Social Inequality:

Gender

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Socialization of
Men & Women

Sex

the biological terms for male and

female.

Gender
the learned behavior involving how we
are expected to act as males and
females in society.
masculinity and femininity are learned

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Whats the difference?

Even some debate on this:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/gender/

Gender Traits (BSRI, Bem,

1974)

Whats the difference?

Gender: the social role made up of expectations

for male & female behavior

Gender identity is a social construction

Cultural comparison shows variation
Research and analysis show process of
socialization constructs gender
Family
Schools
Media

Sexism

An ideology justifying prejudice and

discrimination against members of a
sex
Dehumanizing stereotypes
Works both ways, but effects have
been mainly directed toward women

Gender inequality

Labor force participation of women

rising shift from unpaid to paid
work

20thCentury
Goldin(1994)

http://www.queensu.ca/sps/the_policy_forum/distinguished_lectures/the_edmund_clark_distinguished_lecture/labor_
markets_2004Ed.Clark.pdf

Gender inequality
Gender typing affects both
occupation opportunities and
comparative pay
Comparable worth tries to equalize
pay in similar female-dominated and
male-dominated jobs

Comparison of male and female wages

ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/special.requests/lf/aat
39.txt

The Biological Perspective

Assumes that innate

biological differences
between men and
women shape the
contributions that
each can make to
society.
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The Functionalist
Perspective

Talcott Parsons

sex roles became divided along the

lines of instrumental tasks and
expressive tasks.

Functionalists argue

a problem exists when the sex-role

division of labor is no longer consistent
with the needs of a particular society.
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The Conflict Perspective

Sexual differentiation becomes a
battleground for the struggle over
scarce resources.
Conflict theorists argue

sexual inequality is a problem when a

particular group, such as women,
realizes it is being exploited and strives
to do something to change the situation.
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The Interactionist
Perspective

Interactionists emphasize
social definitions and symbolic
representations of appropriate behavior
for males and females in trying to
understand sexual inequality.
For example, conversational styles can
reflect and reinforce gender patterns of
dominance and subordination.

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Sociolect Differences:
Dialogues and Styles of Speech
Styles of speech are influenced by many factors such as:
- geographical dimensions (place)
- temporal dimensions (age, time)
- context of situation (the how, when, where, the who
with, the what, under what circumstances)
Influence by gender:
one must consider:
The gender of the speaker
The gender of the hearer
The gender of the audience
The gender of the person referred to or spoken of

Sociolect Differences:
Dialogues and Styles of Speech
Examples/exercise:
A man talks to a man:
Lets get sloshed!

(short, vulgar, NOT

impolite)
I dont like this topic at all. (formal behaviour,
audience,
statement)
He was a hell of a man!
(compliment)

Sociolect Differences:
Dialogues and Styles of Speech

A woman talks to a woman:

Lets meet for a make up party next saturday.

(informative, polite)
Do you mind if we change the topic.
(formal behaviour,
audience, politeness)
The guy I met in the elevator had a very bad attitude.
(honest, polite, bad
experience)

Sociolect Differences:
Dialogues and Styles of Speech

A man talks to a woman

Would you like to have another drink?

(polite, playing a role,
thinking of own interest)
We will discuss the topic tomorrow if you dont mind.
(politeness, formality,
audience)
He is a very strange person.
(covering own antipathy

with politeness)

Sociolect Differences:
Dialogues and Styles of Speech

A woman talks to a man

You should hurry up honey.

(indicating time pressure,
polite, hidden information)
I will announce my decision tomorrow at 2 pm.
(formal, audience,
informative)
It was an interesting experience to meet him.
(polite description of a
bad experience, hiding
emotions)

Exercise
Pretend to be the opposite sex than
you are and write a short message to
your boy/girlfriend using
female/male language.
Explain what makes your message
sound like a man/woman.

Agents of Socialization

Learning about gender expectations

occurs though the agents of
socialization
the family
the schools
the media

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The Extent of Gender

Inequality in the U.S.

Economic Discrimination
Education
Work and the Workplace
Income

Discrimination in the Military

Gender Inequality Involving Males

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Gender Inequality
Involving Males

Myth of Masculinity

Set of stereotypes about men

Sexual inequality affects men

Limits men in domestic relationships
and from expressing emotions
Discouragement from pursuing certain
kinds of jobs
Being drafted into the military when no
equivalent service is asked of women

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Global Perspective

Gender inequality is widespread

throughout the U.S. and around the world.

In all parts of the world the rate of illiteracy is

higher among women than men.
Women are poorly represented in political
positions where important decisions are made.
Poor women in many developing countries have
been among the victims of a capitalist world
economy.
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Toward Gender Equality

Collective Action

The feminist/womens movement

the collective activities toward the fair and
equal treatment of women and men around
the world
The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan
National Organization of Women
UN Commission on the Status of Women

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Current Trends in the U.S.

Changes in the law

Changes in the workplace

Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act

Title IX of the Education Amendments Act
Government regulations of affirmative action
that encourage hiring and promoting women
Increasing numbers of women in the labor force

Changes in Politics

Although women are underrepresented in

federal government they are making strides.
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