Gender Differnces- External Factors

Question 1

feminism

Answer 1

Feminism is a social movement that strives for equal rights for women in all areas of life

Question 2

McRobbies (1994) study on the impact of feminism in girls magazines

Answer 2

In the 1970s, they emphasised the importance of getting married and not being ‘left on the shelf’. Whereas nowadays, they contain images of assertive, independent women

These changes encouraged by feminism affect girls’ self image and ambitions with regard to family and careers

Question 3

What major changes have occurred in the family since feminism

Answer 3

• increase in the divorce rate
• an increase in cohabitation and a decrease in the number of first marriages
• an increase in the number of lone- parent families
• smaller families

Question 4

What are the changes in women’s employment

Answer 4

• the 1970 Equal Pay Act makes it illegal to pay women less than men for work of equal value
• 1975 sex discrimination Act outlaws discrimination at work
• since 1975, the pay gap between men and women has halved from 30% to 15%
• the proportion of women in employment has risen from 53% in 1971 to 67% in 2013. The growth of the service sector and flexible part-time has offered opportunities for women
• some women are now breaking through the ‘glass ceiling’(the invisible barrier that keeps them out of high level professional managerial jobs)

Question 5

Sharp’s(1994) interviews with girls and their ambitions

Answer 5

• interviews with girls in the 1970s and 1990s
• Show a major shift in the way girls see their future
• in 1974, the girls had low aspirations; they believed educational success was unfeminine and that appearing to be ambitious would be considered unattractive
  Their priorities were ‘love, marriage, husbands, children and then careers’
• 1990s - the girls had a different order of priorities. Careers and being able to support themselves was a priority

Question 6

O’connor’s study of children’s ambitions

Answer 6

-study of 14-17 year olds
- they found that marriage and children were not a major part of their life plans

Question 7

Beck and Beck-Gernsheim (2001)

Answer 7

Independence is valued much more strongly than in the past
A career has become part of a woman’s life project because it promises recognition and economic self-sufficiency

Question 8

Carol fullers (2011) study on ambitions of girls

Answer 8

• educational success was a central aspect of their identity
• they saw themselves as the creators of their own future and had an individualised notion of self.
• they believed in meritocracy and aimed for a professional career that would enable them to support themselves

Question 9

Working- class girls’ aspirations

Answer 9

• some continue to have gender-stereotyped aspirations for marriage and children and expect to go into traditional low paid women’s work

Question 10

Reay(1998)

Answer 10

She argues gender-stereotypes aspirations reflect the reality of the girls’ class and position
- their limited aspirations reflect the limited job opportunities they perceive as being available to them
Whereas the traditional gender identity of being in a relationship is both attainable and offers them a source of status

Question 11

Biggart(2002) and working class girls’ aspirations

Answer 11

Found working- class girls are more likely to face a precarious position in the labour market and to see motherhood as the only viable option for their futures
- hence they see less point in achieving in education