Examine the extent to which social divisions are socially constructed. Use either gender or ethnicity to construct and illustrate your argument. Society is constructed through several social divisions, one of these being divisions being gender. Gender can be defined as a ‘socially determined difference based upon the biological differences between the sexes’ (Marsh et al, 2006: 216). Fulcher & Scott (2011) believe gender to examine the differences between men and women in relation to feeling, thinking and behaving.
Define the following: division of labor by gender, gender occupational segregation, labor force participation rate, human capital theory, dual labor market theory, overt discrimination, sexual harassment, internal gender segregation, and glass ceiling. 126. Explain the earnings disparity (wage gap) between men and women in the contemporary USA. 127. What is comparable worth?
122 As a process, gender creates the social differences that define “woman” and “man.” In social interaction throughout their lives, individuals learn what is expected, see what is expected, act and react in expected ways, and thus simultaneously construct and maintain the gender order pg. 123 As part of a stratification system, gender ranks men above women of the same race and class pg. 123 The dominant categories are the hegemonic ideals, taken so for granted as the way things should be that white is not ordinarily thought of as race, middle class or men as a gender. The characteristics of these categories define the Other as that which lacks the valuable qualities the dominants exhibit. Pg.
For example, women now go out to work, just as men now help with housework and childcare. However Feminists reject the ‘March of Progress’ theory, and argue that women remain unequal within the family. Anne Oakley argues that we still live in a patriarchal (male dominated) society, and therefore women occupy a subordinate and dependant role within the family and wider society. In addition in Mary Boulton’s research backed this, she found that fewer than 20% of husbands had a majority role in childcare. Overall it could therefore be argued that rather than partners becoming more equal, women now have to carry a ‘dual burden’, whereby she is responsible for two jobs of unpaid or paid labour.
They have found that there is increasing family diversity and that women are not equally exploited in all types of family e.g. matrifocal or lesbian families. Nicholson (1997) believes women are often better off outside the traditional idea of family and Calhoun (1997) explains women cannot be exploited by men in lesbian families. This perspective is not easy to criticize because it recognizes differences in family life however it can be criticized for losing sight of continuing inequalities between men and women within the family. Radical feminists believe that the family plays a major role in maintaining the oppression of women in a male-dominated society.
How do gender and sex contribute to the concepts and constructions of masculinity and femininity? Gender and sex contribute to the concepts and constructions of masculinity and femininity in many ways. Gender and sex concepts and constructions of masculinity and feminity of being able to tell the difference between the two. They show them as being completely different like males being the protector and the ladies as being caring and emotional Do our concepts of gender and sex contribute to the ways we embrace gender and sex in diversity? I feel that our concepts of gender and sex contribute to the ways we embrace gender and sex in diversity.
Gender or sex refers to the socially constructed categories of feminine and masculine which are the cultural identies and values that prescribe how men and women should behave. The social power relations based on those categories are distinct from the categories of biological sex (male or female) (Germov, 2009, p. 131). Gender refers to the social aspects of differences and hierarchies between male and female. (Macionis, 2008, p. 367). Gender is understood as a system of relations, a social product constantly negotiated and redefined that both constrains and provides opportunity for action.
However, the institutional oppression can be seen anywhere we go. The symbolic dimension consist of stereotyping of genders, races including the masculine and feminine traits that are associated with men and women. I see this dimension of oppression constantly, if you ask anyone to define what makes a man a man and a woman a woman, you will most likely receive the same answer. Associating women with feminine traits such as passive, emotional and weak while men will be characterized with aggressive, strong and being leaders. The last dimension Collins focused on was the individual dimension of oppression which involves us all coming into terms with multiple ways in which race, class, and gender gives us a certain attitude about ourselves which leads us towards certain actions
Legal expert Michael Selmi’s study of cases between 1983 and 2002 confirms this, showing a low success rate for women and people of color, who won only 25.1 percent of their cases of discriminatory impact in federal trial courts and only 19.2 percent on appeal. These rates are even lower than the general 35 percent success rate for women and people of color who encounter discrimination in all employment discrimination cases. Why do women and people of color seeking relief from discrimination lose their cases so often? One possibility is that federal judges are ambivalent about finding that employers violated Title VII without evidence that they intentionally discriminated against job applicants or employees. (O'Brien, 2008, pp.
If it is a result of implicit discrimination due to lifestyle choices, then women's lower earnings result from the fact that women typically take more time off when having children or choose to work fewer hours. If it is explicit discrimination, then the pay gap is a result of stereotypical beliefs, conscious or unconscious, from those who hire and set salaries.This graph depicts the female to male earnings ratio, median yearly earnings among full time. Some other examples of the gender gap are: Women who work part time actually earn more than men who work part