Psychology soc assignment 10

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Chapter10 Outline - Mooney-2 LECTURE OUTLINE I. THE GLOBAL CONTEXT: THE STATUS OF WOMEN AND MEN A. Defining sexism and gender 1. Sexism: the belief that innate psychological, behavioral, and/or intellectual differences exist between women and men and that these differences connote the superiority of one group and the inferiority of the other. 2. Discerning the basis for discrimination is often difficult because the different types of minority status may intersect. a. Double or triple (multiple) jeopardy occurs when a person is a member of 2 or more minority groups. 3. Gender, the social definitions and expectations associated with being female or male, should be distinguished from sex, one’s biological identity. a. Most Western cultures take for granted that there are two categories of gender. b. In many other societies, three and four genders have been recognized. c. Recognition that gender is not binary is increasing, as evidenced by Obama’s proposal to bar discrimination against federal transgender—individuals whose sense of gender identity is inconsistent with their birth sex—employees. B. The Global Context: The Status of Women and Men 1. There is no country in the world in which women and men have equal status. 2. The World Economic Forum assessed the gender gap in 132 countries by measuring the extent to which women have achieved equality within four areas: economic participation, education, health and survival, and political empowerment. a. The U.S. ranked 22 out of the 128 countries studied. 3. Gender inequality varies across cultures in extent, degree and form. 4. A global perspective on gender inequality must take into account the different ways in which such inequality is viewed (e.g., practices of Muslim women wearing a headscarf in public and female genital cutting are viewed differently to different people).

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C. Inequality in the United States 1. In the U.S., women have had to fight for equality: the right to vote, equal pay for comparable work, quality education, entrance into male-dominated occupations, and legal equality. a. The World Economic Forum ranks the U.S. 22nd in the world in gender equality. b. Most citizens agree that U.S. society does not treat women and men equally: Women have lower incomes, likely to live in poverty. 2. Men are also victims of gender inequality. a. In 1963, sociologist Erving Goffman observed that any male who failed to qualify as young, married, white, urban, northern, heterosexual, Protestant, college educated, fully employed, of good complexion, weight and height, and a recent record in sports is likely to view himself as unworthy, incomplete, and inferior. b. Masculinity is still based on “success”—at work, on the athletic field, on the streets, and at home—which must be maintained and proven, placing pressure on boys and men.

II. SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES OF GENDER INEQUALITY A. Structural-Functionalist Perspective 1. Pre-industrial society required a division of labor based on gender. a. Women, out of biological necessity, remained at home performing such functions as bearing, nursing, and caring for children. b. Men, who were physically stronger and could be away from home for long periods of time, were responsible for providing food, clothing, and shelter. c. This division of labor was functional and came to be defined as normal and natural. 2. Industrialized society rendered the traditional division of labor less functional. a. Today, because of daycare facilities, lower fertility rates, and the less physically demanding and dangerous nature of jobs, the traditional division of labor is no longer as functional. b. Families have evolved from extended to nuclear, authority is more egalitarian, more women work outside the home, and greater role variation exists in the division of labor. B. Conflict Perspective 1. Male dominance and female subordination are shaped by the relationship men and women have to production process. a. Hunting and gathering societies: women and men were economic equals, each controlling

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their own labor and producing needed subsistence. b. As society evolved to agricultural and industrial modes of production, private property developed and men gained control of production while women remained in home to bear and care for children. i. Male domination was furthered by inheritance laws that ensured that ownership would remain in their hands and laws that regarded women as property. c. As industrialization continued and the production of goods and services moved away from the home, the male-female gaps continued to grow. 2. Continued domination by males requires a belief system that supports gender inequality. a. Two such beliefs are that women are inferior outside the home and more valuable in the home. b. The subordinate position of women in society is a consequence of social inducement rather than biological differences that led to the traditional division of labor. C. Symbolic-Interactionist Perspective 1. Through the lifelong socialization process, females and males are taught meanings associated with being feminine and masculine. 2. Gender roles are taught by the family, school, peer groups, and media. 3. Feminist theory a. Conceptions of gender are socially constructed as societal expectations dictate what it means to be female or what it means to be male. i. Women are socialized into expressive roles (nurturing and emotionally supportive roles); men are socialized into instrumental (task-oriented) roles. ii. These roles are then acted out in daily interactions as boss and secretary, doctor and nurse, football player and cheerleader “do gender.” b. Gender is a central organizing factor in the social world and so must be included as a fundamental category of analysis in sociological research. i. The impact of the structure and culture of society is not the same for different groups of women and men. ii. Research should thus take into consideration the differential effects of class, race and ethnicity, and sexual orientation.

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III. GENDER STRATIFICATION: STRUCTURAL SEXISM A. Structural sexism or institutional sexism: the ways the organization of society and its institutions subordinate individuals and groups based on sex classification. B. Education and Structural Sexism 1. Nearly 2/3’s of illiterate adults are women. 2. In 2012, few differences existed between American men and women in their completion rates of high school and college degrees. 3. Trends still show women lagging behind in STEM areas. 4. Women may earn fewer advanced degrees than men due to socialization that encourages them to choose marriage and motherhood over long-term career preparation and structural limitations that discourage women from advancing in education. C. Work and Structural Sexism 1. About ½ of women and 80% of men make up the world’s total labor force. 2. Women have higher unemployment rates for a variety of reasons. 3. Women are disproportionately employed in vulnerable employment areas. 4. No matter what the job, if a woman does it, it is likely to be valued less than if a man does it. (e.g., clerks in the 1800s were 90% men and being a clerk was a prestigious position). 5. Occupational sex segregation: the concentration of women in certain occupations and men in other occupations a. Although it remains high, it has decreased in certain occupations. b. Over the last 20 years, there has been a significant increase in the number of men in traditionally held female jobs. c. Men in traditionally held female jobs have an advantage in hiring, promotion, and salaries, called the glass escalator effect. d. Women are still heavily represented in low-prestige, low-wage, pink-collar jobs that offer few benefits. 6. Reasons for occupational sex segregation: a. Cultural beliefs about what is an “appropriate” job for a woman or man. b. Opportunity structures differ by gender. i. Women and men are often channeled by employers into gender-specific jobs that

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carry different wages and promotion opportunities. ii. Women in higher paying jobs may be victimized by a “glass ceiling”—an often invisible barrier that prevents women and other minorities from moving into top corporate positions. iii. Working mothers experience a “motherhood penalty” in which they are evaluated as less competent and committed to work than non-mothers and feel pressured to choose professions that permit flexible hours and career paths. iv. Although the type of career pursued may be a woman’s choice, it is a structured choice—a choice among limited options as a result of the structure of society. v. Low female labor participation may be due to the lack of female-friendly employment policies D. Income and Structural Sexism 1. In the U.S. in 2012 women earned 81% of what men earned. a. Racial differences also exist between genders. 2. Arguments for why the income gender gap exists: a. Human capital hypothesis: pay differences result from differences in women’s and men’s education, skills, training, and work experience. i. The life-cycle human capital hypothesis argues that women have less incentive to invest in education and marketable skills because they know their careers will be interrupted by family responsibilities. ii. Human capital differences are a result of structural constraints and expectations that women should remain in the home. b. Devaluation hypothesis: women are paid less because the work they do is socially defined as less valuable than the work performed by men. i. These jobs are undervalued in part because they include a significant amount of emotion work—work that involves caring, negotiating, and empathizing with people. ii. Emotion work is rarely specified in job descriptions or performance evaluations. c. Women also earn less than men as a result of discrimination in education, hiring, promotions, and salaries. E. Politics and Structural Sexism

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1. U.S. women received right to vote in 1920 with passage of Nineteenth Amendment, but women still play a rather minor role in the political arena. 2. In general, the more important the political office, the lower the probability a woman will hold it. 3. Some countries have electoral quotas to increase the number of women in politics. 4. The relative absence of women in politics is a consequence of structural limitations. a. Running for office requires large sums of money, political backing of powerful individuals and interest groups, and a willingness of the voting public to elect women. b. Minority women have even greater structural barriers to election and represent an even smaller percentage of elected officials. 5. There is also evidence of gender discrimination against female candidates. F. Civil Rights, the Law, and Structural Sexism 1. 1963 Equal Pay Act and Title VII of 1964 Civil Rights Act made it illegal for employers to discriminate on basis of sex; but sex discrimination still occurs. a. Thousands of grievances are filed each year with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)—30,356 grievances in 2012. b. Employers use various techniques to justify their employment practices. i. Walmart, for example, stated that the stores were independently owned, thus supporting their contention that there was no companywide policy or practice of discrimination in place. 2. Other forms of discrimination take place in housing, the military, and in sexual and reproductive rights.

IV. THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF GENDER ROLES: CULTURAL SEXISM A. Cultural sexism: the ways the culture of society (norms, values, beliefs, symbols) perpetuates the subordination of an individual or group based on sex classifications of that group or individual. B. Family Relations and Cultural Sexism 1. From birth, males and females are treated differently, 2. The toys that male and female children receive convey different messages about gender. 3. Household division of labor a. Globally, women and girls continue to be responsible for household maintenance, and

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women are responsible for the majority of hours of unpaid labor. b. Boys and girls work within the home in approximately equal amounts until the age of 18, when the sex-ratio begins to change. c. The fact that women, even when working full-time, contribute significantly more hours to home care than men is known as the “second shift.” d. Three explanations for continued traditional division of labor (not mutually exclusive): i. “Time-availability approach,” consistent with structural-functionalism, claims that role performance is a function of who has time to complete the task. ii. “Relative resources approach,” consistent with conflict theory, argues the spouse with the least power is relegated the most unrewarding tasks. iii. “Gender role ideology,” consistent with symbolic interactionism, argues that the division of labor results from traditional socialization and accompanying attitudes and beliefs. C. The School Experience and Cultural Sexism 1. Textbooks and other instructional materials portray males and females stereotypically. 2. Sexism is also reflected in the way teachers treat students. a. Millions of young girls are subjected to sexual harassment by male teachers. b. Elementary and secondary school teachers pay more attention to boys than girls. 3. Differing expectations and encouragement that females and males receive contribute to their varying abilities, as measured by standardized tests, in disciplines such as reading, math, and science. a. Research also shows that gender stereotypes impact science achievement. 4. Title IX of the 1972 Educational Amendments Act prohibits sex discrimination, however an evaluation suggests that sex discrimination continues at many levels, including women’s underrepresentation in administrative positions; less participation and resources in athletic programs; lower performance in science and math; and sex segregated career and technical education. D. Media, Language, and Cultural Sexism 1. Media portray females and males in a limited and stereotypical fashion. a. The documentary So Sexy So Soon documents the sexualizing of young girls and boys.

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b. Advertising, books, cartoons, songs, toys and television shows create a narrow definition of femininity and sexuality that encourages girls to focus on appearance and sex appeal. c. Men are victimized by media images. i. A recent study of 1,000 adults found that two-thirds of the respondents thought that women in television advertisements were pictured as intelligent, assertive and caring, whereas men were portrayed as pathetic and silly. ii. A study shows present-day beer ads portray young men as bumblers and losers and women as hotties and bitches. 2. Words and the way we use them reflect gender inequality. i. The term nurse carries the meaning of “a woman who…” and the term engineer carries the meaning of “a man who.” ii. Terms like “broad,” “old maid,” and “spinster” have no male counterpart. iii. Sexually active teenage females are described by terms carrying negative connotations, whereas terms for equally sexually active male teenagers are considered complimentary. iv. Language is so gender stereotyped that the placement of sex before titles is sometimes necessary (e.g., “female police officer” and “male prostitute”). E. Religion and Cultural Sexism 1. Research indicates that women attend religious services more often, rate religion as more important to their lives, and are more likely to believe in an afterlife than are men. 2. In general, religious teachings have tended to promote traditional conceptions of gender. a. For example, Evangelicals continue to believe that the male is the head of the household, and Orthodox Jewish women are not counted as part of the minyan, or quorum, required at prayer services, are not allowed to read from the Torah, and are required to sit separately from men at religious services. b. Women cannot serve as ordained religious leaders in the Catholic Church, in Orthodox Jewish synagogues, or in Islamic temples across the nation. c. Even among mainline religious denominations that allow for the ordination of women, these female clergy often do not hold the same status as their male counterparts and are often limited in their duties.

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3. Religious teachings are not all traditional in their beliefs about women and men. a. Quaker women have been referred to as the “mothers of feminism” because of their active role in the early feminist movement.

V. SOCIAL PROBLEMS AND TRADITIONAL GENDER ROLE SOCIALIZATION A. Despite a recent trend, what it means to be a man or a woman has changed little over the decades. B. The Feminization of Poverty 1. Women in the U.S. make up the majority of minimum wage workers and are significantly more likely to live in poverty than men. a. The 2 groups most likely to be poor are female heads of households with dependent children and women over age 65 who have outlived their spouses. 2. It is often assumed that anti-poverty programs designed to address overall economic inequality will reduce the feminization of poverty, however an analysis of poverty in 18 affluent countries shows feminization of poverty is both universal and unique in its origins (tied to the percent of single mother families and the female/male ratio among the elderly). C. The Social-Psychological Costs of Gender Socialization 1. A study of 10-17 year olds found higher levels of depression, stress and rumination (worrying) among girls than boys. 2. Transgender individuals also suffer from self-esteem issues and depression. i. 41% reported attempted suicide. 3. Traditional male socialization discourages males from expressing emotion and asking for help which is sometimes called ‘boy code’. 4. Adolescent girls compared to adolescent boys are also more likely to be dissatisfied with their looks, including physical attractiveness, appearance, and body weight. i. According to Mnet, media messages perpetuate women’s insecurities for economic purposes. 5. Boys are also concerned about body image and as adults their self-esteem is linked to body shape and weight. D. Gender Role Socialization and Health Outcomes 1. Men are less likely to go to a doctor, have poorer health, and a higher risk of mortality than females at every stage of life.

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a. Men in the U.S. die about 5 years earlier than women. b. Traditionally defined gender roles for men are linked to high rates of cirrhosis of the liver, many cancers, cardiovascular diseases, and self-destructive behaviors. 2. HIV/AIDS disproportionately affects women in many areas of the world, even though men have higher rates of the disease. a. Women’s inequality contributes to the spread of the disease. i. In many countries, women lack the power in relationships to refuse sex or negotiate protected sex. ii. Gender norms often dictate that men have more sexual partners than women, putting women at greater risk. iii. Women are often the victims of rape and sexual assault with little social or legal recourse. b. Women and girls are also impacted by deaths from preventable complications during pregnancy and childbirth, exposure to pollutants while cooking, lung cancer and tobaccorelated illnesses resulting from being targeted in developing nations, and illnesses related to being poor, being viewed as less worthy of care, and being forbidden to travel unaccompanied by a male. E. Gender-Based Violence 1. Men are more likely to be involved in violence – to kill or be killed; to wage war; to take their own lives; to engage in violent crimes of all types; to bully, harass, and abuse. 2. Women and girls are often the victims of male violence. a. Worldwide, as many as 70% of women will be physically or sexually abused in their lifetime. b. Over 5,000 women and girls are killed each year in honor killings—murders, often public, as a result of a female dishonoring, or perceived to have dishonored, her family or community.

VI. STRATEGIES FOR ACTION: TOWARD GENDER EQUALITY A. Grassroots Movements 1. Feminism and the women’s movement a. Feminism: the belief that women and men should have equal rights and responsibilities

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b. The U.S. feminist movement began in Seneca, Falls, NY, in 1848 when a group of women wrote and adopted a women’s rights manifesto modeled after the Declaration of Independence. i. Although many early feminists were primarily concerned with suffrage, feminism has it political origins in the abolitionist movement of the 1830s when women learned to question the assumption of “natural superiority.” ii. Their greatest success was the passing of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920, which recognized women’s right to vote. c. The rebirth of feminism almost 50 years later was facilitated by: An increase in the number of women in the labor force; Publication of Betty Friedan’s book The Feminine Mystique; An escalating divorce rate; The socially and politically liberal climate of the 1960s; Student activism; The establishment of the Commission on the Status of Women by John F. Kennedy. i. The National Organization for Women (NOW) was established in 1966 and remains the largest feminist organization in U.S., with more than 500,000 members in 550 chapters. ii. One of NOW’s hardest-fought battles is to win ratification of Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the U.S. Constitution, which states that “equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the U.S., or by any state, on account of sex;” Although the bill passed in the House and the Senate, it has yet to be ratified by the required 38 states. d. Today, a new wave of feminism is being led by young women and men who grew up with the benefits won by their mothers but who are shocked by the current conditions of women in the U.S. and worldwide. i. Today, young feminists are more inclusive than their predecessors, welcoming all who champion the cause of global equality. 2. The men’s movement a. As a consequence of the women’s right movement, men began to reevaluate their own gender status. b. The men’s movement has a variety of factions.

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i. The mythopoetic men’s movement is one of the early branches of the movement, which began after the publication of Robert Bly’s Iron John—a fairy tale about men’s wounded masculinity that was on the New York Times bestseller list for more than 60 weeks. ii. Some men’s organizations advocate gender equality and work to make men more accountable for sexism, violence, and homophobia (e.g., The National Organization of Men Against Sexism (NOMAS) and the national network of Men’s Resource Centers). iii. Some men’s groups focus on issues concerning children and fathers’ rights. iv. Other concerns on the agenda of some men’s rights groups include the domestic violence committed against men by women, false allegations of child sexual abuse, wrongful paternity suits, and the oppressive nature of restrictive masculine gender norms. B. U.S. State and National Policies 1. Statutes passed to help reduce gender inequality include the 1963 Equal Pay Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Educational Amendments Act of 1972, Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000, the 2009 Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, and the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013. 2. In 2009, Obama signed the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act which reversed the 2007 U.S. Supreme Court decision that gave victims of pay discrimination only 180 days to file a grievance; the Act now defines each paycheck as a separate act of discrimination. 3. Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination that violates Title VII of 1964 Civil Rights Act. a. The U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission (EEOC) defines sexual harassment as “unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when this conduct affects an individual’s employment, interferes with an individual’s work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment.” b. Sexual harassment can be of 2 types:

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i. Quid pro quo, in which an employer requires sexual favors in exchange for a promotion, salary increase, or other employee benefit. ii. The existence of a hostile environment that unreasonably interferes with job performance, as in the case of sexually explicit comments or insults made to an employee. c. The victim as well as the harasser may be a woman or a man although adult women are the most frequent targets of sexual harassment. 4. Affirmative action refers to a broad range of policies and practices in the workplace and educational institutions to promote equal opportunity as well as diversity. a. Affirmative action policies developed in the 1960s from federal legislation that requires any employer that receives contracts from the federal government must make “good faith efforts” to increase the number of female and other minority applicants. C. International Efforts 1. International efforts to address problems of gender date back to the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), often referred to as the International Women’s Bill of Rights, was adopted by United Nations in 1979. a. 187 countries have ratified the treaty, including every country in Europe and South and Central America. b. The U.S. is the only industrialized country that has not ratified the document. 2. In 1995, representatives from 189 countries adopted the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action at the Fourth World Conference on Women sponsored by the United Nations. a. The platform reflects an international commitment to the goals of equality, development, and peace for women everywhere. b. The platform identifies strategies to address critical areas of concern related to women and girls, including poverty, education, health, violence, armed conflict, and human rights. 3. In 2000, all members of the United Nations adopted the Millennium Declaration, which defines one of its goals as the promotion of gender equality and women’s empowerment by 2015.

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VII. UNDERSTANDING GENDER INEQUALITY A. Gender roles and inequality are ingrained 1. Traditional gender roles are weakening 2. Eliminating stereotypes liberates men as well as women 3. People are increasingly embracing androgyny-the blending of traditionally defined masculine and feminine characteristics. 4. Gender mainstreaming is becoming increasingly popular.