Weberian Flashcards
what are the dimensions of stratification identified by weber?
- slass
- status
- party
what are Weberian views on gender inequalities?
- when examining the role of status in gener inequalities, it is helpful to look at concepts related to occupational segregation, as they offer some explanation for the inequalities that women face both across and within the labour market
- there are two main types of occupational segregation
- horizontal segregation refers to differences in the number of males and females present across occupations
- for example, nurses and primary school teachers are jobs done mainly by women, whereas archiatectys and genineers are jobs usually associated with men
- such occupational segregation is regarded as one o the strongest influences on young peopes choice of career, with individuals typically choosing occupationswhere they see their own gender represented
which key explanations for the continued presence of horizontal occupation segregation were highlighted by the equal opportunities commission (2004)?
- individual differences, including human capital theory
- individuals career choices based on their perceptions about different careers, also affected by parental influence and the influence of teachers and careers advisors
- discrimination by employers
- barriers within organisations
what are the hidden advantages men have to assist them in getting a promotion?
- gender stereotypes that result in men being viewed as more natural leaders than women
- the way that women are often seen as making emotional decisions whereas men are viewed as making rational decisions
- views about women’s childbearing and family obligations
- the rarity of men in certain occupations which makes them stand out and may lead to preferential treatment
what is vertical segregation?
- vertical segregation describes mens somination of the highest ranking jobs in both traditionally make and traditionally female occupations
- the concepts of glass ceiling, concrete ceiling and glass elevator are also relevant here
- the galss ceiling is a cocneot that may help to explain the difference in social mobility between women and men, suh as by moving up the career ladder
- the concept of the concrete ceiling suggests that the situation has worsened and it is now even more difficult for women to reach higher positions in society
- the glass elevator effect refers to how men often rise higher and faster up the career ladder than women, particularly in female dominated careers such as teaching and nursing
What did Barron (1976) say about the dual labour market?
- Barron argues that there is a dual labour market and this concept has also been used to explain women’s employment patterns
- the primary labour market consists of secure, well paid jobs that have good promotion prospects
- the suggestion is that women are concentrated in the secondary labour market and that men dominate the primary labour market
- the Weberian concept of status is also useful in helping to explain gender inequalities as it can be argued that women are more likely than men to work in the low status jobs found in the secondary labour market
- additionally it is argued that women’s domestic role as housewives and mothers is not held in high esteem in society and carries little status or power
what did weber say about social closure?
- weber also used the concept of social closure to describe the exclusion of some people from membership of certain status groups
- feminists would be keen to point out that in contemporary society this is effectively what happens in relation to gender as men reserve and protect top positions in society for themselves and exclude women
what did the electoral commission (2004_) say about the political activism gender gap?
- according to their findings women are significantly less likely that men to participate in campaign orientated activities, such as contradicting a politician and donating money to working for or being a member of a political party
- women are also less likely than men to join voluntary organisations
what explanations were given for the political activism gender gap?
-
men and women have different attitudes towards the political process, women have lower conficedne that they can influence the political process, express less interest in politics than men are less likely to trust political institutions
-mobilising organisations like trade usins to play a key role in encouraging people to participate in public affairs, women in the UK are less likely that men to be a mener of many kinds of associations
-the presence of women in representative institurrions has an important effect on womens political activism, for example, in 2001, in seats where a woman MP was elected to parliament womens turnout was 4% higher than mens, women were also far less interested in the election campaign, and less likely to say that they would volunteer to work for a candidate or party in seats where a male MP was elected
why are postmodernists a weakness of Weberian theory?
-postmodernists would argue that there is no longer a consensus about what constitutes high and low status as norms and values are no longer fixed
how is the fact that Weberian theory is inter related a strength of Weberian theory?
- though Weberian explanatios look beyond class, the three dimensions that they examine are, in practive, inter related
- those who have economic power also tend to have a high standing status and are able to use these two forms of power to influence the political process
why is the fact that Weberian theory does not explain much a weakness?
-Weberian concepts do not actually explain why some social groups, such as men and women, end up in different sectors of the labour market and why some groups have more status than others
how is the fact that Webers theory can be applied to gener inequalities a srength of Weberian theory?
-Weberian concepts can be appiied to gender iinequalities which was neglected by weber
