Gender Inequality Notes - Chapter 4 (Sex, Gender, and Women’s Roles)

Sex & Gender

• Sex (Biological): Male (XY) or female (XX) – Sex organs, sex hormones.

• Gender (Cultural): Cultural aspects of masculinity and femininity – Socialized and learned through family, geographic location, time period, peer groups, religion, & the media, shaping gender roles.

• Anthropologist Margaret Mead (1935) – Observed three tribes in New Guinea:

  • Arapesh – Males & females nurturing

  • Mundugumor – Males & females aggressive

  • Tchambuli – Traditional gender roles reversed

Norms of Authority

• Patriarchy: Global norm – Male-dominated society.

• Matriarchy: Female-dominated; a reverse pattern that is less common.

• Egalitarianism: Gender equality – Where both sexes share power more equally (noted as a possibility within the United States).

Global Violence Towards Women

• Patriarchal societies often place women in subordinate positions and justify restrictions.

• Common restrictions and harms include:

  • Women may NOT be allowed to vote

  • Women may NOT own property

  • Women may NOT divorce husbands

  • Women may NOT have parental rights

  • Women may NOT hold political office

• In some contexts, women may be mutilated or killed for “dishonoring” the family.

• Higher rates of female abortions are reported in some patriarchal settings.

Women’s Transition to the Workforce

• Industrial Revolution:

  • Home appliances reduced household chores for some, freeing time for paid work

  • Women paid a wage in cities, contributing to the rise of the two-income family

• Women’s Movement:

  • Equal Pay Act (1963) – aimed at eliminating wage disparity based on sex

  • Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (1964) – prohibited employment discrimination

• World War II:

  • Women were encouraged to work outside the home as part of civic duty during the war

Working Women

• 1900: $20\%$ of women worked outside the home

• Today: $50\%$ of the workforce are women

• $75\%$ of mothers work outside the home

• Wage gap: Women earn $0.80$ for every $1.00$ earned by men → expressed as the ratio $\frac{W}{M} = 0.80$ (80 cents on the dollar); gap described as narrowing but still present

• The concept of an “invisible glass ceiling”—barriers that prevent women from reaching the highest levels despite qualifications and experience

Women and Political Power

• Politics historically male-dominated

• US Congress: $75\%$ of members are men

• Women representatives are rising in numbers and influence

Final Thoughts

• Sociology studies the social, political, and economic inequalities between men and women in the US and globally on micro/macro levels to evaluate:

  • the cultural experiences of the sexes

  • gender dynamics

  • the power of women’s movements toward gender equality

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