Dr. Sara DiazWGST 303: The *isms: Race, Class, and GenderGonzaga University
Masculinity & Capitalism
Women’s Wages
• In 2010, women earned 77 cents of every dollar that men earned, unchanged since 2006.
• 1963 women earned 59 cents of every dollar men earned.
Which Women?
All Women
White
Women
Black W
omen
Asian Americ
an W
omenLa
tina0
20
40
60
80
100
2009 Average Annual Earnings as % of White Male
Female Dominated Fields
Women Men GWG
Maids $371 $436 85.1%
Secretaries $614 $736 83.4%
Registered Nurses $1011 $1168 90.4%
Elementary Teacher $871 $994 87.6%
Ticket Agent $537 $752 71.5%
Productive Work
• For mainstream economists the “productive economy” is:
Characterized by monetary exchanges through trade, the organization of work, distribution and marketing of goods, contracts, negotiation of wages and salaries, and so forth.
• For our purposes “productive work” will be paid labor.
At Home “Care” Work
• Gendered Division of Labor• Assumption behind the productive economy is
that there is someone (a wife) at home taking care of the domestic sphere so that the worker (gendered male) can be productive.• Laundry, food procurement and cooking,
home maintenance, bills/accounts, child rearing, elder care
• This produces a “second shift” or “double day” for women workers who often are the wife.
Reproductive Economy
• This domestic labor includes biological and social reproduction, mainly done by women, to maintain daily life, raise children, care for elders, and so on. • It is often considered “unproductive”
because it is unwaged, but it is fundamental to the ability to do wage work.