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Social construction of gender identities

Social construction of gender identities

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Social construction of Gender Identities

Gendered realities at work;

❖ “Double shift” – women do unpaid labour in the home such as

childcare and housework in addition to paid employment.

❖ Steady increase in women’s participation in the labour market in

Britain – particularly part time work.

❖ Men more likely to work in more ‘desirable’ jobs (higher status).

❖ Women more likely to work in lower paid jobs, non-manual work

and caring professions.

❖ ‘Glass ceiling’ – barrier to women’s upward mobility into higher

level professions.

❖ ‘Glass wall’ – barrier to women entering occupations defined as

male.

❖ There is no job sector that pays women more, data collected from

over 10,000 companies this year show that 78% of them pay men

more. (BBC 2018)

❖ Men make up majority of higher paid jobs.

❖ Women less likely to be promoted than men, fewer opportunities

for career progression.

❖ Women in old age are therefore more likely than older men to be

dependent on state benefits and less likely to have employers of

private pension.

Argument of women’s biology – mothers still seen as more capable of

caring for children than men. Women who refuse to have children can

experience hostility. Used to justify inequality.

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Feminism

Equal treatment of men and women.

The first wave (late 19th and early 20th centuries)

❖ Fought for civil rights – e.g. campaign for the right to vote was led

by suffragettes and property rights.

❖ Significant activists were Sojourner Truth and Lucy Stone.

The second wave (1960’s-1980’s)

❖ Feminism’s ‘Second Wave’ started with the publication of Betty

Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique in 1963. – middle class

phenomenon, working class women weren’t housewives.

❖ The book describes a depressed suburban housewife. Friedan

said that women are just as capable as men for any type of work

or career path.

❖ Second-wave slogan - “The Personal is Political,” identified

women’s cultural and political inequalities as linked and

encouraged women to understand how their personal lives

reflected sexist power structures.

❖ Addressed issues such as official legal inequalities, sexuality,

family, the workplace, and reproductive rights.

Third Wave Feminism

❖ Seeks to challenge definitions of femininity.

❖ Argues that feminism can over emphasised experiences of upper

middle-class white women.

❖ Intersectional fem.

Why feminism is still needed

❖ Resurgence of the far right to violence and harassment against

ethic minority women.

❖ Gender pay gap (now 14% for full-time workers).

❖ Crime statistics show alarming rates in gender based violence: 1 in

4 women have experienced domestic abuse.

❖ Sexual violence mostly affects women

❖ With austerity measures three-quarters of councils have cut funds

to domestic violence services.

❖ A third of referrals to refuges are now being turned away because

of a lack of room.

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Social construction of Gender Identities Gendered realities at work; ❖ “Double shift” – women do unpaid labour in the home such as childcare and housework in addition to paid employment. ❖ Steady increase in women’s participation in the labour market in Britain – particularly part time work. ❖ Men more likely to work in more ‘desirable’ jobs (higher status). ❖ Women more likely to work in lower paid jobs, non-manual work and caring professions. ❖ ‘Glass ceiling’ – barrier to women’s upward mobility into higher level professions. ❖ ‘Glass wall’ – barrier to women entering occupations defined as male. ❖ There is no job sector that pays women more, data collected from over 10,000 companies this year show that 78% of them pay men more. (BBC 2018) ❖ Men make up majority of higher paid jobs. ❖ Women less likely to be promoted than men, fewer oppor ...
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