Gender InequalityThe Workplace

Discrimination

• Patriarchy- a system in which men are dominant over women.

• Sexism: set of beliefs, attitudes, norms and values used to justify gender inequality.

• This ideology has been used to justify men’s leadership and power positions in the economic , social, and political spheres of society.

Workforce• There has been a steady

increase in the number of women who work outside the home:• 1940 1 out of 4 workers

were women• 1960 1 out of 3 workers

were women• http://

www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxZ3A9giyIo&feature=youtu.be

• Today 1 out of 2 workers are women

Figure 11.4 Gender Changes in Professional Degrees

Source: Statistical Abstract 2002: Table 281.

Pay Gap• The pay gap:• Women who work full time average 77% of what

men are paid• Exists in all age groups and education levels.• http://

www.thesociologicalcinema.com/1/post/2012/07/do-men-really-earn-more-than-women.html

Causes: • “Career Choices”

• Occupational sex segregation: concentration of women in lower-status positions

• Women typically choose lower-paying jobs• Changing?

http://www.nytimes.com/video/2012/05/20/business/100000001547050/donning-the-pink-collar.html

• “Gender Discrimination”• Equal qualifications but paid less

Figure 11.8 The Gender Gap Over Time: What Percentage of Men’s Income Do Women Earn?

Source: By the author. Based on Statistical Abstract 1995: Table 739; 2002: Table 666, and earlier years. Note: The income jump from 1990 to 1995 could be due to a statistical procedure. The 1995 source (for 1990 income) uses “median income,” while the 1997 source (for 1995 income) merely says “average earnings.” How the “average” is computed is not stated. For a review of this distinction, see Table 5.2. Broken lines indicate the author’s estimates.

Figure 11.5 Women’s and Men’s Proportion of the U.S. Labor Force

Sources: By the author. Based on 1969 Handbook on Women Workers, 1969: 10; Manpower Report to the President, 1971: 203, 205; Mills and Palumbo, 1980: 6, 45; Statistical Abstract 2002: Table 564. Note: Pre 1940 totals include women 14 and over: totals for 1940 and after are for women 16 and over. Broken lines are the author’s projections.

The Glass Ceiling

• The glass barrier that keeps women from reaching the executive suite• Men who dominate the corporate world

seek potential leaders who are like them• Women are seen as weak and given

subordinate jobs• Women lack mentors

The Glass Ceiling is Cracking• More women are reaching the executive

jobs• Of the nations 500 major corporations

2012 holds record at 18 headed by women. • 2011 – 12 women• 2010 – 15 women

• They learn to play by men’s rules, giving up sleep and time with their families

• Presidential debate question: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50133278n

• http://www.thesociologicalcinema.com/1/post/2010/07/edwards-i-wasnt-criticizing-hillary-for-emotional-moment.html

• John Edwards responds to Hillary Clinton comment• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qgWH89qWks&feature=relmfu

• Hillary tearing up?• http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41872303/ns/business-forbescom/fr

om/toolbar

Glass Escalator• The mostly invisible accelerators

that push men into higher-level positions, more desirable work assignments, and higher salaries.

• The Stereotype that because someone is male he is more capable.

• This takes place in traditionally female jobs: nurses, librarians, elementary school teachers etc.

The “Mommy Track”

• To help resolve the conflict of taking care of the children and being employed full time, female workers may have the option of the “mommy track”• Would emphasize both career and family• Compared to the “fast track” that would require out of town

meetings and work down at night• Has faced severe criticism

• Women may be encouraged to be satisfied with lower pay etc.

• No “daddy track”

Sex and Gender Men

Reexamining the Plight of Young Males

• Research says that boys are in trouble• Boy babies die in greater numbers in infancy and are more

fragile as babies than girls• Boys are more likely than girls:

• To be told they have learning disabilities• To be sent to the principal’s office• To be given medication for ADHD disorder• To be suspended from high school• To commit crimes• To be diagnosed as schizophrenic or autistic

• In adolescence, they commit suicide 5 times more often than girls do

• In adulthood, they are being incarcerated at ever-increasing rates, abandoning families, and becoming more likely to be both the perpetrators and victims of violence.

Are men oppressed? • In many ways yes….

1. Women outnumber men2. Women live longer than men (7 years)3. Men suffer from stress related problems more than women (although

increasing for women)4. Men die of work-related injuries 20:1 over women5. Men are drafted for wars, not women6. Breast cancer research receives about 6 times more funding than prostate

cancer research even though men are only slightly less likely to die from prostate cancer than women with breast cancer.

7. Men are twice as like to be victims of violent crimes; men are 3 times more likely to be murdered.

• Can we as a society, change the way we raise our males so that they do not fall into the male stereotype?