Unit 12: Gender

This chapter focuses on the social construction of gender, gender stratification, theories of gender, diversity and social change.
 


 

    Read: Chapter 12 Gender

    Attend: Gender

    Glossary:
    biological determinism explanations that attribute complex social phenomena to physical characteristics
    comparable worth the principle of paying women and men equivalent wages for jobs involving similar levels of skill
    discrimination overt negative and unequal treatment of the members of some social group or stratum solely because of their membership in that group or stratum
    doing gender a theoretical perspective that interprets gender as something that is accomplished through the ongoing social interactions people have with one another
    dual labor market theory the idea that women and men have different earnings because they tend to work in different segments of the labor market
    feminism beliefs and actions that attempt to bring justice, fairness, and equity to all women, regardless of their race, age, class, sexual orientation, or other characteristics
    gender socially learned expectations and behaviors associated with members of each sex
    gender identity one’s definition of self as a woman or man
    gender segregation the distribution of men and women in different jobs in the labor force
    gender socialization the process by which men and women learn the expectations associated with their sex
    gender stratification the hierarchical distribution of social and economic resources according to gender
    gendered institution the idea that whole institutions are patterned by gender
    glass ceiling popular concept referring to the limits that women and minorities experience in job mobility
    hermaphroditism a condition produced when irregularities in chromosome formation or fetal differentiation produce persons with mixed sex characteristics
    human capital theory a theory that explains differences in wages as the result of differences in the individual characteristics of the workers
    ideology a belief system that tries to explain and justify the status quo
    index of dissimilarity a measure used to indicate the number of workers who would have to change jobs to have the same occupational distribution as the comparison group
    labor force participation rate the percentage of those in a given category who are employed
    liberal feminism a feminist theoretical perspective asserting that the origin of women’s inequality is in traditions of the past that pose barriers to women’s advancement
    matriarchy a society or group in which women have power over men
    multiracial feminism form of feminist theory noting the exclusion of women of color from other forms of theory and centering its analysis in the experiences of all women
    occupational segregation the pattern by which workers are separated into different occupations on the basis of social characteristics such as race and gender
    patriarchy a society or group in which men have power over women
    radical feminism feminist theoretical perspective that interprets patriarchy as the primary cause of women’s oppression
    sex used to refer to biological identity as male or female
    sexism a system of practices and beliefs through which women are controlled and exploited because of the significance given to differences between the sexes
    sexology the scientific study of sex
    socialist feminism a feminist theoretical perspective that interprets the origins of women’s oppression as lying in the system of capitalism
    Title IX federal law that prohibits gender discrimination in any educational institution that receives federal funds