Transcript Gender Inequalities

SOCIOLOGICAL
EXPLANATIONS FOR
GENDER
INEQUALITIES
G674
Who are they and
what do they have
in common?
(Bonus: Which of them
been in the news
recently?)
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
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Briefly describe biological and social determinist
explanations of gender inequality.
Outline and evaluate functionalist explanations of
gender inequality.
Define human capital.
Outline and evaluate Marxist explanations of gender
inequality.
Explain what is meant by a ‘reserve army of labour’.
RECAP QUIZ: WHITEBOARDS
1.
Which test measures the quality
of female representation in a
media product?
2.
Up to and including what level of
education do females perform
better than males?
3.
What is the difference between
horizontal and vertical
segregation?
4.
What is the “glass ceiling”?
5.
Name one piece of legislation
designed to help tackle gender
inequality
WHY IS THERE GENDER
INEQUALITY?
DISCUSS…
How might a biological
determinist explain gender
inequality?
BIOLOGICAL VIEWS
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Biological determinists (and many others) would
claim that biological differences between men
and women make it inevitable that some jobs are
more suited more for one sex over another…
…However, biological differences can’t really
explain why women earn less or have particular
expectations placed on them…
DISCUSS…
How might Anne Oakley explain
gender inequality?
ANN OAKLEY
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Inequalities are not made inevitable by biological
difference…
…The sexual division of labour is a social
construct, as demonstrated by the works of
Murdock (1949) and Mead (1948).
DISCUSS…
How might a Functionalist
explain gender inequality?
FUNCTIONALISM
PARSONS (1955)
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Men and women serve different social roles; women
play an expressive role (caring, emotional) and men
an instrumental role (the need to achieve and do
stuff).
Men are therefore more suited to working and women
for domesticity.
These differences are innate.
In pairs, decide on three
arguments for and three
against this view:
On your whiteboards!
ACTIVITY: HUMAN
CAPITAL
In Pairs: Whiteboards

List a minimum of five things that make an
employee
valuable to his/her employer.
(This value is known as ‘human capital’)
Ext: - How might the employee gain human capital?
HUMAN CAPITAL THEORY
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Women are less valuable to employers as they
are less committed to work and more likely to
take childcare breaks.
Men therefore have more human capital; their
careers are unbroken and they can continually
build up their skills, experiences etc.
Any pay-gap between men and women is
therefore justified.
CRITICISMS OF HUMAN CAPITAL
THEORY
Olsen & Walby (2004)
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Women face systematic disadvantage is acquiring
human capital because...
...Jobs in which women are concentrated receive
less training opportunities and fewer promotion
prospects.
CRITICISMS OF FUNCTIONALISM
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Most sociologists argue that gender roles are
socially constructed, not biologically ascribed.
Parsons writes from the POV of a male academic
in the 1950s.
Human capital theory does not explain pay-gaps,
as gender continues to influence pay regardless of
qualifications, experience etc. (Sloane; 1994)
2. MARXISM
Karl Marx himself wrote very little about gender,
but some of his theories (and the work of other
Marxists) can be applied to this issue...
PAIRS/SMALL GROUPS:
WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF…
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War was declared in the UK and all the young
men were called overseas to fight…how would
the country run?
There is suddenly a massive and urgent demand
in the UK for a particular type of labour, but
hardly anyone here can do it?
A new business tries out a new (but very risky)
idea and very quickly needs some new staff to do
so?
PAIRS/SMALL GROUPS:
AND THEN WHAT WOULD HAPPEN WHEN…
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War was over and all the young men came
home…
The country suddenly faces an economic crisis
and the demand for that type of labour is
massively reduced…
The business venture doesn’t work.
THE RESERVE ARMY OF LABOUR
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A reserve army of labour is a section of the
workforce that can be easily hired and fired...
...When the economy needs them (e.g. In
prosperous times, or times of expansion or
desperation) they are employed...
...But quickly disposed of when recession kicks in,
or demand dries up…
THE RESERVE ARMY OF LABOUR
Some sociologists argue that women are a
classic example of this idea because:
They change jobs more often than men, so are
more vulnerable to redundancies
 They are less likely to be unionised
(Beechey;1976) are more likely to accept lower
paid, less skilled jobs.
 Capitalist ideology locates the woman at home,
with fewer rights than men.
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THE RESERVE ARMY OF LABOUR:
CRITICISMS
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Outdated: Relatively few occupations are
unionised these days...
...Women are increasingly the main earners in
dual-income households...
ENGELS (1972)
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Women were given a subordinate position
in society because men needed them to produce
and raise heirs so that property could be passed
on...
(However, this explanation is pure theory
and doesn’t explain why women do not
benefit from these inheritance laws.)
WRITTEN ACTIVITY
Outline and evaluate Functionalist
explanations for gender inequality [20]
Or
Outline and evaluate Marxist explanations
for gender inequality [20]
3. WEBERIANISM
Note: The concepts of Horizontal and Vertical
segregation are often attributed to the Weberian
perspective.
DUAL LABOUR MARKET THEORY
(BARRON & NORRIS; 1976)
The labour market is split in two:
1.
The Primary Labour Market
Secure, well-paid jobs with good prospects
2.
The Secondary Labour Market
Insecure, poorly-paid jobs with few promotion
opportunities
Women are more likely to be in the secondary
labour market because...
MYTHS AND STEREOTYPES ABOUT THE
UNSUITABILITY OF WOMEN FOR PRIMARY
SECTOR JOBS (ZIMMERMAN; 1991)
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Workers don’t like working for female managers
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Women are less dependable
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Women are financially dependent on men (so
don’t need pay rises or promotions)
Women will stop work to have children (so no
point training them)
Working mothers cause damage to their children
(so don’t employ them for the sake of their kids!)
EVALUATION (BRADLEY; 1996)
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Fails to explain inequalities within a single
sector.
For example, teaching is a primary labour
market occupation, yet women are less likely
than men to gain high status teaching jobs e.g.
70% of teachers are female, but only 35% of senior
jobs in education are held by women.
FEMINISM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q89xx2R3iIw
FEMINISM
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What is meant by first wave feminism and
second wave feminism.
Explain:
Liberal feminism
Marxist feminism
Radical feminism
Black feminism
SOME GENERAL FEMINIST
EXPLANATIONS
 Male
trade unionists restrict women’s
opportunities.
 Sexual harassment is used at work to
keep women in their place (Stanko; 1988)
 Jobs like bar work and secretarial work
are sexualised; not taken seriously.
 Sexual work (e.g. looking good,
tolerating sexual innuendo, flirtatious
banter) has become integral to many
women’s jobs (Adler; 1995)
AS RECAP!
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How would Anne Oakley’s views on the social
construction of gender contribute to arguments
about gender inequality?
LIBERAL FEMINISM
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Gender inequality today exists because it has
been historically unchallenged (Friedan; 1963)
The main reason for inequality is the dominance
of the mother/housewife role (Oakley; 1974)
Liberal Feminists tend to be positive about the
future potential for equality and support
positive discrimination.
MARXIST FEMINISM
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An example of a dual-systems theory, as it
requires two areas of thought (patriarchy and
economics) to explain gender inequality.
Hartmann (1981) describes it as an ‘unhappy
marriage’, because these two areas can be
difficult to fit together into a single theory.
MARXIST FEMINISM
Most Marxist Feminists would agree with
what we have already discussed regarding
the reserve army of labour.
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Some, like Benston (1972) argue that women
have been used to benefit the development and
continuation of capitalism, in various ways...
HOW WOMEN ARE USED FOR CAPITALISM’S
BENEFIT: ACTIVITY (PAIRS)
For each, identify a way to solve the problem and a potential problem with
trying to solve the problem...
Women assist
capitalism by...
Possible solutions
Potential problems
Providing free
housework
Pay women for carrying
out housework
How much to pay?
Where does the money
come from?
Providing free childcare
Promoting the ideology
of the nuclear family
Beautifying themselves
Working for lower
wages than men
Provides emotional
support to (male)
workers
RADICAL FEMINISM
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Society is patriarchal: Women are controlled by
men in both personal and public spheres.
The source of patriarchy is biological e.g.
women’s ability to give birth (Firestone; 1971).
RADICAL FEMINISM
 Many
radical feminists disagree with the
biological argument; there are many
disagreements regarding the source of
patriarchy.
 According to Walby (1990), patriarchy is
socially/culturally variable. Men will
always try to oppress women, but they
cannot always succeed in this in the same
ways.
RADICAL FEMINIST ‘SLOGANS’:
What do they mean:
All feminists are lesbians
All men are rapists
Marriage makes women sick
PREFERENCE THEORY
Hakim (2004) – ‘Inequality is down to
personal preference’.
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Adaptive Women; combine paid work/family
equally. Seek flexible, p/t work.
Work-Centred Women; focus on career and fit
family life around it.
Home-Centred Women; prefer not to work.
WRITTEN ACTIVITY
Outline and evaluate the view that the
patriarchal nature of contemporary British
society is the cause of gender inequality in the
UK [40]
Outline and evaluate Functionalist explanations
for gender inequality [40]
Outline and evaluate Marxist explanations for
gender inequality [40]