SOCIOLOGICAL EXPLANATIONS FOR GENDER INEQUALITIESG674

Who are they and what do they have in common?(Bonus: Which of them been in the news recently?)

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

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

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

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)

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

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)

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 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. MARXISMKarl 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…

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…

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

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.

THE RESERVE ARMY OF LABOUR: CRITICISMS

Outdated: Relatively few occupations are unionised these days...

...Women are increasingly the main earners in dual-income households...

ENGELS (1972)

Women were given a subordinate positionin 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. WEBERIANISMNote: 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 MarketSecure, well-paid jobs with good prospects

2. The Secondary Labour MarketInsecure, 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)

Workers don’t like working for female managers

Women are less dependable

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)

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.

FEMINISMhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q89xx2R3iIw

FEMINISM

What is meant by first wave feminism and second wave feminism.

Explain:Liberal feminismMarxist feminismRadical feminismBlack 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!

How would Anne Oakley’s views on the social construction of gender contribute to arguments about gender inequality?

LIBERAL FEMINISM

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

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.

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

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’.

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]