Gender Differences Flashcards
name a concept that was used as an excuse to pay women less in the earlier years
- ‘dress money’; employers would pay women less due to the idea that women would spend it on ‘less important’ things, like dresses, makeup, compared to bills, food which would be paid for by their husbands
why do girls read more than boys
- in primary socialisation; g may be more likely to be read to than boys
- reading is seen as a feminised activity - which may put off boys from doing it due to stigma
- this enables girls to outperform boys
what is the only subject where boys outperform girls in GCSE’s
- maths - but even then its a 1% difference
what did Lobban (1974) say about school reading material
Lobban (1974): she found that in reading materials in schools, there were only 1/2 as many female than male characters - and those shown were largely shown in a domestic setting
- also there were 1/2 as many heroines as heros
what is the percentage gap between girls and boys in A-Level results
- 10%
outline the concept of coursework
- girls tend to do better than boys in coursework - it requires regular work, dedication
- 10 years ago; coursework in maths was scrapped
outline the gender achievement on starting school
- children are initially given a baseline assessment - girls scored higher in all tests
outline the gender achievement at KS1-2
- girls continue to do consistently better than boys - especially in English
outline the gender achievement at GCSE
- girls are more likely to pass and get higher results, although the gap is much narrower at GCSE
outline the gender achievement at A-Level
- the gender achievement gap stand at around 10% with girls still outperforming boys
how does girls’ better organisation + meeting deadline skills stem from their primary socialisation
- girls’ childhood games required more time, focus, planning, teamwork
outline the gender achievement at higher education
- before 1997, boys were more likely to stay in higher education, those trends have since been reversed
outline the gender achievement on vocational courses
- a larger proportion of girls achieve distinctions in every subject - even in building/construction - where girls are the minority
outline changes in the family as a reason for gender differences
there have been changes such as:
- increase in divorce - more money, usually mother is primary caregiver - provides a strong motivational female role model for girls
- more lone parent matrifocal families
- smaller families - there’s a correlation between educated parents (mothers) and small families
- increase in cohabitation - there’s less of a patriarchal/ male dominated role model - provides an independent female role model for girls
outline the impact of the feminist movement on changing gender norms
- since the start of the feminist movement in the 1960s, attitudes towards women have shifted
- McRobbie illustrates this in her study of girls’ magazines; 1970s; magazines like ‘Jackie’ emphasised the importance of marriage, whereas now, they contain images of assertive + independent women
- contextual example: Lizzo on the front cover of Vogue (plus size WOC), Kamala Harris as VC
outline changing ambitions as a reason for gender differences
- Sharpe (also found by Fuller in 2011) interviewed girls in the 70s and 90s and found that there was a shift in future aspirations;
- 70s: low aspirations, as education wasnt feminine. they prioritised love, marriage, husbands and children
- 90s: girls saw their future including a career + being less dependent on men. marriage and children weren’t huge aspects of their life plan
what is an A03 evaluation point for women doing well in education
- FTSE Top 100 grossing companies, theres 6 female CEOs compared to 94 male CEOs in 2021
- although women perform significantly better in education; theyre not in the workplace - due to glass ceiling
outline changes in employment as a reason for gender differences
- the following laws have helped to create more equality in employment
- some women are breaking through glass ceilings - an invisible barrier that keeps them out of high paying roles
- 1970 Equal Pay Act, 1975 Sex Discrimination Act/ 2010 Equality Act
- this may motivate girls more to do well in education as a good career is more accessible
- Liberal Feminists would argue that these laws have eliminated all inequality
name a campaign aiming to get girls into STEM
- Pretty Curious by EDF energy
- GIST (Girls Into STEM)
WISE (Women into Science and Engineering)
when was the National Curriculum introduced + what it was
- introduced in 1988 and removed previous inequality as all students had to study the same subjects
- made science a core subject
what is the percentage ratio of female to male primary school teachers
- 80% are female, 20% are male
- provides young girls with positive educated female role models
outline Mitsos and Browne (1998) ideas about coursework
girls do better in coursework based subjects because they are:
- better organised
- spend more time on their work
- are better at meeting deadlines
- are more likely to bring the correct equipment to class
- have better language skills (and so do better in oral exams)
how does girls spending more time on their work stem from their primary socialisation
- they did more time consuming games
- ‘Bedroom Culture’ - spending more time planning and organising their games - used more teamwork skills in games
how does girls’ better language skills stem from their primary socialisation
- when playing childhood games, girls use more words compared to boys doing sports
- more likely to read and be read to - may be seen as a feminised task - creating a stigma for boys & reading
