ipl-logo

Gender Inequality: A Sociological Analysis

1157 Words5 Pages

There are several different sociological theories that help explain gender and gender inequality. Some of these theories are the structural-functional theory, the symbolic-interaction theory, the social-conflict theory and the intersection theory. All of these theories help to explain gender inequality, but there are limitations to each approach. The first theory is the structural-functional theory, this theory explains that the differences between men and women is what shapes society. Each gender has specific roles that help to create a balanced society. Through this theory, we can see how each different gender relies on the other to fill the roles they are meant to provide. By leaning on one another, we create a society where everyone has …show more content…

This theory explains that gender causes conflict because of the inequality it brings between males and females. Males are the part of the society who have all of the power and women are seen as the weak link. Women were taught for a long time that they are to obey their husbands, because they are the ones who are in charge of the relationship and their family. Women were seen as care takers of the family because men wanted to make sure that their children were being raised correctly, so they made that the job of their wives, “Therefore, wealthy men devised the family as a way to control both property and the sexuality of women, who were to remain faithful and raise a man’s children” (Macionis 2018: 4.4). As the industrial revolution came in, women were depended on to take care of their family and their home, because men were busy working long hours. Women had no say in whether or not they wanted a career for themselves, because the norm of society was that they were house wives and they couldn’t disobey the norms. One critic of the social-conflict theory is that not everyone sees these gender differences as a problem, there are still families out there who live like this and are happy and work together well, because they’re working together to support and raise their families. Although times have changed, gender inequality is still strong today, women are still seen as being inferior to men and lack the opportunities men have with education, careers, and

Show More
Related
672 Words | 3 Pages

In doing so, these working women began to have the ability to support themselves, and, therefore, tended to rely less on men. However, these women not only defied the workplace’s principles, but also condemned society’s gender

Read More
551 Words | 3 Pages

Rather than women making stuff her job was rather than making stuff, their job was to enable their spouse to make stuff, by providing food, and a clean living space, but also by providing “non-market values” such as love, friendship, and mutual obligation.” The idea of true equality between genders was not embraced and despite the growth in new market economy women’s opportunities for employment were very limited. Women had very low paying jobs and in most states, women had no control over their wages if they weren’t married. Many of these women that found these jobs were in factories, or as domestic servants or seamstresses. Middle class women found work in teaching, but according to the cult of domesticity middle class women’s place was to stay at

Read More
1003 Words | 5 Pages

Throughout the course of history, women's role in society has changed immensely. The certain expectations set on them by the standards of society became widely accepted. They are controlled and are made to adapt to society's norms. Their actions are amplified by the men in society. The thought of superiority in favor of one gender leads to these societal norms that need to be broken.

Read More
588 Words | 3 Pages

Everyone wanted to forget about the war and the lives lost, and go back to how life was before, with typical gender roles (Nathan 47). And so came the era of the housewives in the early 1950’s. There was no demand for women in the workplace anymore so women became housewives and took care of their families (Nathan 47). The government provided incentive to male breadwinner families with a tax break (Coontz 60). “Marynia Farnham and Ferdinand Lundberg (famous anti feminists) insisted that pursuing a “career,” which they defined at workplace prestige, was antifeminine to its core and an assault on men’s self-respect” (Coontz

Read More
293 Words | 2 Pages

Women in this decade were expected to be homemakers. Popular culture was on both sides on this issue: either in protest of these societal norms or in propaganda supporting these

Read More
1652 Words | 7 Pages

The women were expected to create a happy home, guard the religion, and the morality of her family. The unmarried and married women who tried to seek work outside the home faced limited employment opportunities because of their gender. Women were expected to only focus on domestic duties and her role were limited to continue living in the man’s world. Women roles were expected to be in line with the culture and norms set by the society. The American culture perceived that women were not intellectually and emotionally stable to be involved in the complex world of work and, therefore, women did not take up leadership and political roles.

Read More
944 Words | 4 Pages

This reflects the stereotype that a woman's place was at home with the family cooking and cleaning, rather than being at work. This forced choice limited women's opportunities for career exploration and contributed to the challenges they faced in finding something they love and achieving economic

Read More
188 Words | 1 Pages

I tend to take a structural functionalist point-of-view (pg. 267, 271) on the issue of gender roles. I believe that the biological differences between males and females create the baseline for gender roles. But, gender roles are placed in continual practice partially due to socialization (pg. 264) and culture. I hold the family as the most critical part of society, as it propagates humanity and is the first agent of socialization. Thus, the family determines the values that a society holds, which is crucially important.

Read More
1091 Words | 5 Pages

Gender Inequality: A Woman’s Struggle in “The Yellow Wallpaper” In “The Yellow Wallpaper”, Charlotte Perkins Gilman captures the lives of women in a society based on societal expectations during the late nineteenth century. She focuses on the issue of gender inequality where women were often discriminated against and expected to fulfill the role of a perfect wife and mother. The narrator is based on on Gilman’s personal experience of suffering from her treatment for postpartum depression due to the social restrictions on women which represents a reflection on women's social status in society. The narrator, who remains anonymous, is depicted as a depressed and isolated prisoner who is oppressed under her husband’s control and struggles to break free.

Read More
1542 Words | 7 Pages

Equality among people justifies the development of human civilization. The history witnesses how people mistreated the others and how other people fought for freedom. It proves a permanent truth that the more civilized the people are, the less inequality would be promoted. However, there was no one period in the past, even now, without inequality completely. The slavery issue in the West and the gender inequality in the East both brought unimaginable damage for not only the groups of people who were mistreated, but also the society which is supposed to be peaceful, fair and justice.

Read More
1213 Words | 5 Pages

Women. Women’s involvement in the working world have contributed to many items that would be missing from the world today; if they had not been allowed to work.. Women have struggled with sexism in the workplace since before they were even given the chance to try to work. They were taught from a young age that their job was to provide children, cook, and clean for their husbands, while the husband worked and provided the money. What men did not know however was that women were capable of so much more(Jewell, Hannah).

Read More
919 Words | 4 Pages

The fact also arises that women not only suffer from lack of recognition for the work they do in households but also for their work in their jobs. Women work as much as men, if not more. When both paid and unpaid work such as household chores and caring for children are taken into consideration, women work longer hours than men—an average of 30 minutes a day longer in developed countries and 50 minutes in developing countries. This is known as second shift, where women not only work at their jobs but also come back home and complete their household chores. However their contribution remains minimum due to unequal wage pay and lack of consideration given to household chores.

Read More
981 Words | 4 Pages

The part and role in which women played in their society significantly varies throughout the world, depending on the place and region. However, they all share a common similarity in which men are the most dominant in every aspect of society, therefore, men are perceived to have more authority and power than women. In the comparison of ancient civilizations and modern times, it is significant how the rights and roles of women have positively changed, giving women more chances and opportunities in society, therefore, influencing and impacting society in many beneficial ways as well as, nowadays, women and men are finally seen as

Read More
1282 Words | 6 Pages

Gender Inequality Gender inequality is a characteristic of social structure according to which different social groups (in this case men and women) have certain differences resulting in unequal opportunities. Gender inequality is associated with social construction of masculinity and femininity as oppositional categories with unequal social value (Ferree, 1999). One of the main problems in gender theory is the problem of dominance. Together with race and class gender is a hierarchical structure that could to provide both opportunities and oppression (Ferree, 1999). Gender inequality can exist in different forms, depending on culture, region, religion and other factors.

Read More
2760 Words | 12 Pages

An idea created by the patriarchal system makes inequalities among men and women and places women in a sub position in the society. In our modern society, norms and roles have been started to change but not enough changed to alter the place of a women in the society. In many parts of the world, there are still violence to women, unequal education conditions for women and many discrimination in the work places, law and etc. I would like to conclude my paper by saying if women are raised and treated equally like men in their society, they would not shy away from the

Read More

More about Gender Inequality: A Sociological Analysis

Related Topics

Open Document