1. Gender Inequality

2. Introduction to Gender Inequality
There is no nation where women and men are equals.
A History of global patriarchy
Sex refers to the biological differences between males and females.
Gender refers to the social and cultural patterns attached to women and men, or the way a society treats those biological differences
Social factors make women unequal to men.

3. Is Gender Biological or Social?
Biological Basis for Gender Roles:
Males and females are different from the moment of conception.
Chromosomal and reproductive differences
Hormones
If gender is completely biological, the suggestion is that these biological differences explain the domination of women by men.

4. Social Bases for Gender Roles
Cross-cultural evidence shows a wide variation of behaviors for the sexes.
Society transforms females and males into socially interacting women and men.
Every known society makes gender a major category for organizing social life.

5. The Social Construction of Gender
Gender role Socialization
Femininity and masculinity
When does gender role socialization begin? Through what agents do boys and girls/men and women learn gender behavior norms?

6. Gender Roles in the United States
Gender-Role Socialization
Boys must be masculine
Active
Aggressive
Tough
Daring
Dominant
Girls must be feminine
Soft
Emotional
Sweet
Submissive

7. Gender Myths
We tend to associate stereotypically female characteristics with weakness and typically male characteristics with strength.
He’s firm, but she’s stubborn.
He’s careful about details, but she’s picky.
He’s honest, but she’s opinionated.
He’s raising good points, but she’s “bitchy.”
We tend to see men as strong, not emotional and women as emotional and not strong, although we have seen those stereotypes change through the years and we are seeing them change even more.

8. The Problem of Sexism
Sexism is the assertion that one sex is innately inferior to the other
Sexism supports patriarchy by claiming that men are “better” than women and therefore should dominate them.

9. Women and Men are Differentiated and Ranked
Gender Stratification: the ranking of the sexes in such a way that women are unequal in power, resources, and opportunities
Gender inequality exists in most parts of the world.
Does it continue to exist in the Unites States?

10. Gender and Power Institutions are structured around gender.
Institutional discrimination: denial of opportunities and equal rights to individuals and groups that results from normal operations of a society
Patriarchy is the term used for forms of social organization in which men are dominant over women.
In what Social Institutions do we continue to see male domination?

11. Male Domination
Politics and Government
The Law

12. Male Domination
Religion
The Family

13. Male Domination The Economy-Women in the Workplace
The Gender wage gap- Women earn 81 cents on the dollar that men earn even with equal occupation and level of education
For women of color, earning discrimination is even greater
The Matrix of Domination- Social forces that contribute to the subordinate status of many women

14. Male Domination Women in the Workplace Explaining the Gender wage gap
Discrimination
Male corporate culture
Gender role Socialization
Occupational segregation
Carework

15. What improvements have been made for the status of women in American society over the last half century?
Why?

16. Addressing Gender Discrimination
Feminism: belief in social, economic, and political equality for women
Early 19th century feminists won many victories, including 19th Amendment
2nd feminism wave emerged in U.S. in 1960s
As women became aware of sexist attitudes and practices, began to challenge male dominance

17. Addressing Gender Discrimination: 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

18. Addressing Gender Discrimination
Construction of gender discrimination as a social problem
Areas to seek improvement
Gender roles and carework
Closing the gender wage gap
“Family Friendly” policies
Board room quotas
I.E. Lilly Ledbetter