Download presentation
Presentation is loading. Please wait.
1
Ch. 13 Gender Stratification
2
Gender stratification
Gender is more than differences in how women and men are expected to behave Gender is also an important dimension of social stratification Men have traditionally been and are placed in positions of power over women to this day
3
Definitions Gender: personal traits and social positions that members of a society attach to being male or female Gender Stratification: the unequal distribution of wealth, power, and privilege between men and women
4
Gender differences? We must be careful not to think of social differences in biological terms Differences in abilities reflect both biology and socialization Women have a greater life span. Why? Overall intelligence: no difference. Differences in physical abilities, but in athletics the gap is smaller today.
5
Marathon times
6
Why are there differences?
Margaret Mead reasoned that if gender is based on biological differences people everywhere should define “feminine” and “masculine” in the same way but found that definitions varied George Murdoch: Gender is too variable across cultures to be a simple expression of biology Patriarchy and sexism as explanation
7
Patriarchy, matriarchy, sexism
Patriarchy: a form of social organization in which males dominate females Matriarchy: a form of social organization in which females dominate males (has never been documented) Sexism: belief that one sex is innately superior to the other
8
The Cost of Sexism and Stratification
Male privilege comes at a price: More high risk behaviours Higher suicide rates, aggression, violence and stress-related diseases Problems with trust/ intimacy Masculinity and femininity are social constructions
9
Cost of Sexism (cont.) Women pay the price too:
Fewer opportunities in work force dominate sales work and service occupations while men dominate senior positions and trades Lower pay for similar work Marginalized in sports and media
10
Gender and Socialization
Patriarchy exists through learning of gender roles Learning gender in the family: Pink and blue worlds for girls and boys Girls treated tenderly, boys more roughly Men independent and women cooperative Gender and the Mass media: Men play more interesting characters than women Ads traditionally show women in domestic roles and men in occupational roles Men are photographed to appear taller than women and the latter most often lay down in beds or sofas or in the floor
11
Committed relationships
Common stereotypes Men are/should be Women are/should be Masculine Feminine Dominant Submissive Strong Weak Aggressive Passive Intelligent Intuitive Rational Emotional Active Communicative Men like Women like Cars/technology Shopping/makeup Getting drunk Social drinking Casual sex Committed relationships advertising conveys cultural ideals of each sex • sometimes in a subtle form • other times more explicitly The following opposing lists illustrate how men and women are seen to be different: MEN are / should be - WOMEN are / should be: Masculine - feminine Dominant - submissive Strong - weak Aggressive - passive Intelligent - intuitive Rational - emotional active (do things) - communicative (talk about things) Men and women are also seen to like different things. For example: MEN like - WOMEN like cars / technology - shopping / make up getting drunk - social drinking with friends casual sex with many partners - committed relationships 12
12
Media influence on roles and occupations
Media has profound influence on how we view men and women and their suitability for important roles and occupations. Watch: Why are women misrepresented in the media? (from Miss Representation 2011) Miss Representation trailer (by Jennifer Siebel Newsom. “…explores how mainstream media contribute to the under-representation of women in influential positions by circulating limited and often disparaging portrayals of women.”)
13
Occupation and Income Women and girls accounted for just over half (50.4%) of the total population on July 1, 2014 Recent blurring of the distinctions between men’s work and women’s work More women are moving into business, finance, sciences, and medicine Male nurses are now 7 % (recently, 10%) of the total In education, women hold more than half of under- and postgraduate degrees But…women still dominate in clerical and service jobs at the low end of the pay scale with limited opportunities for advancement Read: 'It's either overt or covert hostility': Why only 2 women made list... (CBCNews Jan. 4/2017)
14
Gender Gap in Occupation and Income (see text box p. 320)
Why? Traditional explanations: Women choose occupations that are poorly paid Women take time out from jobs to have children Women are more likely to work part‐time But…Women still shut out of traditional male occupations ie engineering and if make it in, paid less Women are less likely to be promoted Women earn 71-72% of male income (down from 74% in 2009) Eg: truck drivers (the majority male) paid $45,417 per year, while Early Childhood Educators (majority women) paid $25,252 per year (Oxfam Canada report 2016)
15
The Second Shift: Housework
Taking care of the home and children has always been considered “women’s work” Today women work full-time, and also do most of the housework and child care Men do more in the home, but in Canada, women still do approx. twice as much work Women also pay more for similar products and services (“pink tax” and gender gouging) Read: Women's wage gap getting wider in Canada, new report says (CBC News Mar. 7, 2016)
16
Where do we stand globally?
Global Gender Gap Report 2016 (WEF) Calculated on disparities in economic, political, educational and health criteria for each country between genders In 2016, Canada ranked 35th US was 45th Iceland, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Rwanda ranked 1st to 5th respectively Check out the Global Gender Map
17
Does height make a difference?
Humans are getting taller: last 150 years the average height of people in industrialized nations has increased approximately 10 cm. Better childhood nutrition not natural selection. Underfeeding during childhood affects stature and other traits like intelligence Class differences in height well documented. But…Dutch study: Dutch have gained 20 cm. over last 150 years Researchers found taller Dutch men = more children.
18
Height…. Tall Dutch men higher incomes, better health, higher ratings from potential sex partners. However, for Dutch women, those with average height have more children. In U.S. height for men correlated with higher income, occupational advantage, even being elected as president, but not more children But data also show Americans on average are getting shorter – researchers blame poorer nutrition and greater inequality
19
Global Height…
20
Height and Gender Inequality
Not as much historical data for women on height. Canada: women generally getting taller, but not as fast as northern European women where gender equality higher Canada ranks behind European countries in terms of gender equality (Global Gender Gap, 2016) Gender schemas skew perceptions and evaluations of men and women and affect judgments of competence, ability and worth College students judged women as shorter than they really were, and men as taller when they were identical in height (Valian in Wadley, 2003) How does this impact gender stratification? Do we judge worth and ability based on height?
21
Women in Politics: Party Standings in House of Commons 2017
22
Senate, Supreme Court and Provincial Premiers
Senate: 43% women Supreme Court: 3/9 or 33% women Two provinces have female premiers in 2017 Ontario Kathleen Wynne BC Christy Clark Equal Voice says “there is still stereotyping of women’s role and abilities; media imbalances in the treatment of women politicians; and a rampant sexist perception of women’s conduct and behaviour”
23
Women as a minority group
Minority: People distinguished by physical or cultural difference that a society sets apart and subordinates At every class level, women typically have less income, wealth, and power Patriarchy makes women dependent on men for their social standing
24
Intersection theory Interplay of race, class, and gender resulting in multiple dimensions of disadvantage Especially true for disadvantages linked to race and gender Aboriginal women earn less than other Canadians
25
Gender and violence: The dangerous ways ads see women (2014)
Jean Kilbourne, activist and cultural theorist discusses images of women and men in advertising and illustrates how these images affect us as well as the implications for inequality and violence in our culture. Watch her 2014 TedX talk at Lafayette College in the U.S….
26
Theoretical perspectives on gender
Structural functionalism: Gender functions to organize social life i.e. Talcott Parsons instrumental vs expressive traits learned in family Conflict theory: Capitalism and private property led to male domination (Engels) Symbolic interactionism: Sex roles define the way a society expects women and men to think and behave
27
Feminism Social equality for men and women
Increase equality Expand human choice Eliminate gender stratification End sexual violence Promote sexual freedom Types of feminism: liberal, socialist, radical, cultural and postmodern
Similar presentations
© 2025 SlidePlayer.com Inc.
All rights reserved.