Gender Stratification Dissertation

Gender Stratification

Gender stratification is the unequal distribution of power, wealth and privileges across genders. It is usually characterized by sexism, sex roles, patriarchy, feminism, the glass ceiling, and institutionalized sexism. Gender and sex are two unmistakable words that have been misjudged and abused in the community today. Gender means the social and cultural behaviors whereas sex refers to the biological characteristics of men and women. Stratification by gender is exchanged starting with one age then onto the next as these practices are acquired. This paper focuses on the social construction of gender, evidence of gender inequality and the implication of how we see gender.

Gender impacts control dispersion of power distribution and how we organize our society. Roles according to gender determine how women and men should speak, think and interact with society. These roles are adopted during the early growth of babies, they spread until adulthood and influence people in every aspect of life (Ridgeway, 2011). Home is where children are ensnared to gender values, standards and esteems.  At the moment a child is born he or she is assigned sex immediately and thus shapes how they should be treated, the opportunities they should be given and how they should behave. Girls have their own colors, toys, and interests as compared to boys. For example, in the summary, we see that Harry did like pink shading as well as drew himself as a young lady and also trusted that he was a girl. This is contrary to how boys are expected to behave and hence it’s against the norms of society.

Gender Stratification Dissertation
Gender Stratification Dissertation

Patriarchy is commonly practiced among many societies where men have more power in regard to other genders. Patriarchy contributes a lot to rise in gender inequality as women are seen as the minority. In some developing countries, ladies are denied the privilege to cast a vote and leadership positions. Notwithstanding when there is no boundary for the female to take the position of leaders, the community cannot vote for them as they are seen as week and inferior (Christopher , Mendelberg, & Shaker 2012). Developed governments have put in place regulations that ensure that 3% of the leaders must be women. There are also leadership positions secured for women only and men are not allowed to participate. Families which do not have a man or a boy are considered as weak and needy in the society hence showing the extent of gender inequality as a result of patriarchist.

Gender Stratification in the Workplace

Gender stratification is also evident in the work environment where there is a lot of inequality between men and women. Normally employed women end up doing a ‘second shift’ as they do housework and take care of the children after returning from work. There is a great disadvantage as women don’t have time to concentrate on their carrier a compared to men due to pregnancies and marriage.  There is also a high salary gap between men and women due to several factors such as education choices, distinct job preferences, and skills required on the job (Greene, Marie & Smith, 2015). Many technical companies tend to prefer men during employment as men seem fitter than women. Currently, women have tried and re willing to take male occupations such as doctors, mechanics, and engineers. Contrary, there are very few men that are willing to take female occupations such as nursing as such jobs are vied to be light and only women can take them.

The glass ceiling is another contributor to gender stratification. This alludes as an undetectable hindrance in the general public that keeps the feeble gender from acquiring high-level positions. Despite women having achievements and qualifications higher than men, they cannot be promoted as those barriers always exist when factors such as experience, education, and ability are considered (Beeghley, 2015). The effects of glass ceiling are more evident with higher income occupations and high-powered jobs hence there are very few women holding these positions. As a result of women being denied these positions, the effects of gender inequality increase as men get more superior than women.

At last, education imbalance is a typical factor in establishments and the community. In many upcoming nations, ladies are denied the rights to education since they are considered for marriage and dealing with the youngsters (Williams & Christine, 2013). This is clear as there is a low populace of young ladies in the instruction institutions because of early pregnancies and early marriages. There are causes that require time and commitment hence it is hard for women to per sue them. A boy in a family is expected to choose a cause that is said to be that of men while a girl is expected to choose the one said to be that of women (Hacker, 2017). Currently, there is an availability of birth pills hence can avoid pregnancies and can give themselves time to chase their careers.

In conclusion, it is observed that gender stratification is an enemy to the development and should be avoided at all costs. The society should be educated on gender inequality and its effects through social protection programs and how it should be avoided. Women should fight for equality to be given the same opportunities as men. Furthermore, men should acknowledge the power of women, skills and treat them with fairness. The world cannot move forward without gender equity hence women should be empowered in society.

References

Ridgeway, C. L. (2011). Framed by gender: How gender inequality persists in the modern world. Oxford University Press.

Williams, C. L. (2013). The glass escalator, revisited: Gender inequality in neoliberal times, SWS feminist lecturer. Gender & Society, 27(5), 609-629.

Karpowitz, C. F., Mendelberg, T., & Shaker, L. (2012). Gender inequality in deliberative participation. American Political Science Review, 106(3), 533-547.

Beeghley, L. (2015). The Structure of Social Stratification in the United States, The, CourseSmart eTextbook. Routledge.

Greene, B. M., & Smith, R. A. (2015). Gender Inequality in the Workplace.

Hacker, S. (2017). Pleasure, power and technology: Some tales of gender, engineering, and the cooperative workplace. Routledge.

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