SOCIOL 1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 20: Occupational Segregation, Motherhood Penalty, Human Capital
Document Summary
For every dollar men ear, women earn roughly. Labor markets are neutral environments that reward workers for their skills, experience, and productivity. Gender disparities in the workplace stem from discrepancies in skills and experience between men and women, not from gender discrimination. Individuals come to learn, through socialization in the family, among peers, in schools, and through the media, what behavior is appropriate and inappropriate for their gender. Women then seek out and are directed toward jobs that reinforce feminine traits and men seek out and are directed to jobs that reinforce. Gender segregation and disparities in the workplace are a function of this socialization process. Women and men are compensated differently for similar characteristics in part because of gender differences in workplace performance evaluation and gendered beliefs about men"s and women"s skills and abilities. Much of the gender gap in wages can be explained by taking into consideration .
