gender inequalities

what is gender inequality in the work and employment?

the number of women in the workplace has increased over the past 40 years, while the number of men decreased.

what are some facts and figures of women in the labour market?

-women who work, with or without children, spend 15 hours a week on average doing chores, while men spend only 5

-up to 30,000 women are sacked each year simply for being pregnant and each year an estimated 440,000 women lose out on pay or promotion as a result of pregnancy

What are some statistics of gender inequalities in income and wealth?

-22% of women, compared to 14% of men, have a persistent low income

-the income of retired women is less than 40% of that of retired men

-approx. 70% of people in national minimum wage jobs are women

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what are some statistics of gender inequalities in poverty?

-women make up half of the worlds population yet represent 70% of the world's poor

-mothers frequently go without food, clothing and warmth in order to protect children (and partners) from the full impact of an inadequate home

what are some statistics of gender inequality in social mobility?

-men were 40% more likely to climb the career ladder than women

-Black Caribbean men (39.3%) and Chinese women (46.8%) were found to experience lower rates of upward mobility than black Caribbean women (67.3%) and Chinese men (56.9%)

-53% of self employed Pakistani men work in the transport industry, compared to 8% of the rest of the population

Li and Devin on gender inequality in social mobility

women are still less likely to be upwardly mobile and more likely to be downwardly mobile than men

what did Mac and Ghaill say?

referred to a 'crisis in masculinity' to describe the insecurities of working class men as they lost their title of 'breadwinner'

what are some statistics on gender inequalities In education?

-Girls in the UK gain more A*-C grade GCSEs compared to boys

-Government data shows that boys are twice as likely to have a Special Educational Need and twice as likely to have literacy problems. They are also four times more likely to be excluded from school

what are some statistics on gender inequality in health?

-the rate of suicide for men is three times that of the number for women

-females are likely to live 4 years longer than males

-on average men develop heart disease ten years earlier than women

what are some statistics on gender inequality in work and income?

-more than 95% of the 200 people killed in the workplace every year are men

-men in the UK work on average of 39 hours a week, compared with 34 for women

what are some statistics on gender inequality In family life?

-89% of fathers are in employment, compared with 74% of men without dependent children

-fathers are less likely to work part-time (4%) than men without children (9%), unlike mothers, who are more likely to work part-time (60%) than women without children (32%)

evaluation of male inequalities

Feminists: male inequalities are minor in scale compared to those faced by women. Natasha Walter~ sexism doesn't work in the same way because of the way the system is balanced

Gender pay gap

In 2012 there were still 13,917,000 males in full-time employment, compared to 7,682,000 females and 3,048,000 males compared to 7,533,000 females in part-time employment

what did liberal feminists believe?

Argue gender inequalities are mainly a result of gender resocialisation, unfair laws and practices that reinforce discrimination between men and women, rather than innate biological differences. Changes in the norms and values that reinforce gender divisions in society will bring about equality, legislation is one way of achieving this.

what are the strengths of liberal feminism ?

Sue Sharpe's study on girls' priorities show changing gender norms and values and that gender roles are socially constructed rather than the product of biological processes- Oakley

what are criticisms of liberal feminism ?

-R and M feminists would argue that liberal feminists fail to explain how males and females come to hold different levels of power in the family and more widely in society (patriarchy and capitalism)

-more revolutionary change is needed to bring about equality

-overly optimistic and positive about their achievements - still a gender pay gap

-middle class movement represents educated, professional women. Fails to address the concerns of a wider range of women (ethnic minorities)

what did Radical feminists say?

patriarchy not capitalism that is the main source of oppression for women. Society is run by men and in their interests, so men are advantaged in every aspect of society and don't want to give up their power and control.

Gender inequality is due to men's power and control, a revolutionary change to create female liberation. Family is central to oppression. Patriarchal ideology teach women their natural roles. men use violence to protect their dominance

Gender division of labour served to reinforce male domination

what are the criticisms of radical feminists?

-talk about the family without acknowledging variations in family life

-women are not all the same~ social class, ethnicity etc

-liberal feminists would argue that the position of women in society has changed over time and that this is ignored by radical feminists

-over emphasise the factors that separate women from men. Men and women work cooperatively together in a range of ways in society, including campaigning for gender equality.

-improvements are happening~ more equal divisions of labour in the family

what did Marxist feminists say?

social class affects the life chances of women and it is a key factor in the relationship between men and women. Capitalism is an economic system that leads to the oppression of women.

The family is a patriarchal institution and that women's position in the family results in them being exploited by capitalism

Meritocratic system means women accept the inequalities and dominant ideology of the nuclear family being natural

what are the criticisms of Marxist feminists?

-too much emphasis on social class, don't look at factors that can impact too (ethnicity)

-postmodernists believe social class is no longer a significant social division

-radical feminists are critical of the emphasis on capitalist exploitation. Patriarchy is a more significant form of exploitation and is in all societies

-relies on revolution to bring about change, doesn't seem to be happening

What did Sylvia Walby say?

patriarchy is a system of social structures and practices in which men dominate, oppress and exploit women

how does Walby criticise other strands of feminism?

She is critical of radical feminism for seeing patriarchy as universal and unchanging. She is also concerned that the radical feminist approach ignores the impact of class and ethnicity on gender. Walby believes that Marxist feminism is problematic because it focuses too much on capitalism and fails to explain women's exploitation in non-capitalist societies. Critical of liberal feminists as it doesn't consider the way that the structure of society affects gender relations

What did Hakim say?

preference theory

There are 3 types of work-lifestyle preferences:

• home-centred: family life and children are the main priorities throughout life, prefer not to work : 20% of women in Britain

• adaptive: women who combine work and family: 60% of workers

• work-centred: childless women whose main priorities is employment: 20%

what are the criticisms of Hakim?

-ginn et al: often employers' attitudes, rather than women's attitudes, that confine women to the secondary labour market

-many feminists criticise hakim for ignoring the power of patriarchy to subordinate and oppress women. Patriarchal ideology has a powerful effect on shaping women's preferences.

What do functionalists say about gender inequalities?

men and women have separate roles that are based on biological differences. These different roles contribute to the smooth running of society. Women give birth - natural to look after them. Leads to a division of labour

what did Murdock say?

studied gender roles in 200 societies and found that women were located in the home because of their biological function of bearing children and because their physique meant that they were less able than men to perform strenuous tasks. He concluded that this gender division of labour was evident in all of the societies he studied and therefore universal because they were functional

what did Parson and Bales say?

men- instrumental role

women-expressive role

what did Rastogi say?

human capital is seen as 'knowledge, competency, attitude and behaviour embedded in an individual'

meritocracy

what are the criticisms of functionalism?

-feminists such as Oakley have shown that gender role are socially constructed rather than based on biological differences

-human capital theory ignores the structural constraints in society that may disadvantage women

-the functionalist perspective is criticised because it has not kept pace with social changes in gender roles

-functionalism tends to refer to the experience of white middle-class people and neglects other social groups

what do New Right thinkers believe about gender inequalities?

gender roles are biologically determined and that men and women should play different roles in society.

Men take the roles in the public sphere of work and politics

women are in the private domestic sphere

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What is Schlafly's view on the feminist stance of women's roles?

the womens liberation movement believes that there is no difference between male and female and that all those physical, cognitive, and emotional differences you think are there, are merely the result of restraints imposed by a male-dominated society. The role imposed on women is inferior according to the women's liberationalists

what is Schlafly's stance on women's roles?

A positive woman cannot defeat a man in a wrestling or boxing match, but she can motivate him, inspire him, encourage him, teach him, restrain him, and reward him, and have power over him that he can never achieve over her with all his muscle

what is Schlafly's view of the feminist stance on marriage?

feminist literature paints marriage as slavery, the home as a comfortable concentration camp, the husband as the oppressor, the family as an anachronism, and children as the daily drudgery from which the modern woman must be freed in order to pursue more fulfilling careers

What is Schlafly's stance on marriage?

women want to be loved, marriage gives this. Marriage and motherhood give women a new identity and the opportunity for all-round fulfilment as a woman

What is Schlafly's view of the feminist stance on motherhood?

feminist ideology teaches that it is demeaning to woman to care for their babies, and therefore the role of motherhood should be eliminated so that women can fulfil themselves in the paid labour force

what is Schlafly's stance on motherhood?

no measure of career success can compare with the thrill, satisfaction and fun of having and caring for babies and watching them respond and grow under a mother's loving care

what is Schlafly's view of the feminist stance on family?

except for the unfortunate woman who were caught up in the feminist foolishness of the 1970s, most women don't want to be liberated from home, husband, family and children

what is Schlafly's stance on family?

society simply has not invented a better way of raising children than the traditional family the division of labour is cost efficient, the environment is healthy, and the children thrive on the object constancy of the mother

what is Schlafly's view of the feminist stance on employment?

the propaganda of the women's liberation movements states that motherhood is the least attractive role a woman can choose, and that the workforce offers more rewards and more fulfilments

what is Schlafly's stance on employment?

After 20 years a mother can see the results of her own handiwork in the good citizen she has produced and trained. After 20 years in the business world, you are lucky if you have a good watch to show for your efforts

What is Schlafly's view of the feminist stance on women and the military?

the push to repeal laws that exempt women from military combat duty must be the strangest of all aberrations indulged in by the women's liberation or feminist movement. The very idea of women serving in military combat is so unnatural that it almost sounds like a death wish for our species

What is Schlafly's stance on women and the military?

there are many cultural, societal, family, pregnancy, and practical reasons why women shouldn't be drafted. Women have more important things to do, such as taking care of their babies and keeping their families together

what is Schlafly's view of the feminist stance on gender neutrality?

operating like a censorship gestapo, the feminist movement has combed primary-grade readers, school textbooks, and career guidance materials to eliminate any mention of the natural gender traits of youngsters

what is Schlafly's stance on gender neutrality?

despite all the attempts to blur gender identity and even to pervert the English language by forcing schoolchildren to use such annoying pronouns as he/she or s/he, there is no evidence that human nature is changing. The attempt to change it confuses youth and frustrates adults

what is the evaluation of Schlafly?

-biological argument for gender-segregated roles has not been proven

-New Right thinkers tend to ignore the negative effects of the gender roles that they propose such as the dark side of the family

-can be seen as outdated as it ignores the increasing numbers of people who choose to adopt non-traditional gender roles and report these as positive experiences

What is the Marxist view on gender inequality?

monogamy families allow clear passing of wealth through generations

However, in the industrial revolution people worked in factories and got their own wages. With wages they bought their own food and property etc and so are not so dependent on the community and don't want to share other than with the family.

what did Engels say?

under capitalism men gained control over women as they wanted to pass on private property in the form of inheritance. want to be sure their heirs were there legitimate offspring = rise of nuclear family

what did Bruegel argue?

that the family is central to women's oppression and points to the way that the ruling class use women to join the workforce when required

What are the criticisms of the Marxist view?

-postmodernists argue that the views are outdated and fail to recognise the changes to gender roles that have happened over the last 50 years or so

-accused of creating a conspiracy theory that suggests that the bourgeoisie work together to create and enforce dominant ideas such as the ideology of the nuclear family but there is little empirical evidence to support this claim

-over emphasise impact of class and economic factors on gender

what is the Weberian view on gender inequality?

class, status and power.

Horizontal segregation- differences in the number of males and females present across occupations (nurses usually women). Affects peoples choice of job

vertical segregation-men's domination of the highest-ranking jobs in both traditionally male and female occupations. GLASS CEILING, GLASS ELEVATOR, CONCRETE CEILING- men raise higher and faster in society/workplace. men have hidden advantages; gender stereotypes (men are natural leaders), women make emotional decisions, women's childbearing and family obligations and rarity of men in certain occupations, which makes them stand out and may lead to preferential treatment.

Social closure-women tend to participate less than men in groups that exert pressure and power in society

What do Barron and Norris say?

dual labour market

primary labour market-secure, well paid jobs with good promotion prospects- men