Sociology Exam 3 2
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- In 2005, what were men's median earnings (full-time, year round)?
- $41,400
- In 2005, what were women's median earnings (full-time, year round)?
- $31,900
- What is the wage gap between men and women in 2005?
- 77%
- What is the wage gap at all educational levels?
- 75%
- How many weeks (including paid vacation) per year count as full time? Hours per week?
-
50 weeks per year
35 hours a week (or more) - What is "sex segregation in the work place"?
- the concentration of men and women in different occupations, jobs, or places of work
- name three types of sex segregation
-
1. same place of work, different occupations
2. same tasks, different settings
3. same tasks, different times - What is the "wage gap"?
- the gap between the median wages of all women working full time, year round, and the median wages of all men working full time, year round in the U.S.
- What are two minor explanations for the wage gap?
-
1. among full time employees, men work more hours than women
2. "human capital" differences in education (almost nonexistent), experience (very minor explanation), and family responsibilities (losing pay raises-only a bit of an explanation) - What is "human capital"?
- what workers bring to the job
- What is the Equal Pay Act and when was it passed?
- It prohibited employers from paying women less than men for the exact same work, given equal experience and qualifications-1963
- What is the major explanation for the wage gap in the past?
- unequal pay for equal work (blatant sex discrimination)
- What are two major explanations for the current wage gap?
-
1. although sex discrimination is illegal, the wage gap is still in part the result of unequal pay for equal work
2. continued sex segregation in the work force & the devaluation of the work that women do - The wage gap increased in the ____ and did not hit ____ levels until the early ____
-
(increased in) 1960s
1950s (levels)
(started increasing in) 1980s - What group is most disadvantaged (in terms of the wage gap) to white men?
- hispanic women
- the wage gap has _____ over the last 20 years. why?
-
decreased
women's wages are increasing (lag effect of Equal Pay Act, changes of gender ideologies, less sex segregation)
men's wages are stagnating or decreasing (loss of well-paying manufacturing jobs overseas) - there is still a wage gap in _____ dominated occupations, but it is _____ than in _____ dominated occupations
-
female
smaller
male - as workers age the wage gap ____. why?
-
increases
men's earnings, as a whole, are more likely than women's to increase with age &
the youngest workers in the labor force are the least segregated by sex - What are the racial groups (& genders) that are disadvantaged to white men?
-
black men
hispanic men
white women
black women
hispanic women - What is another name for "comparable worth"?
- pay equity
- What is the goal of comparable wealth?
- to upgrade the wages of jobs in which women are concentrated (work should be paid according to its value to the organization)
- comparable work studies always take place ______
- within a specific organization
- What is the criteria used to evaluate jobs in comparable worth studies (4 things)?
-
1. the knowledge or skill required to do the job
2. the effort exerted on the job
3. the amount of responsibility required by the job
4. the nature of the working conditions of the job - What are two values qualities of comparable wealth?
-
1. because it focuses on jobs where women are concentrated, it has the potential of having much broader effects and benefits than affirmative action
2. it extends the notion of discrimination to include the systematic undervaluation and underpayment of the work that women do - What three places have pay equity laws?
- Australia, Ontario & Quebec
- What is The Fair Pay Act and when was it proposed?
- it is race and gender oriented-really a comparable worth bill (2005)
- What is The Paycheck Fairness Act and when was it proposed?
- it strengthens & expands the Equal Pay Act and calls for the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) to do a study
- affirmative actions usually refers to the ____ & is limited b/c
- labor force, it is a push in one direction
- what was the original intent of affirmative action?
- to level the playing field by broadening the pool of job applicants (not hiring by word of mouth)-trying to bring underrepresented groups into high-paying jobs (esp. professional jobs)
- What are 3 factors related to the increase of women in the labor force over the 20th century?
-
1. employment rates increased as fertility rates decreased
2. expansion in service sector (esp. clerical work) opened new jobs
3. greater educational opportunities - Since the 1970s, what are 3 factors related to the increase of women in the labor force?
-
1. two-wage earners needed to keep up with inflation and increased consumption
2. women's wovement (ideological change)
3. sex discrimination made illegal/affirmative action - What are 3 factors related to men's slightly decreased labor force participation rates?
-
1. decline in manufacturing sector
2. increased college enrollment
3. as women's labor force participation rates increased, some men (within families) have not needed to work - When was the Civil Rights Act passed and what does title VII do?
- 1964, it prohibits employers from discriminating on the basis of race, sex, religion & national origin
- Who has played the most important role in the creation of sex segregation in the labor force?
- employers
- Why do male workers contribute to the sex segregation of the labor force?
- they are interested in curtailing competition from other groups, especially groups that they think might lower their pay (like women)
- What is the relationship of sterotypes and ideology in the sex segregation of the labor force?
- specific stereotypes can be flexed to fit employers needs (Rosie the Riveter) and are part of a larger ideology of male dominance
- What are two apparently neutral employment practices that have discriminatory effects?
-
1. hiring by word of mouth
2. practices that disadvantage workers with responsibility for children (mandatory overtime, unpredictable hours, etc.) - What are the top 5 occupations of employed women?
-
1. Secretaries & Admin. Assistants
2. Cashiers
3. Registered Nurses
4. Elementary & Middle School Teachers
5. Retail Salespersons - Over the 20th century, there has been a decrease in women's participation in what 3 kinds of work?
-
1. operative (textile)
2. private household
3. farm workers - Over the 20th century, there has been an increase in women's participation in what 3 kinds of work?
-
1. clerical
2. professional/technical
3. service - There is a ____ amount of sex segregation in the labor force. There is a ____ amount of racial segregation.
- substantial, moderate
- What has been one of the major social transformations of the 20th century in American society?
- the rise in women's labor force participation
- What 3 assumptions does the "human capital theory" of sex segregation make?
-
1. assumes women's top priority is raising and family and because of this they invest less in the labor force, thus they have less interest in education and end up with lesser skills than men
2. assumes employed women choose FD jobs because those jobs require less "investment" (less education & skill)
3. assumes FD jobs are more flexible & fit better with a woman's family responsibilities than a MD job - What are 5 criticisms of the human capital theory of sex segregation?
-
1. women work for the same reasons men do
2. single women without kids are as likely as women with children to be in FD jobs
3. "male" and "female" jobs require similar levels of education & skill
4. women are as committed to work as men are
5. "female" jobs are not more compatible with family responsibilities than "male" jobs - What are two problems with the "socialization theory" of sex segregation?
-
1. children's gender socialization is important BUT it is not the only explanation b/c the aspirations of children (and adults) change over time
2. children's aspirations are usually unrelated to the ones they hold as adults. The opportunities & constraints we encounter as adults are as important as messages we encounter as children. - What is the best explanation for the sex segregation of the labor force and what level is this explanation on?
- Women-like men-choose among the best opportunities available to them. Generally speaking, employers have limited women's choices more than men's. This is a macro level explanation (institutions & ideologies have created different opportunities for men & women)
- Hochschild's sample of couples was disproportionately _____
- middle class
-
In Hochschild's study:
__% of men share equally
__% did less than 1/2 but more than 1/3
__% did less than 1/3 -
20%-equal
70%-1/3 to 1/2
10%-less than 1/3 - Hochschild interviewed ___ people altogether, ___ two-job couples and did in-depth interviews with ___ of these couples
- 145, 50, 12
- The mean age of men in Hochschild's study were __ years old and women were ___ years old.
-
men-33
women-31 - What were the percentages of different races of the couples Hochschild interviewed?
-
70% white
24% black
3% latino/chicano
3% asian - In 1800, the average number of births per woman was ___ and ____ of these survived to adulthood.
- 8 births/woman, 5 or 6 survived to adulthood
- In the late 1950s, the average was ____ births per woman
- 3.5
- In the mid 1970s, the average was ___ births per woman
- 1.8
- In 2001, the average # of births per woman was ____
- 2.1
- In 1950, what percent of women were in the labor force? What about in 2002? What fraction of mothers were employed in 2002?
-
1950-30% of women in labor force
2002-60% (more than 2/3 of mothers) - In 1975, what percent of mothers with a youngest child between 3 and 5 were working? Mothers with children under 3? Mothers with children under 1 year?
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3-5 = 45% of mothers
<3 = 34% of mothers
<1 = 31% of mothers - In 2000, what percent of mothers with a youngest child between 3 and 5 yrs old were in the labor force? Mothers with children under 3? Mothers with children under 1 year? What percentage of mother w/ kids under 3 & with kids under 1 worked full-time?
-
3-5 = 72% of mothers
<3 = 61% of mothers (69% full-time)
<1 = 58% of mothers (68% full-time) - From the 1960s to the 1970s, women worked roughly ___ hours longer than men each week. Over a year, what does that amount to? What is this called?
-
15 hours/week more than men
an extra month of 24 hour days a year
a "leisure gap" - the "housework gap" between men and women narrowed to ____ hours a year (from 1969-1999) but a gender gap still remained in hours put in home of ___ hours annually or ___ hours per week
-
1045 hours a year
675 hours annually/12.9 hours a week - What social structural fact is Nancy Chodorow's social psychological theory of gender identity development based upon?
- women almost always have primary responsibility for the care of infants & young children
- What are the two stages of a child's development according the Chodorow?
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1. Infantile Dependance (0 to 1 year)
2. Separation & Individualism (1 to 3 years) - What does the development of boys' gender identities entail according to Chodorow?
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-identifying with masculinity is an abstract process
-differentiation from mothers involves a denial of attachment or dependance & thus the boy learns that to be masculine is to be separate
-the process may involve a devaluation of the feminine in himself & the world around him - What does the development of girls' gender identities entail according to Chodorow?
-
-identifying with femininity is a personal and immediate process
-the girl learns that to be feminine is to be attached and connected - What are 3 consequences of gender development according to Chodorow?
-
1. women's lives are more embedded in relationships than mens'
2. masculine and feminine gender identities are reproduced generation after generation
3. immature dependance between mothers & daughters - What are 4 conditions that encourage mature dependance between mothers and daughters?
-
1. women are able to gain status from activities other than womanhood
2. women contribute economically to the family
3. women are able to gain rather than lose prestige as they age
4. women are not isolated in their home when their children are young (they have networks of other women to depend on) - What does Chodorow argue that we should do in order to change the current pattern of gender ideology development?
- we need to initiate structural change. If men and women share child care equally, then both son's & daughters would be more likely to grow up w/ both a firm sense of self as a separate individual and with a strong sense of connectedness to others as something healthy, not threatening.
- What are some national trends that have exacerbated family-work struggles?
-
-more couples work 2-jobs
-the workweek has lengthened
-family-friendly policies are still absent in the workplace
-the male employment rate for older men has been slowly decreasing over the last 30 years
-more mothers w/ young children are working
-men's salaries have declined
- - What is a "family myth"?
- a version of reality that obscures a core truth in order to manage a family tension
- What are some reasons why wives are more torn between the demands of work & family than their husbands?
-
-women feel more responsible for the home & children
-women often do 2 things at once/always in a rush
-women juggle the spheres of job, children & housework while men usually only juggle the spheres of job & children
-women do 2/3 of the daily chores that cannot be put off
-women spend more of their time doing housework than child-care - What is a "gender strategy"?
- people pursue gender strategies when they try to apply their gender ideologies to the situations that face them in real life, unconsciously or not. "strategy" refers to both a plan of action and the emotional preparations for pursuing it.
- What is a "traditional" gender ideology?
- the "pure" traditional woman wants to identify with her activities at home, wants her husband to base his identity on work, and wants less power than he (traditional men want the same)
- What is a "transitional" gender ideology?
- any one of a variety of types of blending between traditional & egalitarian ideologies. The typical transitional woman wants to identify both with the caring of the home and with helping her husband earn money. A typical transitional man is all for his wife working, but expects her to take the main responsibility at home too.
- What is an "egalitarian" gender ideology?
- the "pure" egalitarian woman wants to identify with the same spheres as her husband and wants equal power in the marriage
- What is the "stalled revolution"?
- The influx of women into the economy has not been accompanied by a cultural understanding of marriage and work that would make that transition smooth. The work force has changed, women have changed, but men have not really adapted to the changes in women and the workplace has remained inflexible in the face of the family demands of their workers
- What is "the economy of gratitude"?
- how a man's gender ideology and a woman's gender ideology impact what, in the give and take of marriage, is considered a gift and what is not
- What are the two cultural responses that counter the "supermom"?
-
One makes fun of her, critiquing her by making her look ridiculous. This is watered down criticism, however, because it implies that her choices were fine and it was her decision to work that was crazy & is funny.
The other proposes an alternative--"the new man." This is a male version of the supermom and ignores the same issues (stress, etc.) - How does social class affect the strains experienced by 2-job families?
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The working class has the tougher problems, for they suffer strain from the absence of money to pay for services they need, economic insecurity, poor day care, and lack of dignity and boredom in each partner's job.
For the upper-middle class, strains are caused by the instability of paid help and the enormous demands of the career system in which both partners become willing believers. - What were the 3 kinds of tensions Hochschild observed in married couples?
-
1. tension between couples whose gender strategies clashed
2. tension within each person in the marriage--a conflict between ideal and reality
3. tension between the importance of a family's need for care and the devaluation of the work it takes to give that care (more pronounced among upper-middle class couples engrossed in their careers) - What 2 facts keep many women from pushing for their husbands to share the second shift equally?
-
1. women earn less than men
2. marriages have become less stable - What contributed, in Hochschild's study, to the happiness of couples, regardless of their gender ideologies?
- the willingness of the husband to do work at home & sharing the second shift
- How do men who share differ from men who do not share (in Hochschild's study)?
- They did not earn less than their wives. They had differentiated themselves from detached, absent, or overbearing fathers, vowing not to be like them. They generalize from this reaction to men's roles in general.