However Jannette elwood argues that although course work has some influence, it is unlikely to be the only cause of the gender gap, as exams has more influence on final grades than coursework. In addition, the impact of feminism may have contributed to improvements in girls achievements. The feminist movement has had considerable success in improving women’s rights and opportunities through changes in the law. More broadly, feminism has raised women’s self-esteem and expectations. McRobbie’s comparison of girls’ magazines in the 1970s and 1990s show a change in female role models from being house wife’s, to becoming an assertive, independent bread winner.
This was primarily due to the builders' concept of "the smaller, better-equipped kitchen, planned for the domestic 'scientist' who had no need of a servant. "[2] Women were more able to experiment in the kitchen, and new appliances allowed for quicker preparation. These new appliances also gave housewives more time, which in turn made it easier for them to get out in the working world. Some typical jobs that women had in this era were things like receptionists, clerical workers, and typewriters. [3] At this point, it is clear that women are becoming more active in mainstream society, which worried many conservatives.
By the 1990s Sharpe went back to the same school and interviewed girls again and they had changed their priorities to careers and being able to support themselves by being more dependent rather than relying on a husband. Sue Sharpe has contributed to giving us an understanding of the way girls ambitions have changed, without this people would still assume women would want to grow up and be a housewife; looking after their children and doing domestic labour. A similar research was carried about by Becky Francis who asked girls about their career ambitions in 2001, most girls had
From the beginning, wifehood and motherhood have been regarded as a women’s profession. They were not seen as breadwinners or professionals. As history has told us, women were considered the weaker sex, doing jobs such as laundry, milking cows, and taking care of children, leaving the “heavier” labor to the big strong men (wic.org). With technological advancement today, physiological test suggest women have a greater pain tolerance and statistics show that women live longer and are more resistant to many diseases. In the 20th century, women in most nations won the right to vote, this in return increased their educational and job opportunities.
When she then returned in the 90s she found that the list had flipped, with jobs and careers being in first place. This shows how attitudes have changed in a short time, making singlehood more popular. Another reason for the growth in singlehood could be the influence feminism has. More women are choosing to live alone, due to having the capacity to do so, as they don’t need the financial stability marriage once gave them. Feminism has
Western European women were more civilized and were able to voice their thoughts, even though they weren’t able to hold office they were extremely valued in advice on political matters but not matters of war. Western Europe women had tremendously more freedom than East Asian women, who were subjected to harsh punishment and under constant watch. Western European women influenced politics and “held the court”. East Asian women
Sharpe’s believe this could be because of the changing attitudes of society in general towards women and the impact of feminism. Mitsos and Browne (1998) say that the service sector which is traditionally seen as women’s work has expanded. Employers usually like women in this sector as they have good communication skills and the rise in the employment of women has given girls the incentive to do well at school. Mac and Ghaill claim that the decline in male employment opportunities has led to an ‘Crisis of Masculinity’ as many boys now believe they have a less chance in a getting a proper job. This undermines their motivation and self-esteem therefore they give up on trying to do well in education and have a fatalistic attitude towards it.
Some of these changes were for the good, however some created a negative impact. Cultural changes in the 1960’s led to a transformation in the lives of women. Women began to fight for their rights to attain equal pay and to bring an end to domestic violence. This violence included sexual harassment, also women began to demand equal amount of sharing in the housework as well as child bearing. Women began to use contraception and birth control.
A mixture of these factors led to the change in the position of women in society, the increase in equality, especially legally, including the right to vote (legal factor), the increase in educational opportunities (social factor) meant that women chose to educate themselves before starting a family, the increase in work opportunities with laws banning unequal pay and sex discrimination (social/legal factor)and changing attitudes in society meant that it was socially acceptable for women to be employed whereas traditionally the wife would be the housewife and the husband would be the breadwinner and would financially support his family. Recently, the number of people dying has also decreased in the UK as there is an increase in life
I help them with schoolwork, and I do the majority of the cooking, and cleaning.” It’s hard to undo centuries of women’s and men’s roles in a couple decades. Women are household managers, doing much more than men, because that’s how they were raised. In conclusion, being a Caucasian-American female that belongs to the middle class is who Kirsten is. She is proud of who she is. The sociological characteristic that affects her the most is gender.