Social Inequality: Gender

Question 1

What is gender inequality?

Answer 1

The idea that men and women are not equal.

Question 2

Gender Inequality in work and employment:

Answer 2

Over past 40 years, the number of women in employment has increased, while the number of men in employment has decreased.

Question 3

Facts and figures: women in the labour market:

Child care and Household duties

Answer 3

• Men with children are more likely to work than those without- this is the opposite for women:

+Women spend 15 hours a week doing chores (with or without children) men do 5 hours a week (UK Feminista n.d.).

+ Up to 30,000 women are sacked each year for being pregnant (illegal) (UK Feminista n.d.).

Question 4

Facts and figures: women in labour market:

Work position

Answer 4

+ In private business sector the gender pay gap is 28.4% compared to the public sector pay gap of 17.1%.

+ Self-employed women earn around 40% less than self-employed men (Fawcett society 2013).

Question 5

Gender inequalities in income and wealth:

Answer 5

• 22% of women compared to 14% of men have persistent low income (Oxfam 2008).
• The income of retired women is 40% less than retired men (Oxfam 2008).
• A mothers wages reduce by 5% for every absent she has. Estimated for each year. (UK Feminista n.d.).

Question 6

Gender Inequality in Poverty:

Answer 6

• Evidence shows that women are more likely to experience poverty:

+Women make up half of the world population yet represent 70% of the world’s poor (Global Citizen 2014).

+2009 figures show that 90% of lone-parent families are headed by women.

Question 7

Gender Inequalities in Social Mobility:

Answer 7

Social mobility is the movement of individuals, families or households within a change in social status relative to one’s current social location within a given society.

• Li and Devine (2011): women are still less likely to be upward mobile and more likely to be downwardly mobile men.
• Heath and Li (2014): black Caribbean men (39.3%) and Chinese women (48.6%) found to experience lower rates of upward mobility than Black Caribbean (67.3%) and Chinese women (56.9%)

Question 8

Males and Gender Inequalities:

Answer 8

• Mac and Ghaill (1994): “crisis in masculinity” brought by a number of social and economic changes including de-industrialisation and feminisation of the labour market. Working class men are more likely to be confused about their identity.

Question 9

Males and Gender Inequalities: Education-

Answer 9

• In the UK, the GCSE results over a number of years show that girls gain more A*-C grade than boys.
• Department of Education Figures since 2008 have shown that white-working class boys are the largest underachieving group in education. Head of Ofsted said in 2012 its because of anti-school subculture.

Question 10

Males and Gender Inequalities: Health-

Answer 10

• The ONS data in 2010 found that on average men develop heart disease 10 years earlier than women.
• ONS data in 2011 found that the rate of suicide for men us 3 times that of number for women.

Question 11

Males and Gender Inequalities: Work and Income-

Answer 11

• In 2010 the ONS: in the UK, men work an average of 39 hours a week compared to 34 for women

Question 12

Males and Gender Inequalities: Family Life-

Answer 12

• 89% of fathers are in employment compared to 74% of men without children.
• Fathers work more than 50 hours a week spend less time looking after children. Allowing women to limit the time spent with the child.

Question 13

Rosie Boycott article:

Answer 13

• Women outperform men in education, rights to abortion and divorce with the responsibility of their children.
• 85% of working women are in full time employment for more than 30 hours a week.
• 34% of working mothers without pre-school children are employed fulltime.

Question 14

Dr Gillian Paul survey states:

Answer 14

• Men prefer to work longer hours than to have the duty of childcare. This resolves to women wasting their talents and skills to childcare.
• Working class families will not be able to cater childcare duties onto someone else like middle class.

Question 15

Liberal Feminists:

Answer 15

Fought for gender equality:

Ann Oakley and Betty Friedman

Question 16

Ann Oakley:

Answer 16

• Argues that women still do majority of the unpaid housework.
• Oakley carried out her own interviews with a sample of 40 married women in London and found that only 15% of husbands had a high level of participation in housework and 25% had a high level of participation in childcare.

Question 17

Wilmott and Young (1972):

Answer 17

• Did a research in east London to take a ‘march of progress’ view towards the history of family. To see if family life is improving for all members.
• They argue that due to social changes of women now being able to work and higher standards of living. This has allowed families to perform joint conjugal roles. In their research they found 72% of husbands did housework during the week.

Question 18

Betty Friedan:

Answer 18

Argued that the woman’s stereotype of performing the expressive role was alienating.

Question 19

Strengths for Liberal Feminism:

Answer 19

• Reinforces gender equality.
• Gender equality is useful for men too.
• Non-biased on gender.

Question 20

Weaknesses for Liberal Feminism:

Answer 20

• It is based on a middle class perspective.

- Laws cannot always help the situation present in the household.

Question 21

Radical Feminist:

Answer 21

Aim was to ensure women are un-reliant and want society to be dominated by females instead:
Kate Millet, Firestone and Andre Dworkin.

Question 22

Kate Millet:

Answer 22

Wants women to be free from patriarchy or male dominance.

Question 23

Firestone:

Answer 23

Argued that regardless of the changes in laws, women will still remain disadvantaged by men, once having had children. They conform to the expressive role.

Question 24

Andre Dworkin:

Answer 24

Discusses whether misogyny and pornography contribute to women’s objectification in the wider society.

Question 25

Strengths of Radical Feminism:

Answer 25

• Gives women the opportunity to freedom.

- The process of artificial contraception allows homosexual couples to procreate.

Question 26

Weakness of Radical Feminism:

Answer 26

• Artificial fertilisation still requires a sperm donation.
• Women cannot rebel from the duty of being a mother, this would impact the child’s upbringing.
• The approach creates a negative light for feminism as it still discriminates another gender. A repeat of history but for men.

Question 27

Marxist Feminism:

Answer 27

Supports the feminist views. However, they believe that it’s because we live in a capitalist society:
Sheila Rowbotham and Irene Bruegel

Question 28

Sheila Rowbotham:

Answer 28

Housework was in fact work that women do for free.

Question 29

Irene Bruegal:

Answer 29

Women formed a reserve army of labour that is they are seen as cheap source of employment who can be bought into the paid workforce when needed and then returned back home when not needed anymore.

Question 30

Strengths for Marxist Feminist:

Answer 30

• Ensures that women receive the rights of work and pay.

- Ensures that women are treated respectfully and raises awareness when not.

Question 31

Weaknesses for Marxist Feminist:

Answer 31

• In the 21st century, women are allowed to work.

- Doesn’t consider the ethnic minority groups who wouldn’t mind doing housework for free.

Question 32

Functionalism ideas: Challenge feminism

Answer 32

Talcott Parson argues that there are segregated roles in a family. The woman performs the expressive role while the man performs the instrumental role. Parson argues that this division of labour is based on biological differences.

Question 33

Feminist view on Talcott Parsons

argument :

Answer 33

The division of labour is socially constructed and not based on biological differences.