1. Chapter 9 inequalities of Gender and Sexual Orientation

2. Women as a minority group
Sex is the major sorting device in every society in the world.
Men are paid more for the same work and continue to dominate politics and public life.
As a result, women are considered a minority group because of their position relative to men, the dominant group.

3. The development of Gender Discrimination as a social problem
As more and more women began to publicize their grievances at being second- class citizens dominated by men, sociologists began studying sexism.
Sexism – the belief that one sex is innately superior to the other and the discrimination that results from this belief
Sociologists point out that women presidents and prime ministers today are individual women in positions of power, not examples of women-as-a-group in control of a society.

4. List some “Male jobs”. List some “female jobs”.

5. Sexual Stratification of Work
Every society stratifies its members by sex; that is, they single out males and females for different activities.
Around the world most work is sex- typed, associated with one sex or the other.
Social scientists have discovered that universally, men’s activities are always given greater prestige.
It is the sex that is associated with the work that provides its prestige, not the work itself.

6. Major Areas of Discrimination
Political and legal
Less women in public office
Education
Less women in professional schools for architecture, technology, medicine, etc.
Economic
Unequal pay, promotion, and responsibility
Social
What Stands in the Way of Women
Being Equal to Men? BBC News

7. Symbolic Interactionism
Sex – the different biological equipment of males and females
Gender – how we express our “maleness” or “femaleness”
Sex is biological and gender is learned, or social.
Symbolic Interactionists study how we are socialized into gender roles, the attitudes and behaviors expected of boys and men because they are male and girls and women because they are female.
What do toys teach kids
about gender roles?

8. Symbolic Interactionism
Symbolic interactionists assume that gender differences are learned.
Socialization makes the stereotypes applied at birth a reality
Society uses the labels male and female to sort its members into separate groups
Starts within the family and is reinforced by society

9. Functionalism
Functionalism looks at a patriarchal society, or one in which men rule over women.
As justification, over time, men have linked manhood with superiority.

10. Conflict/Feminist Theory
Principles of Power:
Power yields privilege.
In every society the powerful enjoy the best resources available.
The privileged lifestyles of those in power encourage them to feel that they are superior beings.
To strengthen their feelings of superiority, the powerful use ideologies to justify their position.
The powerful use social institutions to maintain their power.

11. Conflict/Feminist Theory
Women have always struggled for equality.
In the 1800s, almost every woman was under the legal control of a man.
Did not have basic rights to vote or hold property.
Women had to confront men and the social institutions that men dominated.
1916 – feminists, called suffragists, formed the National Woman’s Party
Main goal was to attain the right to vote.
Many arrested and thrown in prison.

12. Conflict/Feminist Theory
Today, discrimination against women continues, but it is more subtle.
Hidden quotas, sex jokes, assumptions that men should be in positions of power
Glass ceiling – describes this conceptual blockage that keeps women from achieving the higher positions in the workplace

14. Gender inequality and the Mass Media
The mass media help to shape gender roles by portraying certain behaviors as “right” for boys and other behaviors as “right” for girls.
Children’s books teach little children about the world and what is considered appropriate behavior.
Twice as many male characters as there are female characters
Females are more likely to be portrayed indoors and without a job
Males are more likely to be portrayed outdoors

15. Gender inequality and the Mass Media
In television, male characters outnumber female characters two to one.
Today’s cartoon female characters, while still more emotional, are portrayed to be just as intelligent, brave, powerful, and aggressive as the male superheroes.
2/3 of all prime-time characters on adult shows are male and are more likely to be portrayed in high-status positions.
9 out of 10 women on prime time are below the age of 46 and most female characters are below average in weight.

17. Gender inequality and the Mass Media
Music teaches boys to dominate male-female relationships.
Lyrics instruct girls to be sexy, passive and dependent
Women act as background for dominant male singers
Rap lyrics glorify male aggression
Country music portrays aggressive and dominant men and passive and dependent women.
Girl in a Country Song

18. Gender inequality and the Mass Media
Advertising also portrayed gender discrimination.
Commercials aimed at children are more likely to show girls as cooperative and at home and boys as aggressive and outdoors.
Men occupy high-status positions and women make most purchases.
Use of the female body to sell products.

19. Homework!
Find three examples of currently popular songs that promote or are examples of gender inequality in music.
Find three more examples of gender inequality in either children’s books, television, or advertisements.
Write all six examples down in your notebook and be prepared to share what you found with the class tomorrow.

21. Women in Politics
Although we are undergoing fundamental changes in politics, the political world is still strongly dominated by men.
2007 – first female Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi
3 female U.S. Secretary of States
2 female vice-presidential nominees
2008 – Hilary Clinton was the first woman to win a presidential primary

22. Women in Politics
88%
83%
83%
76%
24%
17%
12%

23. Women in Politics Dominance is masculine.
About 7.5 million more women than men are of voting age.
Why don’t women take political control?
Social institutions continue to socialize men into positions of authority and women into accepting this authority.
Dominance is masculine.
Politics is a form of dominance.
Therefore, politics is masculine.

25. Women in the Work Force

26. Women in The work force
The number of women employed outside the home has increased consistently.
However, women come up against “old boys’ networks”, social contracts that keep jobs, promotions, and opportunities circulating among men.
At all ages and at all levels of education, the average woman is paid led than the average man.

27. Women in the Work Force

29. CNN Money - Gender Gap
The Truth About the Gender Pay Gap
TEDx - A World without Gender Inequality

30. Sexual Harassment
Another form of discrimination is sexual harassment,, unwanted sexual advances made by a person in power.
Often tied to promotions or demotions in the workplace
The traditional view of sexual harassment makes it a personal problem, a matter of individual sexual attraction.
Body language and “signals”

31. Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment eventually became seen as a social problem that is built into the work setting.
2 conditions of work encourage sexual harassment:
Most women occupy an inferior status in boss-worker relations.
Emphasis on women as sex objects
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) broadened the definition of sexual harassment to include all unwelcome verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature that affect an individual’s employment or work performance, or created an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment.

32. Sexual Harassment
Used to be perceived as exclusively a woman’s problem.
More currently, men are finding themselves victims and file 1 of every 6 sexual harassment legal claims.
In 1998, the Supreme Court broadened sexual harassment laws to include people of the same sex, and the law now covers the harassment of homosexuals by heterosexuals and vice versa.