A Different Kind of Gender Gap

“A Different Kind of Gender Gap”

Data Collection and Analysis

Tony Weist

December 8, 2014

Shippensburg University

Word Count: 4412

1 “A Different Kind of Gender Gap”

ABSTRACT

College graduation comes with many life-changing decisions. Where one will

move is one of these. The Roots vs. Wings theory states that males are socialized as

children and throughout their lives to be independent and to spread their wings and

explore while females are encouraged to grow roots and stay close to home. This

study examines the relationship between ones gender and the distance of their

desired living location from home. A sample of fifty Shippensburg University

students were administered a sixteen question survey which asked respondents

about their demographics as well as where they plan on living, looking for work and

with whom they plan on living with. Analyses show that my hypothesis is not

supported and there is no relationship between ones gender and distance of their

desired living location. A significant relationship was shown between ones gender

and for what reason they would be more likely to move with being females more

likely to move to be closer to a significant other. The study’s limitations exist in its

small sample size and lack of diversity in the sample.


PURPOSE

Hypothesis and Theory

The purpose of this study is to observe the association between gender and

desired living location. Some researchers believe that gender socialization

encourages males to have “wings” and females to have “roots”. Males are

encouraged to be independent and explore through social factors and interactions,

while females are encouraged too stay close to home. I plan to test this theoretical

hypothesis based on my fellow students at Shippensburg University as well as

attempt to point out any commonalities or trends.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Gender Differences

Gender differences have been an area of concern for many decades. Different

areas of society are being and have been studied concerning the differences in

gender and the treatment associated with it. Most of the more popular studies are

concerned with the gender pay gap. The consensus for the pay gap is that is very

real with most women making only seventy-seven cents for every dollar a man

makes. Mihails Hazans (2004) has conducted a study that examined commuting and

the difference it can make on the pay gap. Hazan’s (2004) study shows that in Baltic

countries, commuting reduces the pay gap between rural and urban areas and

employment discrepancies and increases national production. To analyze the effect

of commuting on pay variances two sets of salaries functions are estimated with

location variables measured at the workplace and at the place of residence. Hazans

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(2004) found that the pay gap between capital city and country areas, as well as

between other municipalities is meaningfully narrowed by commuting in some

cases but remains almost unaffected in others. The different out comes are

explained by rural configurations of commuting, educational and occupational

commuting, and wage discrimination against country civilians in urban

marketplaces. In conclusion to this study the gains for commuting are substantial in

most but not all cases (Hazans, 2004).

Socialization

A rising popular subject regarding gender is early socialization of children

and the effect it has throughout their lives. Toys for instance are often studied in

correspondence with gender socialization. Playing with Barbie dolls for girls may

express a sexualized adult world to girls. This type of early exposure to sexualized

images may have results in the form of perceived limitations on future selves

(Sherman, 2014). A study done by Aurora Sherman (2014) investigated views of

careers girls felt they could do in the future as compared to the number of careers

they felt boys could do as a function of condition (playing with a Barbie or Mrs.

Potato Head) and type of career (male or female dominated). Sherman studied a

sample of thirty-seven American girls aged four to seven years old. After five

minutes of exposure to the conditioning toys, children were asked how many of a

given number of different occupations they could do in the future and how many

they thought boys could do. The findings in this study were girls reported that boys

could obtain more careers than they could, especially when considering male

dominated professions. In addition, girls' perceptions about professions for


themselves in comparison to boys, depended on condition, girls who played with

Barbie’s said that they had fewer future career options than boys, whereas girls who

played with the Mrs. Potato Head doll expressed less of a difference between future

possible professions for themselves as compared to boys (Sherman, 2014). These

results obviously support gender socialization and the effect on children.

Parental interaction has also been studied. A study done by Joyce Endendijk

(2014) examined mother’s and father’s gender talk with their daughters and sons.

In this study mother and father’s gender talk was examined using the gender

stereotypes picture book for children. The picture book produced different forms of

gender talk, including use of gender labels, comments related to gender, and

comments about gender stereotypes. Mothers used positive comments more than

fathers to express messages about gender, but fathers made more comments

confirming gender stereotypes than mothers. Fathers with two boys were more

inclined to emphasize appropriate male behavior in their gender talk than fathers in

other family types. Gender stereotypes were associated with gender talk to the

children only for mothers (Endendjik, 2014). This study suggests the role that

parents may play in gender socialization in early life. Connected to this study is

another done by Christine Rittenour (2014) examining one hundred and twenty-five

mothers’ identities and communication with their daughters. The study observed

the intersection between mother’s mothering, feminist and generativity identities in

relation to their socialization. The term generativity refers to the concern a person

may have for the well being of future generations. The findings were that mother’s

generativity identity yielded the most significance. The greater women’s

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generativity, the more likely they were to encourage daughters’ stereotypically

female and male behaviors, and the less likely to correct daughters’ displays of other

gender characteristics (Rittenour, 2014). So, women are encouraging their

daughters’ to uphold century old gender roles in hopes that it will benefit future

generations. The result may be keeping girls closer to home. Another connected

insightful study was done dealing with the parent-child relationship and gender.

Dolores Pushkar (2014) investigated older parents’ well being by considering the

separate effects of sons and daughters on their parents. The hypothesis was that

older parents of only daughters have greater life contentment, more positive

relations with their children, closer family ties, and higher social support

satisfaction compared to older childless adults and parents of only sons. Childless

older adults were predicted to have more close friends. The effect of having children

of both sexes was also explored. Results indicated parents had greater life

satisfaction than adults without children and parents of females were more satisfied

with relations with their children than parents of only males. Childless adults had

more ties with friends and fewer family intimate relations (Pushkar, 2014). This

comes back to the roots and wings theory that girls are socialized to stay close to

home and be nurturers while boys are encouraged to branch out and explore the

world.

Affects of Socialization

Along with studying how children become to be socialized, researchers are

also interested in the affects of this process. A study done by Melissa Latimer (2000)

examines the effects of gender and location on income. The study has shown


increases in time worked significantly improved the earnings of both White women

and men, but increases in time worked had a larger influence for women. What this

means is that if these women can increase their labor force participation, their

incomes will significantly improve (Latimer, 2000). This is much easier said than

done, it will not be easy for persons primarily defined by their mother and wife roles

at home to increase their labor force contribution. This is especially true for women

in a region that is known for traditional community and family life. The research

argues that the more traditional the community and family life, the more limited the

opportunities for employment and income generating activities, the harder it will be

for those groups in the population who are least economically independent

(Latimer, 2000). In addition, the demographic statistics for the sample for this study

show that women in the Appalachia area had higher average family size and were

more likely to be married than women outside of the region. The regression

analyses for this study revealed that men were affected positively by household

variables and women were affected negatively by these factors (Latimer, 2000). The

problem with increasing labor force participation especially in areas like Appalachia

is that there are higher average unemployment levels in areas like these. The local

economies may not be able to support increasing labor force participation.

Therefore, if these women cannot increase their labor force contribution due to

cultural, household, or structural restrictions. Their incomes will be the most

affected by decreases in time worked. This economic vulnerability has the potential

to make women the primary group attracting the costs of economic variations and

economic rearranging (Latimer, 2000). Connected to this study is another done by

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Orna Bluman and Ahron Kellerman (1990). This study observes gender disparities

in traveling distance, residence and employment location. In this study noteworthy

variances exist between the male and female segments of the labor force in all

aspects of traveling. The residential areas of workingwomen are concentrated in the

city center, while those of men are more spread (Bluman and Kellerman, 1990).

Therefor, the ratio of housing dispersion to employment dispersion should be

smaller for women than for men. As a result, women’s average traveling distance is

shorter. This study anticipated the suburbanization of employed females homes to

be lengthier than that of males since suburban residences tend to benefit

workingmen rather than workingwomen. Men’s occupations are oriented much less

towards the central city especially since business employment has suburbanized.

Men are also more mobile and have greater income, both of which enable longer and

inter-suburb commuting. The authors explained their findings by stating that

women find more occupation opportunities in their residential neighborhoods than

do men as well as having responsibilities at home to stay close too (Bluman and

Kellerman, 1990).

Leaving Home

Home is a mental space, social space and a physical space. A study done by

Elina Lahelma and Tuula Gordon (2003) interviewed young men and women about

leaving home. The interviewees’ experienced uncertainty between the request to

build a household of their own and fears of not being able to maintain their lives in

that home. Gendered patters were seen in the way that especially some young

women dream of a household with children of their own while this kind of talk was


not evident in the interviews with young men (Lahelma and Gordon, 2003). The

conclusion of this study summarized that people’s plans to move away from their

parental homes vary, and depend on material resources (Lahelma and Gordon,

2003). A related Norwegian study investigates the location decisions of a full

population unit of young adults as they complete their schooling, move to separate

homes, and form their own families. The study found that the labor market

prospects and family ties of both partners affect these location selections. The

consensus is that married men live closer to their own parents than do married

women, even if they have children (Laken et al., 2013). The principle source of extra

female distance from parents in this population is the relatively low mobility of men

without higher education, especially in rural areas. Despite evidence that

intergenerational resources are especially important between women and their

parents, the family of husbands appear to dominate the location decisions of less

educated married couples (Laken et al., 2013). A similar study conducted to

investigate living location of women shows that as a result of the pressuring effect of

household tasks, women work closer to their home. The evidence presented in this

study by Jon Wiley (2013) offers evidence of school age dependent children as a

particular constraint. It is obvious that a female disadvantage is happening. Women

remain spatially entrapped. The majority of responsibility within the home still lies

with women, resulting in a “double day” for them. Considering the current work

environment, these findings have significant implications. Spatial entrapment does

have a restraining effect on the profesions of women, especially those with school

age dependent children in dual household careers (Wiley, 2013). The last article I

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reviewed fit very well with this study. This paper analyzes the residence and

migration behavior of a sample of young women in France in comparison to young

men after leaving full-time education. The findings in this study were that women

were more likely to stay close by their parental home until they were married.

There was also some evidence supporting the view that when couples got together

it tended to be the women that moved to be close to the man. Men tended to build

up stronger connections to their occupations over time and women tended to build

up greater connections to their home. Employment status transitions tended to have

a greater impact on the long distance relocation decisions of men than those of

women (Dessendre and Molho, 2000).

CONCEPTUALIZATION

The independent variable in my hypothesis is gender. I conceptualize gender

as the socially constructed sex that a person identifies with. In my survey I allowed

options of “Male”, “Female”, and “Other”. The main dependent variable in my study

is desired living location. I describe desired living location as the location a student

anticipates living or looking for work post-graduation. Additional dependent

variables include reasons one would be more likely to move, the amount of miles

one would be comfortable moving from home, whom one plans on living with post-

graduation, whether one would be willing to move to a not ideal area for a job, if one

believes their degree will require them to move and whether one feels pressure to

move to a certain area.

OPERATIONALIZATION


As indicators of the independent variable, I collected information on which

gender the respondent identifies with. Respondents were given the choices of

“male”, “female” or “other”. Each of these options was given a numeric code to

prepare for software statistical analysis. The answer choices for gender were coded

as “male=1”, “female=2”, “other=3” and “999” for the missing value. Other similar

variables used the same coding scheme. String variables were left as they were.

These were open-ended questions such as the county to which ones home address

belongs and reasons explaining why one would choose an option in a previous

question.

DESIGN

The survey was administered as of three stapled pages with information on

the front and back of each page. The cover letter was presented on the first page and

explained the purpose of the research and ensured the privacy and namelessness of

the respondent’s answers. The sixteen questions were spread throughout the

following pages. A copy of the questionnaire is presented in the appendix of this

paper. The questions studied how far and for what reasons the respondent would be

most likely to move along with demographic information such as student status,

major, age, gender and residential status. The survey was distributed to students at

the Ezra Lehman Memorial Library, Cedia Union Building and Reisner Dining Hall.

The respondents were informed prior to beginning that their responses would

remain nameless and private.

The strengths of the survey were its directness and effectiveness. The

questions were straightforward and respondents easily understood the questions.

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The questions were also very related to each other, which allowed for collection of

relevant and useful data. The weaknesses were in the length and amount of open-

ended questions. A lot of respondents left the open-ended questions blank because

there were six different ones. The survey also felt long and inconvenient because it

was three pages, front and back, this also deterred people from completing all the

questions offered.

The entire sample consisted of fifty respondents. Of the sample,

approximately twenty-five respondents identified themselves as “male” and twenty-

five identified themselves as “female”. I had no respondents identify as “other”. Eight

respondents were freshman, nine were sophomores, seven were juniors and

twenty-six were seniors. I had no graduate students participate. I believe I received

more senior respondents because I am a senior myself and tend to be in areas

where other seniors are during the day. The respondents ranged in age from

eighteen to twenty-four.

DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS

I used Independent Samples T-Tests in order to test for a relationship

between my independent and dependent variables. I first tested the relationship

between gender and the amount of miles one would move from home. The

independent variable being gender and the dependent the distance selected. How

many miles one would move from home is coded as “milesfromhome”. The group

statistics and analysis results appear as follows:

Table 1 (Group Statistics)

milesfromhome Gender N Mean Std. Dev. St. Error


Male 25 2.92 .862 .172

Female 25 3.16 .898 .180

Table 2 (Independent Samples Test)

Leven’s Test for Equality of

Variances

F Sig.

T-test for

Equality

T

milesfromhome Equal variances

assumed

Equal variances

not assumed

.241 .626 -.964

-.964


t-test for equality of means df Sig. (2-tailed) Mean Difference

milesfromhome Equal variances

assumed

Equal variances

not assumed

48

47.920

.340

.340

-.240

-.240

The results show that the means for both “male” and “female” were not far

off from each other. This means that both gendered respondents answered that they

would move about the same amount of miles from home. This does not support my

hypothesis that women would want to stay closer to home than men. This also goes

against some research found in my literature review. The t-test shows no

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significance as we can see in both tables two and three. Both highlighted significant

values were over the threshold of .05 with a value of .340.

I also tested many other dependent variables along with the independent

variable of gender. These other variables include who the respondent plans on

living with after graduation, if the respondent believes their degree will require

them to move to find work, if the respondent would be willing to move to a not ideal

area for a job, if the respondent feels pressure to move to a certain area and also for

what reason is the respondent likely to move. I also ran analyses on where the

respondent was from as the independent variable and the distance they would be

comfortable moving as the dependent variable. None of the above analyses showed

any significance at all. I had only one significant analysis between the respondents

gender and for what reason they would be more likely to move. The dependent

variable is coded as “reasontomove”. The table with the results is shown below:

Table 4 (Group Statistics)

reasontomove Gender N Mean Std. Dev. St. Error

Male 25 1.28 .737 .147

Female 25 1.84 1.106 .221


Leven’s Test for Equality of

Variances

F Sig.

T-test for

Equality

T

reasontomove Equal variances

assumed

9.007 .004 -2.107


Equal variances

not assumed

-2.107


t-test for equality of means df Sig. (2-tailed) Mean Difference

reasontomove Equal variances

assumed

Equal variances

not assumed

48

41.806

.040

.041

-.560

-.2560

The results show that with a significance level of .004 the relationship

between ones gender and the reason they would be most likely to move is

significant. Upon further analysis of these variables I found that females are more

likely to move to be closer to a significant other than males are. This supports the

research from my literature review that says males dominate when it comes to

choosing location. Both sexes however are most likely to move for a job offer.

CONCLUSION

The results of this study show that there is no statistically significant

relationship between ones gender and desired living location distance from home.

The results also show that there is a significant relationship between ones gender

and the reason they would be likely to move, which I discovered is females to be

closer to a significant other. Limitations of this study include its small sample size of

fifty respondents, as well as the survey’s reliance on available respondents. Future

research could expand upon these limitations in order to gain more accurate insight

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in the effect of ones gender on desired living distance from home. I also think a

follow up survey to discover where the respondents do end up living could offer

interesting information as well.


References:

Dessendre, Cecile . 2013 "Residence Spells and Migration: A Comparison for

Men and Women." Sociological Perspective 24(3):234-287. Retrieved from

Sociological collection on Nov 1, 2014

Endendjik, Joyce J. 2014 "Boys Don't Play With Dolls: Mother's and Fathers

Gender Talk During Picture Book Reading." Parenting: Science & Practice 14(3):141-

161. Retrieved from Sociological Collection on Nov 1, 2014

Hazans, Mihails . 2004 "Does Commuting Reduce Wage Disparities?." Growth

and Change 35(3):360-390. Retrieved from Sociological Collection on Nov 1, 2014

Lahelma, Elina; Gordon, Tuula. Journal of Youth Studies. Dec2003, Vol. 6

Issue 4, p377-390. 14p.Database: Academic Search Complete

Laken, Katrine V. 2013 "Your Place or Mine? On the Residence Choice of

Young Couples in Norway." 50(1):285-310. Retrieved from Sociological Collection

on Nov 1, 2014

Latimer, Melissa . 2000 "A Contextual Analysis of the Effects of Gender and

Place on Workers Incomes." Sociological Spectrum 20(3):345-357. Retrieved from

Sociological Collection on Nov 1, 2014

Pushkar, Dolores . 2014 "Does Child Gender Predict Older Parents Well

Being?." Social Indicators Research 118(1):285-303. Retrieved from Sociological

Collection on Nov 1, 2014

Rittenour, Christine E. 2014 "Mother's Identities and Gender Socialization of

Daughters." Southern Communication Journal 79(3):215-234. Retrieved from

Sociological Collection on Nov 1, 2014

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Sherman, Aurora . 2014 "Boys Can Be Anything: Effect of Barbie Play on Girls'

Career Cognitions." Sex Roles 70(5):195-208. Retrieved from Sociological Collection

on Nov 1, 2014

Wheatley, Dan . 2000 "Location, Vocation, Location? Spatial Entrapment

Among Women in Dual Career Households." Urban Studies 37(2):247-267. Retrieved

from Sociological Collection on Nov 1, 2014


Appendix, Cover Letter and Survey

October 13, 2014

Dear Participant:

My name is Tony Weist and I am an undergraduate student at Shippensburg University. For my final project, I am conducting a study called “A Different Kind of Gender Gap.” I am interested in studying whether a person’s gender has any connection with how far they choose to move from home after college. I find this interesting because I would like to observe connections between the distance from home and any reasoning behind it. Because you are a student at S.U., I am inviting you to participate in this research study by completing the attached survey.

The following questionnaire will require approximately five minutes to complete. There is no compensation for responding nor is there any known risk. In order to ensure that all information will remain confidential, please do not include your name. Copies of the project will be provided to my professor. The collected data will be locked in the faculty’s office cabinet for data safety. If you choose to participate in this project, please answer all questions as honestly as possible and return the completed questionnaires promptly to myself. Participation is strictly voluntary and you may refuse to participate at any time.

Thank you for taking the time to assist me in my educational endeavors. The data collected will provide useful information regarding gender and desired living locations. If you would like a summary copy of this study please complete and detach the Request for Information Form and return it to me. If you require additional information, have questions or would like to know the results of this study, please contact Dr. Yang at [email protected] . Your help is greatly appreciated!

By completing and submitting this survey, as a participant, you are providing your informed consent.

Sincerely,Tony Weist

If any concerns arise with participant rights in the research process, please contact Dr. William Braun, Co-Chair of Committee on Research with Human Subjects:Dr. Turi Braun, [email protected], Committee on Research with Human Subjects Department of Exercise Science HG 107FShippensburg University, Shippensburg, PA 17257 (717) 477-1376

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mailto:[email protected]


QUESTIONARE

Instructions: Please fill out the following survey to the best of your ability. Please do not write

your name on the questionnaire. All information will remain confidential and anonymous. This survey is for educational purposes for Sociology 386 only. Your participation in this survey is voluntary and you may stop at any time. If you have any questions or concerns you may contact Dr. Yang at [email protected]

1. What is your school year? (Please choose one):o Freshmano Sophomoreo Junioro Senior

2. What is your major? :

3. What is your gender? :o Maleo Femaleo Other

4. What is your age? :5. Do you live:

o On Campuso Off Campus

6. What state is your home address in? :

7. What county is your home address in? :8. Would you like to live (Please choose one):

o Close to your hometown o Far from your hometowno Somewhere in betweeno I don’t know

9. Where are you planning on looking for work upon your graduation? (Location as in City/Area):

10. How many miles would you be comfortable moving from your current home (as in where your permanent address is)?o 0-20 Mileso 21-50 Mileso 51-100 Mileso 100+ Miles

11. For what reason would you be more likely to move?o A job offer


o To be close to familyo To be close to a significant othero Interested in the area

12. Who do you plan to live with after graduation?o Parents/Familyo Significant othero Roommateso On your own

13. Do you believe your degree will require you to move to find work? o Yeso Noo I don’t know

14. Would you be willing to move somewhere you would not otherwise consider for a job offer?o Yes (If Yes, go on to #15)o No (If No, go on to #16)o I don’t know (If you don’t know, go on to #16)

15. Why would you be willing to move somewhere you would not otherwise consider for a job?

16. Do you feel any sort of pressure to move to a specific location?o Yeso Noo I don’t know

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A Different Kind of Gender Gap

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