1. Chapter 4
Gender Inequality

2. What is Gender? Gender: Sex:
The personal traits and life chances that a society links to being female or male
Sex:
The biological distinction between females and males
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3. Gender Stratification and Patriarchy
Gender is an important dimension of social inequality.
Frequently takes the form of patriarchy (social patterns by which males dominate females)
Patriarchy is widely evident in the U.S. and around the world
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4. Gender Stratification and Patriarchy
Sociologists see patriarchy – and entire range of gender - as the creation of society itself
Matriarchy is a social pattern in which females dominate males
Explanations of Patriarchy
Men’s greater body size and strength
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5. Gender Stratification and Patriarchy
Brain power
Greater aggressiveness (testosterone)
Most sociologists reject the idea that any behavior is “hard-wired” into human biology
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6. The Problem of Sexism
Sexism is the assertion that one sex is innately inferior to the other
Sexism supports patriarchy
Claiming that men are “better” than women and therefore should dominate them.
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8. Gender and the Family The importance of gender to family life
Begins with the fact that most expectant parents prefer a son to a daughter
Female infanticide
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9. Gender and the Family
After reaching adulthood, gender makes marriage two distinctive relationships
Jessie Bernard’s “his” marriage and “her” marriage (Life gets better, but for whom?)
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10. Gender and Education
Even before starting school, children are exposed to gender bias
Children’s books
Most college students are women
Social pressures still steer women toward majors in English, dance, drama, or sociology
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11. Gender and Education
Men still are directed toward:
Physics, economics, biology, mathematics and computer science
Title IX: Banned sex discrimination in any federally funded educational program
Despite its 1972 passage, equality in athletic programs is more the exception than the rule
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12. Gender and the Mass Media
There are more than 312 million televisions in the U.S.
TV directs its advertising toward women, but ignores them in TV programming.
Women often have supporting roles that reinforce traditional gender roles.
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13. Gender and Politics
Women have played only a marginal role in this nation’s political history
Thousands of women serve at the local levels as mayors and council members
In 2011, 24% of the state legislators were women
6 of the 50 state governors were women.
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17. Gender and Religion Religion has traditionally been patriarchal
More liberal denominations have moved toward greater gender equality
This liberal trend includes:
Revising prayers, hymnals, and even the Bible to reduce sexist language
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18. Gender and Religion
As well as ordaining both men and women as priests
Orthodox Judaism, Islam, & Roman Catholicism retain traditional male leadership
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19. Gender and the Military
Women have been part of the military since the Revolutionary War
During WWII, when the government officially opened the military to both sexes:
Women made up just 2% of the armed forces
Women make up to 14% of the U.S. military fighting force in Iraq
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20. Gender and Work 3 in 5 women are in the work force
60% of married women with children under the age of 6 work
71% of women with children ages 6 to 17 work
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23. Gender and Work
Even though more women work for pay, their range of jobs is still limited
Gender discrimination was outlawed by:
The Federal Equal Pay Act of 1963 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
But even today it continues to be an issue
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24. Gender Stratification
Inequality between men and women is reflected in differences in:
Income and in responsibility for housework
As well as in patterns of violence and even reproductive issues
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25. Gender Stratification
Gender income inequality is the result of men holding different kinds of:
Jobs, family life, and gender discrimination
Glass Ceiling
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27. Violence Against Women
Perhaps the most serious problem linked to patriarchy is
Assault, rape, and murder
Why is violence a gender issue?
Physical aggressiveness is a key element of the cultural definition of masculinity.
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28. Violence Against Women
Gender violence is not so much sexual as an expression of power
When it comes to serious violence, the most dangerous setting is the home
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29. Sexual Harassment
Unwanted comments, gestures or physical contact of a sexual nature
Quid Pro Quo- sexual harassment that is blatant and direct is a violation of civil rights
Hostile Environment- more subtle behavior
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31. Sexuality, Beauty and Reproduction
Beauty is about power and inequality
Social norms encourage females to wear attractive clothes & to be attentive to men
Women’s reproduction has been regulated
regulation of birth control
restricted access to abortion clinics
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32. Women: A Majority-Minority
Numerically, women are a slight majority of the U.S. population
Women meet the test of being a physically distinctive and disadvantaged category
Women have less income, wealth, and power than men
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33. Minority Women: Intersection Theory
Minority women are doubly disadvantaged
They earn less than white women
Minority women earn less than minority men
In 2010, African American women earned 62% as much as white men
And Hispanic women earned 54% as much as white men
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34. Structural-Functional Analysis: Gender and Complementarity
Differences between men and women help build families, integrate society as a whole
Instrumental and expressive roles
Quite influential 50 years ago but is far less today
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35. Structural-Functional Analysis: Gender and Complementarity
Critics contend that:
Functionalism ignores how men and women can and do relate to one another
In a variety of ways that do not fit any norm
Functionalism fails to take into account:
The personal strains and social conflicts produced by rigid gender patterns
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36. Symbolic-Interaction Analysis: Gender in Everyday Life
The symbolic-interaction paradigm provides a micro-level analysis of gender
At work in the everyday lives of individual people
Personal behavior
Use of space
Language
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37. Symbolic-Interaction Analysis: Gender in Everyday Life
Gender directly affects:
Personal behavior, the use of space, and the language we use
Critics point out that symbolic-interaction overlooks the fact that gender is:
A basic part of social organization
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38. Social-Conflict Analysis: Gender and Inequality
Friedrich Engels expanded Marx’s theory to include gender
Arguing that the same process that allows a ruling class to dominate a worker
Places men in a dominant position over women
Patriarchy is a system by which wealthy men transmit their wealth to their sons
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39. Social-Conflict Analysis: Gender and Inequality
The double problem of capitalism lies in exploiting men in the factories
And exploiting women in the home
Critics of this perspective point out:
Families perform vital task of raising children
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40. Social-Conflict Analysis: Gender and Inequality
Not everyone defines the differences as unjust
Patriarchy also occurs in socialist nations
Such as Cuba and The People’s Republic of China
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41. Feminism
Feminism
the study of gender with the goal of changing society to make women and men equal
involves both theory and action
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42. Feminist Foundations
There is no one version of feminism, but almost all feminists agree on:
the importance of gender
the importance of change
the importance of choice
the need to eliminate patriarchy
the need to eliminate violence against women
the importance of sexual autonomy
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43. Types of Feminism Types of feminists Liberal feminists –
Want women and men to be treated as individuals
But want change to occur within existing social institutions
Socialist feminists –
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44. Types of Feminism Radical feminists –
Claim that a Marxist-style class revolution is needed to secure equality for all people
Radical feminists –
Argue that patriarchy is built into the concept of gender itself
And nothing short of erasing gender will bring about equality
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45. Politics and Gender: Constructing Problems and Defining Solutions
Conservatives focus on the value of families
While most conservatives are willing to support women in the workplace
And even in positions of national leadership: most also support policies to strengthen families
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46. Politics and Gender: Constructing Problems and Defining Solutions
Believe that gender equality may weaken the family
Liberals focus on the pursuit of equality
Speak out in favor of the slow but steady progress
Has been made to expand rights and opportunities
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47. Politics and Gender: Constructing Problems and Defining Solutions
Families have changed because families need two working adults to make ends meet
Men must take greater responsibility for the home and children
The earning power of women must be raised
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48. Politics and Gender: Constructing Problems and Defining Solutions
Radicals argue that, at a minimum:
Basic change must come to the economic and political system.
The target of basic change is the family
Some radical feminists promote the elimination of gender itself
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