Inequalities of Gender and Sexuality

Social Problems - Fall 2025

Doing Gender

Performance of gendered behaviors that reinforce cultural expectations

Gender Tracking

Channeling men and women into fields based off gender

Glass Ceiling

Invisible barrier that prevents women and minorities from advancing to high level positions

Glass escalator

Men in female-dominated professions advancing more quickly than their female colleagues

Second Shift

Unpaid housework and childcare that many women perform after returning home from paid employment

Quid pro quo harassment

Job benefits depend on sexual cooperation

Title IX

Federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in educational programs receiving federal funding

Inequalities in education

Disparities in treatment based on gender within school systems

Inequalities in workplace

Barriers and discrimination leading to unequal opportunities and outcomes

Inequalities in politics

Unequal representation and paricipation of genders

Inequalities in media representation

How media reinforces and challenged stereotypes and power dynamics