Gender Inequality

Question 1

Murdock (Functionalism)

Answer 1

Women belong in home due to physique being less able to perform strenuous tasks (work) leads to gender division of labour in all societies as its functional
Women biological function of child bearing
Eg. Men have naturally higher muscle mass than women which may lead to women accounting for under 10% of people in construction industry estimated

Question 2

Parsons (Functionalism)

Answer 2

Women ‘expressive’ role as more nurturing, men ‘instrumental’ as more motivated and suited to labour market
Eg. Women may choose to be stay at home mind as they feel more fulfilled emotionally, men may choose to work as their competitive nature means they suit breadwinner role

Question 3

Rastogi (Functionalism)

Answer 3

Human Capital Theory explains wage gap & employment related issues
HC is knowledge, competency, attitude and behaviour
Women may prioritise child bearing whereas men are work oriented and so develop more human capital
Eg. Men have higher qualifications due to high work ethic and so have higher capital which leads to them being promoted and getting higher positions

Question 4

Murray (New Right)

Answer 4

Irresponsible attitudes of underclass cause children out of wedlock, crime

• advocated nuclear family
• blames single mothers
• functional for housewife role

Question 5

Dennis & Erdos (New Right)

Answer 5

Fatherless children less likely to be successfully socialised into culture of discipline and so make worse parents themselves
Eg. 1000 children studied New Castle greater chance of low IQ & criminal record if unfathered or poorly gathered

Question 6

Schlafly (New Right)

Answer 6

For women flight from the home is flight from self, responsibly and their nature
Marriage and motherhood give a woman the opportunity for all round fulfilment
Feminised threat traditional family
Eg. Women marry and support husband to live fulfilling life and understand they take subordinate role to support husband

Question 7

Engles (Marxism)

Answer 7

Women’s subordinate position is result of ownership of private property
Ride of class based society brought more inequality
Under capitalism men gained control as they wanted to pass on private property to legitimate offspring
- caused rise in nuclear family: enforcing monogamy and restricting sexuality
Eg. Men marry women and keep in monogamy to ensure inheritance goes to legitimate child. Led to men having views of shaming women for multiple sex partners

Question 8

Stanko (Rad Fem)

Answer 8

Sexual harassment used to keep women in their place
Men use power in workplace to protect position
Women sexualised and therefore not viewed as seriously as male and not considered for promotion
Eg. Laura Bates everyday sexism project, Jeffrey Epstein

Question 9

Adkins (Rad Fem)

Answer 9

Horizontal segregation at theme park
Catering almost exclusively female and ride operators male
Female workers expected to put up with harassment from male colleagues and customers

Question 10

Johnson (Rad Fem)

Answer 10

Women controlled within home through violence, economic subordination, threats, isolation
Eg. Husband used threats of violence in order to keep wife in lowest position

Question 11

Beechey (Marx Fem)

Answer 11

Women seen as disposable workforce
Women assumed to be wives and be taking second income and so are given lower pay and prepared to drop them
Eg. When economy is in recession women first to be thrown out

Question 12

Ansley (Marx Fem)

Answer 12

Women safety valves for Capitalism
Takers of shit because they absorb proletariat husband’s anger from monotonous work and exploitation and keeps them from complaining to employer
Eg. Husband frustrated with pay cut and work conditions from B starts fight with wife and comes to work tomorrow purged of their anger

Question 13

Feeley (Marx Fem)

Answer 13

Family designed to teach passivity (punishment)
Socialises family to accept traditional gender roles and be obedient workers who don’t rebel
Family in capitalist society supports patriarchy
Eg. Women raised to passively accept as they are told and believe their role is to be a mother so they can support husband

Question 14

Oakley (Lib Fem)

Answer 14

4 processes socialisation:
Manipulation (encouraging gender appropriate behaviour), canalisation (gendered toys and clothing), verbal appellations, domestic activities (gendered tasks in home
Eg. Manipulation- girls encouraged to be gentle and stay inside as it’s feminine and boys encouraged to ‘rough and tumble’ outside so girls treated differently and told they are inappropriate when older if boisterous

Question 15

McRobbie (Lib Fem)

Answer 15

Girls socialised into bedroom culture and cult of femininity
Encouraged to stay in room and be sensible, emphasis on fashion and makeup and idolisation of male pop stars
Eg. Girls encouraged to stay inside and idolise make pop stars, doesn’t prepare them for the real world and so when out they may be less capable

Question 16

Brewer (Black Fem)

Answer 16

Triple systems theory: black women suffer as women, black and working class
Multiple sources of inequality resurrects chances and opportunity 
Eg. Having black name as well as less qualifications due to not being able to afford tutors and being assumed to be a worse leader as women make emotional decisions may lead to less promotions or less likely to get a job

Question 17

Yuval-Davies (Black fem)

Answer 17

Doubly disadvantaged

Feminism can be ethnocentric

Question 18

Abbott et al (Black Fem)

Answer 18

Feminists concentrate on women’s experienced from white perspective and priorities
White fem speak on behalf of black but black not allowed to speak for white
Black women’s individual problems left out
Eg. Ethnic minority women U.K. may experience FGM and this inequality continues as its ignored

Question 19

Walby (Post Fem)

Answer 19

Triple systems of oppression interplay of social class, gender, religion etc
From private to public patriarchy
Public patriarchy has 6 patriarchal structures: paid employment, household, the state, cultural institutions, sexuality, violence
Eg. Policitics (the state) 34% HoC women due to cultural institutions: western culture believed women’s purpose to be sexually attractive to men so not taken seriously and sexualised

Question 20

Hakim (Post Fem)

Answer 20

Women aren’t victims of unfair employment practices
They choose part time work to put childcare first
3 categories: 20% home centred, 60% adaptive, drifters and unplanned careers as also have family, 20% work centred
Eg. Women have abortion and contraception and so have choice to not have family and choose work centred life

Question 21

Weber (Weberian)

Answer 21

Horizontal segregation
Eg. Nurse/primary teacher female dominated, engineer male dominated
Vertical segregation
Due to leaky pipeline (dropout due to bad treatment) glass elevator (men rise faster due to stereotypes of rational vs emotional decision making
Political activism gap due to status (married or not) and class (paid employment or not)

Question 22

Barron & Norris (Weberian)

Answer 22

Dual labour market 
Women in secondary with low pay, status and security due to disrupted career development and weak legal and political framework supporting them and seen as unsuitable due to stereotypes 
Eg. Women have jobs like supply teacher due to having low status as women and assumed to not be good at jobs with important decisions which reinforces them being working class as their job is insecure and low pay

Question 23

Skeggs (Postmodern)

Answer 23

Society too divided class, ethnicity etc for gender inequality to be relevant
Women have instrumental attitudes to work (doesn’t define status)
Eg. Women who work as receptionists don’t see that as defining their status as it only provides money not status and so any inequality claimed is irrelevant to them as they only care about their rights

Question 24

Faludi (Postmodern)

Answer 24

Feminist backlash to younger generation
Feel like they can’t use the ‘f-word’
Women have got it good now
Makes now more likely to suffer inequality
Eg. Girls scoring better than boys, 73% girls 64% boys got 5 GCSEs so boys unequal