Gender Flashcards
Statistic showing we need to get more women into STEM
+ what is the gender equality paradox?
- what may be the reason for this?
(which subject areas do women dominate?)
Undergraduate computer science enrollment was only 17.2% female
+ The fact that in countries where gender equality is high e.g Finland female STEM graduate numbers are low. This is the opposite in countries such as UAE.
- there is a history of gender inequality & girls were then only allowed into ‘appropriate roles’ e.g nursing & teaching
(dentistry, veterinary science & medicine)
What are some reasons for why boys and girls may make gendered subject choices?
- labelling & teacher treatment
- religion & parental attitudes
- Socialisation e.g toys, clothes
- Peer groups & stigma
- stereotyping
- boys being favoured in families (primogeniture)
- TV, books & role models
What are some general statistics about educational achievement & gender historically?
- more male than female students in higher education until late 90s as more men went to university than women
- women have achieved better in GCSEs yet up until 90s many weren’t staying on to do A-Levels so men were achieving higher
What is patriarchal ideology?
- examples?
+ what are two examples of ways in which this limited women’s’ opportunities educationally?
set of myths created by men to maintain power over women (men wished to retain dominance in home & workplace and saw educated women as a threat)
- women’s place is in the home
- education is less important for women
- feminine nature is less suited to competitive education & workplace
- women portrayed as intellectually inferior
+ 1) pre 1877, no British unis would grant a degree to a woman (1947 for Cambridge)
+ 2) scores weighted in tripartite system to ensure equal number of boys and girls as girls were outperforming boys
What is gender socialisation?
+ what are the two types of socialisation & their impact?
patriarchal views are passed onto young people through socialisation
+ 1) Primary (family): instill different attitudes & expectations of genders
+ 2) Secondary (media & education): reinforces these attitudes until they become part of the child’s identity
What are agents of gender socialisation?
+ what are the 4 primary agents & how do they socialise?
any person that plays a role in gender socialisation process
+ 1) education:
- hidden messages in hidden curriculum
- treat boys & girls differently despite same opportunities
+ 2) media:
- reinforces gender stereotypes e.g damsel in distress
+ 3) peers:
- play with same gender peers & learn what their peers expect of them as boys or girls
+ 4) parents:
- canalization: parents channeling their child’s interests into gender appropriate activities or toys
- manipulation: ways in which parents discourage behaviour based on gender appropriateness
What is the external factor which links to Sharpe’s study that has influenced educational achievement and gender historically?
+ what is the impact on gender & educational achievement?
1) Lack of role models (1970s)
- priorities tended to be family-life & marriage rather than jobs & careers
- traditional ideas about womanhood
- perception of future in ‘unimportant’ and unrewarding jobs
- 1990s shift in aspiration to careers & independence
+ lack of motivation to aspire & achieve
+ feelings of alienation about having a career
+ potentially won’t try as hard (capping achievement)
+ less likely to go onto higher education
+ unaware of possibilities for them
What is the external factor which links to Lees’ study that has influenced educational achievement and gender historically?
+ what is the impact on gender & educational achievement?
2) Changing perceptions of womanhood (80s)
- higher level of emphasis on careers
- girls still reconciled to a domestic & marriage centred life w restricted job opportunities
- those w hopes of entering professions tended to see future identities in terms of their relations to men
+ women still socialised to be a housewife & dependent
+ careers more of a priority for men
+ likely to choose domestic subjects e.g food
What is the external factor which links to Kelly’s study that has influenced educational achievement and gender historically?
+ what is the impact on gender & educational achievement?
3) Gender socialisation- toys (80s)
- boys given active construction toys & chemistry sets
- girls are given passive caring toys e.g dolls & cooking sets
+ reinforced gender roles influencing career possibilities for girls
+ affects girls’ aspirations & therefore subject choices
What is the internal factor which links to Stanworth’s study that has influenced educational achievement and gender historically?
+ what is the impact on gender & educational achievement?
1) Teacher labelling (80s)
- teachers both male & female expressed more concern and interest in boys & they were expected to do well in exams
- girls ability underestimated preparing them to accept their later low status
- girls came out understanding its a man’s world & women take second place
+ labelling & SFP of underachievement
+ girls may feel more fatalistic about education & their ability
+ setting up of ‘glass-ceiling’
+ may deter them from ambition & leadership
What is the internal factor which links to Spender’s study that has influenced educational achievement and gender historically?
+ what is the impact on gender & educational achievement?
2) Unequal treatment leading to SFP (80s)
- boys received over 60% of teachers’ attention and girls were ‘invisible’
- boys often poked fun at girl’s contributions & teachers usually allowed this to happen
- double standards when challenging teacher
- girl’s work graded more strictly
- curriculum, attitudes of teachers & classroom interaction prepares girls for male domination
+ girls ‘cooled down’ & boys ‘warmed up’
+ given less confidence in their ability possibly leading to underachievement
+ may not receive as much intervention & support
+ discourages girls to apply for leadership roles
What is the internal factor which links to Kelly’s study that has influenced educational achievement and gender historically?
+ what is the impact on gender & educational achievement?
(statistic to support this?)
3) Impact of gendered materials (80s)
- boys had a tendency to ‘take over’ particularly in science & technology affecting girls’ ability to participate
- science & tech subjects ‘packaged’ as male
- examples used in textbooks were often relating to traditionally male experiences e.g football
+ school curriculum reinforces gender inequality
+ girls may feel alienated from certain subject choices so won’t pursue them
(girls 2.7x more likely to choose science in a same-sex school than a mixed school)
What are the patterns of educational achievement & higher education participation and gender over the last few decades?
- girls are increasingly involved in post-16 education or training but boys are drifting away (increasing gap)
- girls consistently overachieve over boys from lower education up until university
- educational reform & COVID disruption did not change this pattern
- teacher graded assessment and early underassesment may be disadvantaging boys
- maths is the outlier subject in which boys achieve better
- female led attainment gaps have increased but male led ones have decreased
- young women remain underepresented in STEM
How have changes in the family affected educational achievement?
- family size is contracting so women don’t require as many or any career breaks
- less children & shared parental leave means women’s lives are not dominated by children
- increase in cohabitation (less binding & more risky placing greater importance on financial independence)
- SPF & divorce increasing (emphasis on importance of education & career)
- more co-parenting after divorce (women not seen as only carer of children)
- more focus on their own children’s education & independence
How have there been changes in women’s employment & how has this affected educational achievement?
+ Equal Pay Act 1970- pay gap has gone from 30% to 14.5% since 1975
+ Sex Discrimination Act 1975
+ Equality Act 2010 - gender a protected characteristic
+ proportion of women in employment has risen from 53% in 1971 to 71.8% in 2024
+ pay gap widens for women in 40s & 50s due to career breaks
+ average female worker earns 14.5% less than male
+ 9 CEOs of FTSE 100 companies are female but 14 of them are men named David
+ almost 23% of boardroom roles now filled by women due to government backed campaign
How has feminism impact girls’ educational achievement?
- policies such as Equal Pay Act have raised aspirations for girls
- there are now many more role models for girls pursuing a variety of career paths including STEM can help to reduce gendered subject choice
- encouragement to strive for a career & independence encourages girls to pursue higher education
- collectivism of feminism can help to reduce feelings if alienation as a woman in a male dominated field
How have girls’ ambitions changed over time according to sociologist’s studies?
+ what statistics reflect society and women’s ambitions?
- (Sharpe) focus now in careers & supporting themselves
- (O’Connor) 14-17 year olds suggested family not a big part of life plans
- (Beck & Beck-Gernsheim) suggest greater individualism as a PM trend is responsible for increased ambition. Career provides individual recognition & economic self-sufficiency
- (Fuller) self-identification is key & students now see themselves as creators of their own futures
+ 9% in 2022 said man’s job is breadwinner & women’s is to stay at home compared to 48% in 1983
+ 63% of women reported doing more than their fair share of housework compared to 22% of men
How does Archer’s study show that some working class girls have different ambitions & why?
+ what do these factors lead to?
- by performing their WC feminine identities girls gain symbolic capital from their peers but not educational or economic capital at school
1) Hyper-heterosexual feminine identities
- girls invest effort, time & money into appearance to avoid ridicule from peers
- this leads to symbolic violence by the school & the girls are seen as incapable
2) Boyfriends
- get in the way of their schoolwork & lowered their aspirations of uni, STEM or a professional career
- girls aspired more to settle down and have a feminine job
3) Being ‘loud’
- being outspoken & assertive failed to conform to school’s stereotype of ideal female pupil
- teachers see this as aggression and have conflicts w the students
+ WC girls developing a ‘good underneath’ self-image reflecting their struggle to express their identity & achieve in the education system
What did Evans & Skeggs find about working class girls ambitions?
+ what does Archer say about Skeggs’ argument?
(Evans) girls wanted to go to uni to increase their earning power not just for themselves but to help their families
(Skeggs) ‘caring’ is a large part of the girls’ identities
- cost & fear of debt makes them look locally for their higher education facility
- this limits their choice & market value of their degree
+ (Archer) staying locally is a result of their working-class collectivism habitus
What are some educational reforms which have been implemented to help girls achieve educationally?
+ what are some possibly criticisms of these?
- what do these criticisms suggest?
1) Introduction of GCSEs in 1986 which had an emphasis on coursework. This favoured consistent work (supposed female trait) - Mitsose & Browne, Gorard
2) National curriculum has meant a common core set of subjects & prevents schools from filtering students into ‘relevant’ subjects
3) Single-sex classes to remove male ‘domination’ of science classrooms
4) Greater numbers of female teachers & heads to offer role models to girls
5) GIST & WISE policies to encourage female students to opt for STEM (includes visits from female scientists & development of non-sexist curriculum material)
+ girls results were improving before GCSEs
+ MFL have some of largest gender attainment differences but some of least coursework
+ coursework is less prominent since 2015
+ girls in STEM has not improved drastically
+ single-sex classes’ teachers did not change
- female attainment is linked to wider societal shifts (gender quake in attitudes, expectations & opportunities)
What have some sociologists found about teacher attention and gender?
- (French) found boys received more attention as they were told off more
- (Francis) found boys were disciplined more harshly & felt picked on by teachers w lower expectations of them
- (Swann) found boys dominate whole-class discussion & interrupt in group work. Girls prefer pair of group work and are better at listening & co-operating
How do some sociologists believe challenging stereotypes through curriculum resources has improved girls’ position in education?
+ what evidence is there to counter this?
- removable of gender stereotypes from resources has removed barrier to girls’ achievement
- resources used to portray women mainly as wives & mothers
- (Weiner) found that since 1980s teachers have challenged gender stereotypes & in general, sexist images have been removed from learning materials
+ male characters appear in up to 100% of books in a study of 5000 children’s books but 25% had no female character
+ In Time’s 100 best children’s books of all time only 53% have a female character who speaks
How do some sociologists believe marketisation has improved girls’ position in education?
- has created a more competitive climate making girls seem more desirable students to schools
- (Jackson) argues league tables have improved girls’ opportunities & create a SFP as they are more likely to get into a good school & succeed
- (Slee) found boys are more likely to suffer from behavioural issues & are 4x as likely to be excluded so they are seen as ‘liability students’
What are the two feminist views of girls’ educational achievement?
1) Liberal Feminists
- celebrate progress made and believe further progress will be made by continuing development e.g equal opportunity policies
2) Radical Feminists
- emphasis that the system remains patriarchal e.g sexual harassment of girls in schools & gendered subject choice
