Social Problems:

Sexism and Gender

Inequality

Gender Inequality as a
Social Problem
Sexism: the subordination of one sex,
female, based on the assumed superiority
of the other sex, male
Patriarchy: a hierarchical system of social
organization in which cultural, political, and
economic structures are controlled by men
Though women comprise 51% of Canadians,
they are called a minority group because
they dont have the resources of men.
Women
Are victims of sexual assault
Earn 71 percent of what men earn

Defining Sex and Gender

Sex: biological differences between males and
females.
Gender: the culturally and socially
constructed differences between females
and males based on meanings, beliefs, and
practices that a group associates with
femininity or masculinity
Intersexed: having unrecognizable genitalia
or both male and female genitalia
Transgendered: ones gender not the same
as biological sex

Sexism and Gender Inequality

Sexism

refers to the range of attitudes,

beliefs, policies, laws and behaviors that
discriminate on the basis of gender
Results in a system of gender inequality
Power and Male Hegemony
Male hegemony refers to the political and
ideological domination of woman in society

Sexism and Gender Inequality

Power and Male Hegemony

Males have greater access to:

Cultural prestige
Political authority
Corporate power
Wealth
Material comforts

Ideology plays a role in legitimizing male

hegemony

Biological and Social Bases for

Gender Roles
Gender roles: rights, responsibilities,
expectations, and relationships of women
and men in a society
At birth, males and females are
distinguished by primary sex
characteristics
At puberty, hormonal differences produce
secondary sex characteristics

Biological and Social Bases for

Gender Roles
To what extent are differences culturally
determined?
Gender ideology: ideas of masculinity
and femininity that are held to be valid in
a particular society and time
Gendered division of labour: the
process whereby productive tasks are
separated on the basis of gender

Gender Inequality and Socialization

Agents of socialization:
Parents and family: treatment, clothes, toys,
or chores
Peers: pressure for behaviour and aspirations
Religion
Media and language
Education:

Gender bias: favouritism toward one gender,

e.g., aggressive boys and dependent girls get
attention

The Family
Traditionally,

the role of wife and mother has

been a subordinate role in society
Increase in working wives and moms and the
juggling of work and family
See Table 5.1 on Unpaid Housework (p.190)
On average, women do 4.3 hours daily while
men do 2.8 hours
Women also responsible for bulk of senior
care

Language and the Media

Language often reinforces traditional sex role

stereotypes :

Media portrays men and women in traditional roles

i.e. Policeman vs. police officer, or calling women girls

Underrepresent women, and
Reinforce stereotypical ideas about women and
physical attractiveness

Stereotypes are a source of prejudice and

discrimination

Feminine mystique
Masculine mystique

Stereotypes place limits on us and on our behaviour

Organized Religion
Religion

has reinforced secular traditions and

gender roles in many cultures, including our
own
Religion has been male dominated
In the last few decades some religions have
begun to ordain women as ministers

Episcopalians
Presbyterians
Reformed Jews

Sexism in Schools
Today,

there is more focus in schools on

Female achievement
Girls sports
More involvement in school politics

Gender

gap in higher education and in certain

disciplines is narrowing but still persists today
However, research show sexism still a
significant factor in schools

Sexism in Schools (cont.)

Research results on sexism in schools shows

that generally,

Teachers pay less attention to girls than boys

Girls lag behind in math and science scores
Girls tend not to choose careers in math and
science
Textbooks and gender stereotypes still persist
Biased tests
Minority girls tend to be ignored

School counselors still channeling girls into sex

typed occupations

However
The

Gender Gap (2004) text p. 197

Montreal study on gender differences in
achievement in school

Boys falling behind especially in language skills

More likely to drop out or not continue
Have more behavioural, learning and social
problems in school

Study

notes that girls see educational

achievement as key to better life, whereas
boys rely on traditional masculinity to get
ahead

Contemporary Gender Inequality

Gender inequality is maintained by:
Individual sexism: anti-female prejudice by
individuals
Institutionalized sexism:discrimination
engaged in at the organizational level
Also, when inequality, prejudice and
discrimination exist, the imbalance in
power leads to sexual harassment

Gender Inequality and

Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment: unwanted sexual
advances, requests for sexual favours, or other
verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature

Occurs at work and school

Sexual harassment is also a growing problem in

schools
The results of a recent U.S. survey found that
83 percent of girls and 79 percent of boys
have been harassed

Both boys and girls are limited by sexual harassment

and stereotypical notions

Gender Inequality and Work

Gendered division of paid work: women
have high labour force participation, but are
concentrated in different occupations.

Pink-collar ghetto: jobs held by women that are

low-paying and semi-skilled.
Contingent work: part-time work, temporary
work, and subcontracted work that offers
advantages to employers, but detrimental to
workers.
Years of work experience women are more likely to
have interruption in their work histories
Hiring and promotion practices
For minority women, there is even a larger wage gap

Gender Inequality and Work

Wage

gap: disparity between womens

and mens earnings

Pay equity: equal pay for work of equal or

comparable (worth of the job) worth

Sexual

harassment: unwelcome
sexual attention at work

2004 Census
Approximately

58% of women worked full

time vs. 68% of men in Canada
83% of 2 parent families have 2 income
earners
Women made up 46.8% of workforce
72.5% of women with children under 16 in the
home work

2004 Census

Average income

women $36,500
men $51,700

In 2004 women made 70.5 cent for every $1 men

earned
3.4% of clout positions (CEOs, presidents, etc.) of
Fortune 500 companies held by women
At age 40, 90% of working men vs. 35% of working
women had at least one child
Women still concentrated in teaching, nursing, service
and clerical jobs (67% of employed women)

Gender Inequality and Work

Glass Ceiling and Glass Escalator:
Glass Ceiling: invisible barrier
constructed by male management to
prevent women from reaching top
positions. Women do advance in the
service sector
Glass Escalator: upward movement of
men in womens occupations
disproportionate to their numbers

Gender Inequality and Unpaid Work

Double

shift: women are wage

earners and also do most of unpaid
household work, now recorded in the
census

90% of Canadians do unpaid work, but the

majority, especially child care, is done by
women

Gender Inequality and Unpaid

Work
However,

roles in homemaking have been

changing
Women still continue to bear the primary
responsibility for homemaking
Husbands and fathers with working wives
that support non-traditional roles are taking
on a larger share of homemaking
responsibilities

Perspectives: Symbolic

Interactionist
Focus

on socialization and labelling

Also note existence of double standard
Language is extremely important in
defining social realities

Linguistic sexism: communication that ignores,

devalues, or makes sex objects of women.
Genderlects: mens and womens styles and
contents of language differ.
Non-verbal communication: men control more
space, than women, including sexual harassment

Perspectives: Functionalist
Early thinking (Parsons, Kingsley-Davis):
Men are more suited to instrumental
(i.e., goal-oriented) tasks
Women perform expressive tasks
This was functional for society
More recently:
Differences in human capital of men and
women (capital diminishes with time off
for child-bearing and childcare)

Perspectives
Conflict
Social life is a continuous struggle in which
the powerful seek to control economic
and social resources
Gender inequality results from capitalism
and private ownership of the means of
production

A result of structural and historical relations

Beneficial to capitalists to have unpaid
female workforce

Perspectives: Feminist
Socialist: men gain control over property
and women
Radical: mens oppression of women is
deliberately supported by media and
religion
Liberal: inequality is rooted in gender-role
socialization
Black, Indigenous, and other women of
colour face inequalities compounded by
racialization, class, and gender

Can Gender Inequality be Reduced?

Symbolic Interactionist Perspective:
Redefine social realities with language
Functionalist Perspective:
Redefine gender roles
Educate women about how their decisions
affect human capital
Enforce existing anti-discrimination
legislation and use the Canadian Charter
of Human Rights and Freedoms

Can Gender Inequality be Reduced?

Conflict Perspective:
Marxist: abolish capitalism
Feminist:
Socialist Feminists: abolish capitalism and create
a new economy
Liberal Feminists: change gender socialization
Radical Feminists: abolish patriarchy
Black and other feminists: treat all women more
equitably