Reading Lec 10 - Gender Inequality

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lemonminnow931

16 Feb 2011

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Sociology January 13th, 2011.

Gender Inequality

New Society – Ch. 7

•Fact that gender is largely learned and that its content is continually altered

through social interact had three implications:

1.Gender identities and behaviours are not stable and fixed. What people take to be

masculine/feminine varies b/w societies, and w/in any given society, over time

2.Gender identities—internalized sense of being man/woman—and gender specific

behaviours need not be congruent w/ the sex assigned to individuals at birth

3.Just like sexuality and sex, gender identities and behaviours are not polar

opposites; there are degrees of masculinity and femininity

Three Dimensions of Inequality: Power; Material well-being – involves access to

economic resources necessary to pay for food, clothing, housing, and other possessions

and advantages. 2 important sources of material well being: work related earnings and

accumulated wealth; and Prestige

•Social scarification – classification of persons into groups based on shared socio-

economic conditions  leads to gender inequality

Feminist Theories

Marxism derived from Karl Marx

•Capitalists benefit because they obtain refreshed workers at the beginning of each

day and mothers raise children who will become future labourers

•Capitalists also benefit from women’s unpaid work because women in paid labour

force, help capitalists earn profit because they act as a “reserve army of labour”

that can be hired and fired as labour demands change

•Gender equality is possible once socialism replaces capitalism

Socialist feminism builds on Marxist feminism

•Agree that gender inequality is cause by the gendered division of labour and its

exploitation by capitalism

•Argue that classes constitute only one set of social relations that oppress women

•2nd set of social relations is patriarchy – the system of male domination over

women

•Patriarchy predates capitalism

•Glass ceiling effect – women face invisible barriers that prevent them from

penetrating the highest levels of organizations where power is concentrated and

exercised

•Impersonal discrimination “statistical discrimination” – process whereby

employers make decisions about whether to hire and how much to pay any given

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Document Summary

7: fact that gender is largely learned and that its content is continually altered through social interact had three implications, gender identities and behaviours are not stable and fixed. Three dimensions of inequality: power; material well-being involves access to economic resources necessary to pay for food, clothing, housing, and other possessions and advantages. 2 important sources of material well being: work related earnings and accumulated wealth; and prestige: social scarification classification of persons into groups based on shared socio- economic conditions leads to gender inequality. Impersonal discrimination statistical discrimination process whereby employers make decisions about whether to hire and how much to pay any given www. notesolution. com. January 13th, 2011. women on the basis of the employers" perceptions of the average characteristics of all women: women"s movement social movement that takes action to improve the status of women feminism important part of women"s movement.

Reading Lec 10 - Gender Inequality

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