1. Saudi king: Women given right to vote for first time in 2015 nationwide
local elections (Associated Press, 9/25/11)
1

2. 2

3. Gender in the News
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/fast-fix---woman-problem-for-obama-administra
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0tzDtt6phY
[print story]
http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/09/13/forever-21-pulls-allergic-to-algebra-t-shirt-after-critics-cry-foul/
Which sociological perspective is best reflected in
A.The news item about women voting rights in Saudi Arabia?
B.The news item about women in the administration/Washington?
C.The controversy over shirts?
1. Conflict
2. Structure-functionalism
3. Symbolic-interactionism
What was missing from these news items? [think about gender as a relation]
3

4. Gender Inequality
Definitions
• Sex:
• Gender:
Prejudice (attitudes)
Gender stratification: spheres
Gender inequality (discrimination):
Sexism (prejudice & discrimination):
Patriarchy: (pater=father)
Institutional power: men as a class have it, women as a class don’t
Feminism: quest for gender equality. Period.
Does “Ivy” the feminist dislike men? No. She simply wants equal institutional power for
herself, mother, daughter and other women – e.g., to be paid equally, to not be at
most risk of domestic violence, and so forth. It is as simple as that. 4

5. Genderized traits:
• What traits are associated with masculine vs.
feminine?
• What do labels tell us?
“Dumb blondes”
“Bullies”
“Jocks”
“Sluts vs. Studs”
“Tough Guise”
Other examples?
Sex roles vary across cultures and times – social
in nature
5

6. Gender Inequality
The Social Construction of Gender
1. Gender Roles:
2. Socialization:
3. Gender role socialization:
Gender roles & socialization constructed & reinforced
through
– Institutions (discuss in more detail)
– Everyday interactions
Young children learn how to act as “boys” or “girls” by:
1. Imitation/Modeling
2. Reinforcement
internalize social expectations for behavior & appearance
6

7. Construction of Gender Begins Early
http://www.babybangsbabywigs.com/home.html
“Baby Bangs say ‘I’m not a boy.’”
Restoration HW Baby Catalogue
…and continues into adulthood:
Can we “pick” the gender of the Mad Men character?
http://www.amctv.com/originals/madmen/whichmadman

8. Is this dog a grrrrllll or a boy?
8

9. :
Example of early gender socialization: Gendering of
Toys
1. Parent’s select toys based on gender
a. Characteristics of "Boy" Toys and “Girl Toys are established
b. Which toys?
c. Degrees of gendering of boys and girls toys
2. Toy Advertising
a. Toys are gender segregated by “gender appropriateness”
b. How? Space, Gendered Colors
9

10. :
What’s the problem with constructing gender?
• Creates and exaggerates artificial
differences
• Differences  discrimination
Other ways gender “differences” constructed in
social institutions
(Macionis, p. 88)
1. Family
2. Education
3. Mass Media
4. Religion
5. Politics
6. Economy/work
10

11. Consequences of Constructing Gender: Social Problems
What social problems are related to gender
discrimination?
1. Family
2. Education
3. Politics
4. Economy/work
“Head of the household”
“Household division of labor”
Spheres/segregation
11

12. Married women with more than three kids did an average of about 28 hours of housework a week.
Married men with more than three kids, by comparison, logged only about 10 hours of housework a week.
Data Source: Stafford, Frank. 2008. Time diaries used to gather data.
http://www.ns.umich.edu/podcast/audio.php?id=80 12

13. Social problems related to gender bias & sexism
Consequences of Constructing Gender
What social problems are related to dividing
genders into two clear-cut categories? For
women? For men?
1. Family
2. Education
3. Politics
4. Economy/work
13

14. • Sports in School: Title IX
– “Playing Unfair”
– Case Study of change? Wrestling:
• http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/17/nyregion/17wrestle.html?_r=1&oref=slogi
• http://video.on.nytimes.com/?
fr_story=ae242927fed432de33fc52f1d3e530b00286fdc3 (2nd link is
permanent)
http://video.on.nytimes.com/?
fr_story=87219ec06d954c48a374feea8b3738cdae382c38
Florida Girl’s weightlifting –only state that sanctions
Living up to coach’s expectations
• Tracking: What’s a girl or a boy to do?
• Attention/validation: educational outcomes (Sadker)
14

15. Consequences of Constructing Gender: Social Problems
What social problems are related to gender
discrimination?
1. Family
2. Education
3. Politics
4. Economy/work
15

16. : Example of construction: Gendering of Politics
Who is/was the first viable woman candidate for president of the
U.S.?
• Victoria Woodhull, in 1872 (ratified)– support of Cornelius Vanderbilt
• Women could not vote until 1920, but held public office
• First woman stockbroker on the NYSE (Woodhull, Claflin, & Co.)
Erika Falk evaluated press coverage of candidates
• “novelty frame” (anomaly)—effect….?
• Portray women = “naturals” in domestic sphere, men=public
• When woman enters public life, seen as norm violation
• Male candidates: 2X # articles than women -- & 7% longer
• 27% of articles on men=issues; 16% for women
• Women: 3X # of comments on attire or physical traits than men
• Age mentioned much more often for women than men.
16

17. Former Arizona Gov. Nancy Neapolitano’s
“fitness” for Dir. Of Homeland Security
• http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/12/02
/campbell.brown.rendell/index.html

18. Political Representation by Gender, 2004
90 87 86
82
80 77
70 US Senate
60
House of
50 Representatives
40 Governors
30
23 State
20 18
13 14 Legislatures
10
0
Women Men
Statistical Abstract of the United States: Tables 408,413,415;
National Governors’ Association, 2004, Election Results
18

19. Social problems related to gender bias & sexism
Consequences of Constructing Gender
What social problems are related to dividing genders into two clear-
cut categories? For women? For men?
1. Family
2. Education
3. Politics
4. Economy/work
a. Gender Wage Gap
b. Work conditions
GENDER WAGE GAP
1. Occupational sex segregation
2. Denial of equal pay & promotions for equal worth (discrim)
3. Human capital differences: keeping women out of the labor
force, learning job-related skills (or not) as part of gender
role/norm
19

20. 20

22. Wage Gap
Traditional Jobs for Women—” Women’s Work”
Occupation % Female Hourly Wages
Secretary 98.6 $14.19
Receptionist 95.5 $10.52
Hairdressers/Cosmetologists 90.8 $10.17
Nursing aids 89.9 $8.60
Waitress 77.4 $6.55
Cashiers 77.0 $8.16
Average: $9.60
22

23. Wage Gap
Pay in Non-Traditional jobs for Women – “Men’s Work”
Occupation % Female Hourly Wages
Machinist 5.6 $16.90
Truck drivers 4.9 $17.50
Aircraft engine mechanics 4.2 $24.78
Construction trades 2.5 $30.99
Automobile mechanics 1.4 $17.31
Average: $ 21.19
• $21.19-$9.60=$11.59; pay gap between M & W work
• “Men’s work” pays~ 2.2X more than women’s work
• $11.59*2000 (hours/year)$23,000 MORE for M than W
• $23,000*30 (working years)$695,400; X 40 yrs. =$920,000
• Plus, insurance, paid sick & annual leave, pension
23

24. Minnesota DOL Study Data
Job Job Evaluation Rating Salary
Delivery Van Driver
117 points $1900 per month
(mostly men)
Clerk Typist
117 points $1400 per month
(mostly women)
24

25. Controls for skill level, job conditions, F.T. employment. Source: BLS, 2004
25

26. Interactive Graphic on Gender Wage Gap
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/03/01/business/20090301_WageGap.html
26

27. 27

28. Generally, Better Educated Workers Have Higher
Incomes but the payoff is greater for men than women
Full-Time Workers Ratio of Female
Males Females
aged 25+ to Male income
Not high school
$24,364 $18,096 0.74
graduate
high school
$34,723 $25,302 0.73
graduate
Some college, no
$ 41,045 $30,418 0.74
degree
Associates degree $42,776 $32,152 0.75
28

29. Generally, Better Educated Workers Have Higher
Incomes but the payoff is greater for men than women
Full-Time Ratio of Female
Males Females
Workers 25+ to Male income
Bachelor’s
$55,929 $40,994 0.73
degree
Master’s degree $70,898 $50,668 0.71
Professional 0.62
$100,000 $61,747
degree
Doctorate
$86,965 $62,122 0.71
degree
29

30. Percent of Physicians at Each Income Level
for Women & Men.
Male Census 2000.
100%
Female 88%
90%
80%
80% 76%
72% 71%
67%
Percent In Income Category
70% 65%
61% 59%
60%
50%
39% 41%
40% 35%
33%
28% 29%
30% 24%
20%
20%
12%
10%
0%
$40- $ 55- $70- $85- $100- $125- $150-
<$40K 55K 70K 85K 100K 125K 150K 200K $200K+
Income Category
30

31. Hartmann, 2005
Economic Policy Institute Report
31

32. “The Myth of Male Decline” by Stephanie Coontz, New York
Times,” October 2012
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/30/opinion/sunday/the-myth-of-male-decline.html?
pagewanted=all&_r=0
Is education the great equalizer or is it a path to gender segregation in the labor force?
“…most women, despite earning higher grades, seem to be educating themselves for
occupations that systematically pay less.” (Coontz)
How have men’s lives changed as women have entered the labor force?
“Among dual-earner couples, husbands with the least education do as much or more
housework than their more educated counterparts. Men who have made these
adjustments report happier marriages — and better sex lives.” (Coontz)
32

33. 33

34. 2004 or closest year depending on availability of data

35. 35

36. Median Weekly Earnings of Full-Time, Year-Round Workers as a
Percentage of White Men's Earnings, 2009
100
90 100
80
70 79
74
60 67 69
50
60
40
30
20
10
0
Men Men Men Women Women Women
White Black Hispanic White Black Hispanic
Source : U.S. Bur. of Labor Statistics,Employment and Earnings Online, 2010

37. Social problems related to gender bias & sexism
(Consequences of Constructing Gender )
1. Family
2. Education
3. Politics
4. Economy/work
a. Gender Wage Gap
b. Work conditions
Work Conditions
1. Physical Health: Injury, Illness and Death
2. Mental Health: repetition, lack of authority
37

38. 38

39. 39

41. Transgender or no gender at all?
• http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trans
gender-at-
five/2012/05/19/gIQABfFkbU_story_4.html
41

42. Social problems related to gender bias & sexism
NOT REQUIRED VIEWING
2.5 minute BBC clip What Are We Fighting For?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/panorama/hi/front_page/newsi
d_8200000/8200511.stm
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/01/13/wo
rld/20090113AFGHAN_index.html
Jean Kilbourne on construction of femininity via ads
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-
1993368502337678412#
42

43. Class Activity
1. You are the parent of a 10 year-old who asks:
“What does it mean to be a man?”
2. MEN ONLY: Answer this:
• “When you are in an all-male space such as a
locker room, what do you say to one another about
what it means to be a man? I.e., how do you define
masculinity when no women are present?
1. Meaning of the lists:
• Of culturally endorsed traits of men, how many are
unique to men? Are women ever strong?
1. Why are we so committed to the ideal that sex
differences in intelligence, competence,
emotions, and morals are biological or
“essential” to women or men?