Outline and Assess Marxist explanations of gender inequality Flashcards
Marxist explanation
Gender inequalities are the result of capitalism which exploits them.
Beechey (76)
Marxist - Women are less likely to join trade unions and more likely to accept low wages as their income is frequently supplementary to that of the male breadwinner. Relatable to reserve army of labor.
Engels (72)
Marxist - men gained control over women through their initial acquisition of private property - many Marxists agree with this however it doesn’t explain why it was mean and not women, who gained control of private property.
Radical feminists
Society is patriarchal leading to men being able to exploit and oppress women to their advantage in the labor market.
Stanko
RF - Men use sexual harassment to intimidate women who seek to enter into areas of traditional male employment.
Stanko criticism
Stanko only looks at one source of inequality in the workplace and doesn’t take into account the operation of the labour market as a whole.
Socialist feminists
Argue that women are exploited by both patriarchy and capitalism (dual systems theory). Dual system theory includes that women are exploited both at home and at work.
Socialist Feminists Criticism
don’t make it clear how patriarchy and capitalism work together to create inequality for women in the workplace.
Black feminists
Critcise the views of radical, Marxists and Social feminists for failing to look at affects of racism.
Yual-Davis
BF - The other feminists have forgotten to look at ethnicity as there theories are ethnocentric.
Walby
BF criticism - Argued that women were exploited in 3 systems of patriarchy - capitalism and racism showing that ethnicity had not been forgotten.
Liberal feminists
Gender role socialization is responsible for reproducing gender inequality in the workplace. They believe this leads to sexual division of labor where masculinity is seen as dominant and femininity subordinate.
Oakley
LF - women do less well in the labor market as a result of the mother-housewife role. Women are taught to believe they should work part time, leading to male dominance within the labor market.
Post Feminists - Hakim
Argues that gender inequalities in the workplace aren’t due to structural factors but due to the natural choices that women make.
Post Feminist Criticism
Other feminists have criticized Hakim for twisting the data to suit her arguments and challenge the statements saying the pay gap can’t be explained that easily.