Page 227 - DSOC201_SOCIAL_STRUCTURE_AND_SOCIAL_CHANGE_ENGLISH

Social Structure and Social Change

Notes directed towards women and the underlying mechanisms that permit the emergence and perpetuation
of these patterns.
Liz Kelly (1998), Surviving Sexual Polity has defined violence as “any physical, visual, verbal or
sexual act that is experienced by the woman or girl at the time or later as a threat, invasion or assault,
that has the effect of hurting her or degrading her and/or takes away her ability to contest an intimate
contact”.
Dr Joanne Liddle modified this definition as “any physical, visual, verbal or sexual act that is
experienced by the person at the time or later as a threat, invasion or assault, that has the effect of
hurting or disregarding or removing the ability to control one’s own behaviour or an interaction,
whether this be within the workplace, the home, on the streets or in any other area of the community”.
Self-Assessment

1. Choose the correct option:
(i) With people of Hispanic origin women earn ............... of the wages that African American
men do.
(a) 90% (b) 85% (c) 65% (d) 75%
(ii) Sexism occurs when men and women are framed within two dimensions of ............... cognition.
(a) cultural (b) political (c) social (d) None of these

(iii) It is estimated that only ............... of midwives in the UK.
(a) 0.4% (b)5% (c)8% (d)2%
(iv) The world economic forum measures gender equity through a series of economic, educational
and political benchmarks. It has ............... ranked in the United States.
(a) 18th (b) 15th (c) 19th (d) None of these
(v) A girl’s school was started for the first time in ............... 1824.
(a) Kolkata (b) Chennai (c) Mumbai (d) None of these
9.6 Summary

• Gender description refers to disparity between individuals due to gender. Gender is constructed
both socially through social interactions as well as biologically through chromosomes, brain
structure, and hormonal differences. Gender systems are often dichotomous and hierarchical;
binary gender systems may reflect the inequalities that manifest in numerous dimensions of
daily life. Gender inequality stems from distinctions, whether empirically grounded or socially
constructed.
• There are natural differences between the sexes based on biological and anatomic factors, most
notably differing reproductive roles. Biological differences include chromosomes, brain structure,
and hormonal differences. There is a natural difference also in the relative physical strengths
(on average) of the sexes.
• Wage discrimination is the discrepancy of wages between two groups due to a bias towards or
against a specific trait with all other characteristics of both groups being equivalent. In the case
of gender inequality, wage discrimination exists between the male and female gender.
Historically, gender inequality has favored men over similarly qualified women.
• Cultural stereotypes are engrained in both men and women and these stereotypes are a possible
explanation for gender inequality and the resulting gendered wage disparity. Women have
traditionally been viewed as being caring and nurturing and are designated to occupations
which require such skills. While these skills are culturally valued, they were typically associated

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