Lecture 8

Gender Stratification

Difference & Stratification

In a mixed-class system we can see how both ascribed (race, gender) and achieved (talent, hard work) determine one’s position in the opportunity structure

Therefore, social categories of difference become institutionalized in our social structure and create a society in which race and gender inequality are part of our daily lives

Race and Gender Inequality: It’s Not Personal Institutional “ism’s”: systematic inequalities

pervade all of societies structures Institutions such as the police, education,

employment, mass media etc.

Racism and sexism are part of the fabric of social life Not about the prejudice of a small minority, but

about the policies and ideologies that create a legacy of inequality

Actions/Behavior

Social Structure

Culture & Ideology

Gender/Race Wage Gap:For Every White Man’s $...

Year Black men

Hispanic Men

White Women

Black Women

Hispanic Women

1970 $.69 na $.58 $.48 na

1980 $.70 $.70 $.58 $.55 $.50

1990 $.73 $.66 $. 69 $.62 $.54

2003 $.78 $.63 $. 75 $.65 $.54

What accounts for the decline in Latino Men’s Wages? The labor-market that is open to Latino immigrants

is generally a low-wage market Native Latinos earn more than immigrants, but after the

second generation increasing wages stall Differential price employers pay for Latino workers

Improvements in quantity and quality of education will narrow the wage gap between Latinos and Whites Nationally 21% of Latino students drop out of high school –

2x the rate for all students

Sexual Division of Labor

Almost all societies have a sexual division of labor Gender is one of the primary ways that the work

that is needed to take care of the needs of individuals, families, and society as a whole is accomplished

As the structure of society changes, gender ideology, gender roles and gender equality also change

Industrialization and the Family With industrialization, we became dependent

on wages ($) earned in paid work to help support family life

This created a distinct separation of work Inside (private) & outside (public) the home Paid work and the unpaid work of family life

The Family-Wage A family-wage economy is an economic

system in which families have one member earning wages to support the family. This wage therefore has to be a family-wage with:

High pay to support dependents Benefits that are extended to all family

members But, also requires high skilled labor (investment

in education) & time investment in return

Gender Ideology, Family, and Work The family-wage economic

brought about changes in the social structure that were supported by, and supported, a specific gender ideology

Separate Spheres Ideology naturalizes the idea that men and women are responsible and ‘naturally’ inclined to separate spheres of social life

Women as CaretakersFamily Life

Men as ProvidersWork & Public Life

His and Her Family

Dichotomization of morality for men and women in family life

1. Men are encouraged to focus on self-interest for the family

2. Women are encouraged to focus on self-sacrifice for the good of the family

Social & Economic Invisibility of Household Labor Mom’s “market value” is about 30K greater

than the average man’s wage…but Labeled “unoccupied” in our national accounting system No retirement, unemployment, health benefits, nor

individual social security

“Second Shift”: in dual-income households women often do most of the unpaid labor Working women have 9 hours more housework

per week than men in the same household

Your household DOL?

Occupational Segregation “Female” and “Male” professions: In 2003 women

were 96% of secretaries 91% of nurses 95% of child care workers 99% of dental hygienists and 97% of kindergarten and preschool teachers

But also, 30% physicians, 14% architects, 27% lawyers

Why do we see women entering men’s professions, but not the other way around?

March 25th

Sign in Finish Lecture 8 Activity: The Daughter Deficit Homework:

Introduction to Sociology: pages 147-167 & Chapter 20

Homework #4

Gender Wage Gap

Is education the great equalizer? High School Diploma:

men = $32Kwomen = $22K

BA/BS Degree: men = $51K women = $36K

PhD: men = $77Kwomen $56K

President of HarvardFewer Tenured Women in the Sciences…

“And the relatively few women who are in the highest ranking places are disproportionately either unmarried or without children…[T]here are many professions and many activities, and the most prestigious activities in our society expect of people who are going to rise to leadership positions in their forties near total commitments to their work. They expect a large number of hours in the office, they expect a flexibility of schedules to respond to contingency, they expect a continuity of effort through the life cycle, and they expect-and this is harder to measure-but they expect that the mind is always working on the problems that are in the job, even when the job is not taking place. And it is a fact about our society that that is a level of commitment that a much higher fraction of married men have been historically prepared to make than of married women.”

Male Pattern of Work

The most rewarded careers in our society (prestige and $) are generally based on the assumption that: Time commitment while young long hours flexibility in your schedule and limited household responsibility

Imagine what is takes to become a: Medical doctor Lawyer

Institutionalized Inequalities

Gender, racial, and sexual inequalities are embedded in the institutions that structure our lives.

How can we address and change institutional inequalities? Gender? Race?