal education  more power
private = less formal networks of social relationships, eg. household, family, community  less power
women’s access is restricted to the private sphere
 inferior status of this work b/c it is not perceived to be directly linked to economic production

Criticism = Is gender inequality a direct outcome of social class inequality?

Question 19

Interactionist Perspective on Gender Inequality

Answer 19

Socialization into gender roles, gender identity
Reflected in language, eg. Canadian Centre for Unmanned Vehicle Systems
Genderlects: differences in men’s and women’s styles of communication and use of language

Criticism = What about social structures?

Question 20

Feminist Perspective on Gender Inequality

Answer 20

Liberal: inequality is rooted in gender-role socialization leading to unequal opportunities for women
Socialist: capitalism and patriarchy account for men’s continued control over women
Radical: men’s oppression of women is deliberately upheld by social institutions
Intersectionality: the gender inequalities experienced by Black, Indigenous, and other groups of women are compounded by racism, social class, religion, etc.

Question 21

General Criticisms of Mainstream Feminism

Answer 21

Mainstream feminism reflects the experiences of white middle-class women and neglects other groups of women
 marginalizes their oppression by assuming that racism could be eradicated once sexism was eradicated
Social structures of gender inequality (eg. harassment, job segregation, leadership opportunities) intersect with racism against different groups of women
 “a matrix of domination” (Collins, 1990)

Question 22

Sexism

Answer 22

Is the subordination based on sex, based on the assumed superiority of the other sex, male

Question 23

Patriarchy

Answer 23

Refers to a hierarchical system of social organization in which natural political, economic structures are controlled by men

Question 24

Wood suggested four themes that reflect and promote gender stereotypical (Media)

Answer 24

1) women’s dependence,men’s independence
2) women’s incompetence/men’s authority
3) women as primary caregivers/men as primary breadwinners
4) women as victims/sex objects/men as predictors

Question 25

Stereotyped gender Roles and Condone harassment of and discrimination against women

Answer 25

Linda Lindsey (2005 - the misogyny in most rock videos is blatant
1992 study - female characters were dressed in revealing clothing, made sexual advances toward men, and usually were presented as sex objects.

Question 26

Rape Culture

Answer 26

The pervasive system of cultural values, attitudes, and practices that support and perpetuate sexualized violence against women
Includes rigid gender scripts for males and females and equally rigid notions of gender appropriate behaviours

Question 27

Harmony Sullivan and Maureen McHugh(Dreamworlds 2007) music videos and Pornography

Answer 27

How the dominant culture narrative expressed in music videos and other media confers to men a sense of entitlement to comment on and even touch women’s bodies in public

Question 28

Female stereotypes

Answer 28

Females are usually depicted as bimbos, shopaholics, and sexually available

Question 29

Hilary Lips (1993) on Gender stereotypes

Answer 29

We are constantly surrounded with images of the masculine male as powerful, but the feminine female cannot be powerful, only effective source of feminine influence is sex appeal and beauty

Question 30

Judith Lorne’s (1986)

Answer 30

What is socially constructed can be reconstructed and social relations can be rearranged. In this way, social change is always possible.

Question 31

Contemporary Gender: According to Feminist Scholars

Answer 31

Gender inequality is maintained and reinforced through individual and institutionalize sexism.
Individual sexism: refers to individuals beliefs and actions that rooted in anti-female prejudice and stereotypical beliefs.

Question 32

Institutionalize Sexism

Answer 32

Refers to the power that men have to engage in sex discrimination at the organizational and institutional levels of society
Patterns of male dominance and female subordination is known as patriarchy- defined earlier as a hierarchical system of social organization in which cultural, political, and economic structures are controlled by men.

Question 33

Gendered Division of Paid Work

Answer 33

1946 - fewer than 20% of women were in the workforce over the age of 25
60.8% of women have a participation rate
Until the 1950s employed women were usually single, young and childless
80% of all married women were in the labour force (25-44 largest increse

Question 34

Reasons for Increases in participation

Answer 34

Economic growth after the war in jobs deemed “supportive” - clerical jobs, nursing, and teaching
1960s drove the dual family earners
As women’s participation increases men’s have been decreasing.

Question 35

Male labour force participation rates

Answer 35

Young men staying in school longer, layoffs in the industrial sector, downsizing of business and government, and long term trend towards early retirement either voluntarily or involuntarily.
Women continue to concentrate in jobs where they receive lower wages, less prestige, fewer benefits, on average than men.

Question 36

Multiple Jeopardy or Intersectionality - inequality is further compounded by radicalization, older age, and disability

Answer 36

It is nearly impossible to determine which barrier was most salient when multiple factors are involved.

Question 37

Wage Gap

Answer 37

The disparity between men an women’s earnings

Question 38

Sexual Harrassment

Answer 38

Is a form of intentional institutionalize gender discrimination that includes all unwelcome sexual attention affecting an employee’s job conditions or creating a hostile work environment. Includes but is not limited to verbal abuse, or threat, touching, starring or leering, making jokes, demanding sexual interactions, making repeated propositions, offering comments or questions about a person’s sex life, displaying offensive material, and sexual assault.

Question 39

the Glass Ceiling and the Glass Escalator

Answer 39

Top tier management jobs as a litmus test for how well women are faring in the about force as a whole.
Women hold only a handful of top jobs.
The invisible institutional barrier constructed by male management that prevents women form reaching top positions in major corporations and other large scale organizations.

Question 40

Glass Ceiling

Answer 40

The invisible institutional barrier constructed by male management that prevents women from reaching top position in major organizations

Question 41

Double Shift

Answer 41

The household division of labour by sex has changed very little in many families.
Many women must deal with dual responsibilities as wage earners and unpaid household workers work the “second shift”
Unpaid work made up 41% of the GDP much of which is done by women

Question 42

Unpaid household work

Answer 42

Men’s participation went from 40% in 1986 to 56% in 2006 and women’s actually decrease from 88% to 85%.

Question 43

Interactionist Perspectives:Gender Inequality

Answer 43

View society as the sum of peoples interactions
Children are assigned a gender at birth typically corresponding to sex, culturally appropriate gender socialization.
Linguistic sexism: words and patterns of communication that ignore, devalue, or sexually objectify women.

Question 44

Interactionist Perspective: Linguistic Sexism

Answer 44

Some analysts believe it perpetuates traditional gender role stereotypes and reinforces male dominance
Gender and hierarchy is built into the English language
Men and women speak different gender let’s- women are socialized to speak and hear a language of intimacy and connection, men are socialized to hear and speak a language of status and independence

Question 45

Interactionist Perspective: Critisims

Answer 45

Ignores the structural factors that perpetuate gender inequality, it is important to note that language and communication patterns ar embedded in the structure of society and pass from generation to generation through the socialization process.

Question 46

Functionalist Perspective: Gender inequality (early Talcot Parsons)

Answer 46

Women were to do expressive work and men were to do instrumental work
Gender inequality is inevitable because of the gender division of labour

Question 47

Functionalist Perspective: Gender Inequality

Answer 47

Focus on the human capital that men and women bring in the workforce
Human capital explanations what individuals earn is a product of choices that they have made - training and experiences that they have accumulated
Women leave the workforce to engage in child rearing activities

Question 48

Conflict Perspectives: Gender Inequality

Answer 48

Are based pm the assumption that social life is continuous struggle in which members of society (powerful male groups) seek to maintain resources such as social, economic, and political superiority,
Not all men, they control elite positions in corporations

Question 49

Functionalist Perspective: Gender Inequality Criticisms

Answer 49

Human capital model: based on the false assumption that people regardless of their race, age, disability, sex are paid fairly

Question 50

Conflict Perspective: Gender Inequality

Answer 50

Inequalities result from capitalism and private ownership of the means of production.
With the development of private property and inheritance - women were transformed from equal productive members of society to subordinate
Necessary for them to exchange their sexual and reproductive services for economic support

Question 51

Conflict Perspective:Critisms

Answer 51

That gender inequality is an inherent and inevitable feature of capitalist relations and for the simplistic and androcentric view that the liberation of women is dependent solely on the liberation of the working class.

Question 52

Feminist Perspective: Gender Inequality

Answer 52

Socialist Feminists: state that under capitalism, men gain control over property and women capitalism exploits women in the workplace and patriarchy exploits women in the home
Capitalism benefit from they can pay women lower wages and derive higher profits
Individual men benefit from women’s unpaid work

Question 53

Feminist Perspective: radical Feminists

Answer 53

Focus exclusively on patriarchy as the primary source of gender inequality
From this perspective men’s oppression of women is deliberate
Ideological justification provided by other institutions such as the media and religion
“Domestic Servitude”

Question 54

Radical Feminist

Answer 54

Focus exclusively on patriarchy as the primary source of gender inequality
Men’s oppression of women is deliberate, provided for by other institutions such as media nd religion
Challenge patriarchy and male hegemony

Question 55

Radical Feminism: Critisms

Answer 55

Excluding of other structures of domination

Question 56

Liberal Feminism

Answer 56

Rooted in gender role socialization which perpetuates a lack of equal right and educational opportunities
Individual freedoms of liberty

Question 57

How gender inequality can be reduced? Functionalist Perspective

Answer 57

Gender roles should be redefined for the well being of individuals in society
Women should become more aware of how their human capital is diminished by decisions that they make

Question 58

How to reduce Gender Inequality? Marxist

Answer 58

Will occur simultaneously when capitalism is abolished

Question 59

Reduce Gender Inequality: Liberal Feminists

Answer 59

Dramatically changing gender inequality through gender socialization
Radical Feminism: gender inequality can be reduced only when patriarchy is abolished - legal system must continue to improve relief for sex discrimination, harrassment in school and workplaces, gender social institutions - eg. Women’s health care centres