GENDER AND SOCIAL

STRATIFICATION
SOCIOLOGY 1

 In the past, many women in the labor force

were childless.
But today, 72% of married women with
children between the ages 6 to 17 are
working.
For widowed, divorced or separated
women with children, the percentage of
women in the labor force range from 61%
to 73%.

WORKING WOMEN AND MEN

In 1900 just 20% of women were in the
labor force.
Today, the figures have tripled to 60%
The once common view that only the men
should work and earn an income is no
longer applicable.
Factors that have lead to this statistic
include the decline in farming, the growth
of cities, shrinking family size & a rising
divorce rate among others.

GENDER AND OCCUPATIONS

The US Department of Labor reports a
high concentration of women in two jobs.
They are:
Administrative Support Work which draws
23% of women most of whom are
secretaries or office workers.
Another 16% of women engage in service
work such as health care, food service,
child care, etc.

 Men dominate other job descriptions such

as building trades (99%), police officers
and engineers (87%), lawyers (69%),
physicians & surgeons (68%) and
corporate managers (57%).
A recent survey shows tath just 12 of the
Fortune 500 corporations in the US have a
woman CEO.

GENDER AND WEALTH

24% of women earned less than $25,000
a month compared with 15% of men.
The main reason for the disparety in
income is the nature of jobs done by
women.
In recent years supporters of gender
equality proposed a policy of "comparable
worth" paying people not by historical
doubles but by manifestation of skills.

HOUSE WORK: A WOMAN'S

"SECOND SHIFT"
In recent years, the amount of housework
done by women has gone down, but the
share of work still remains the same.
A survey shows that women do 15.8 hours
of housework compared to 8.9 hours by
men

GENDER AND EDUCATION

In 1980, majority of women earned a
bachelor's and associate degree.
In 2008, that share has risen to 59%.
The nature of majors also have changed.
In 1970, 17% of women majored in Natural
Science, Computer Science and
Engineereing. By 2008 it has doubled to
34%
Women earning PhD's and Master's
Degree are at 51- 61%.

GENDER AND POLITICS

A century ago, almost no woman held
elected office in the US.
Women were not allowed to vote by then
Today, many women hold elected offices
such as mayors, governors, etc.
23% of State Legislators are women.
In 2008, Hilary Clinton came close to be
nominated as the Presidential Candidate
of the US Democrats, eventually losing to
Barack Obama.

GENDER AND THE MILITARY

Since colonial times, women played vital roles in
the US Armed Forces.
During WWII, just 2% of women were armed
forces personel.
In 2010, women comprised 15% of the US
Armed Forces
The law prevents women from engaging in
offensive warfare.
In the duration of March 2003- March 2011, the
deployment of women soldiers to the war of Iraq
and Afganistan claimed the lives of 136 women
soldiers.

ARE WOMEN A MINORITY?

A minority is any category of people
distinguished by physical or cultural
difference that a society sets apart and
subordinates.
Given the circumstances, it is practicable
to state that women are a minority in the
US even though they outnumber men.

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

In the nineteenth century, men claimed the right
to rule their households,even to the point of
using physical discipline against their wives,and
a great deal of manly violence is still directed at
women.
A government report states that 294,000 assults
against women are reported anually.
To this number can be added 106,000 rapes or
sexual assaults and perhaps 1.5 million simple
assaults.

 About 20 percent of college women

experience rape.
In 85 to 90 percent of all cases, the victim
knew the offender, and most of the
assaults took place in the mans or
womans living quarters while having a
party or being on a date.

VIOLENCE AGAINST MEN

In more than 80 percent of cases in which
police make an arrest for a violent crime,
including murder, robbery,and physical
assault, the person arrested is a male.
In addition, 53 percent of all victims of
violent crime are also men.

SEXUAL HARASSMENT
Sexual harassment refers to comments,
gestures, or physical contacts of a sexual
nature that are deliberate, repeated, and
unwelcome.
During the 1990s, sexual harassment
became an issue of national importance
that rewrote the rules for workplace
interaction between women and men.
Most (but not all) victims of sexual
harassment are women.

PORNOGRAPHY
Pornography is defined as a sexually explicit
material that causes sexual arousal.
Traditionally, people have raised concerns about
pornography as a moral issue. But pornography
also plays a part in gender stratification.
There is widespread concern that pornography
promotes violence against women by portraying
them as weak and undeserving of respect

 Like sexual harassment, pornography raises complex

and conflicting issues.
Despite the fact that some material may offend just
about everybody, many people defend the rights of free
speech and artistic expression.
Pressure to restrict pornography has increased in recent
decades, reflecting both the long-standing concern that
pornography weakens morality and more recent
concerns that it is demeaning and threatening to women.

RATIONALE OF THE TOPIC

"ALL WOMEN AND MEN ARE CREATED
EQUALLY, YET SOCIETAL PRACTICE
SHOWS OTHERWISE."