Chapter 8 Gender Inequality

Gender Stratification Sexism and Patriarchy Gender Inequality around the World Gender Inequality in the United States Sources of Gender Roles Gender Roles and Biology Gender Roles and Culture Gender Roles and Identity McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Sociological Perspectives on Gender Stratification 8-1b Sociological Perspectives on Gender Stratification The Functionalist Perspective The Conflict Perspective The Interactionist Perspective The Feminist Perspective McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

8-2 Figure 8.2 Female Labor-Force Participation Rates* for Selected Countries, 1997 *Female labor force of all ages divided by female population 15-64 years old. Source: Figure generated by the authors using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 1999. McGraw-Hill

8-3a Figure 8.3(a) Median Earnings of Full-Time, Year-Round Workers by Gender, in Constant 1998 Dollars, 1960-1998 Median earnings of year-round, full-time workers by sex, 1960-1998. Recent gains by women in terms of the ratio of their earnings to those of men is due both to a decrease in earnings of men and to an increase in earnings of women. McGraw-Hill Source: Figure generated by the authors using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 1999.

8-3b Figure 8.3(b) Ratio of Female-to-Male Median Weekly Earnings for Full-Time Wage and Salary Workers, U.S. 1998 In all occupations, women earn an average of 76 cents for every dollar earned by men. The ratio of female-to-male median weekly earnings for full-time wage and salary workers in the United States is especially low in sales occupations and especially high in farming, forestry, and fishing. McGraw-Hill Source: Figure generated by the authors using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 1999.

Figure 8.3(c) Disparities in Earnings by Race, Gender, and Education Total money earnings of persons 25 years and older, by gender, race, and education, 1998. Black and white women earn less in every educational category than black and white men. McGraw-Hill Source: Figure generated by the authors using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 1999.

Sociological Perspectives on Gender Stratification Functionalist Perspective: Gender division of labor promoted survival of the human species; families are organized with men performing instrumental tasks and women expressive tasks, and this is beneficial for men, women, children – and, ultimately, for society as a whole. Conflict Perspective: Gender inequality exists because it benefits men, who use their power to perpetuate it. Their motives: 1. Economic exploitation of women’s labor; 2. Men’s desire for sexual gratification; 3. Procreation – control of the means and product of human reproduction. McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Sociological Perspectives on Gender Stratification (continued) 8-4b Sociological Perspectives on Gender Stratification (continued) Interactionist Perspective: We can intentionally change the structure of gender differentiation and inequality by changing the meanings that underlie them; for example, language can imply that women are necessarily less powerful and less competent; changing language patterns can help eliminate sexism. McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Sociological Perspectives on Gender Stratification (continued) Feminist Perspective: Social structures produce inequality, and gender differences follow them. Role differentiation disadvantages women only because it occurs in the context of patriarchal society; we need to change the patriarchal normative order. Everyday interactions recreate the gender system; they would undermine it if the interactions featured women of higher status or power than men OR if they were peer interactions unrelated to male-female competence beliefs. McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.