StewartB

Added Citations for Theories of the social construction of gender

Added a section to gender stereotypes and issues in the workplace section as an effort to balance out the viewpoints.

I also want to comment that when I copy and pasted the article, the parts that are not edited do have sources, they are just not showing up in my sandbox. Not sure why.

Gender stereotypes and issues in the workplace[edit | edit source]

This section may lend undue weight to certain ideas, incidents, or controversies. Please help to create a more balanced presentation. Discuss and resolve this issue before removing this message. (December 2016)

Gender stereotypes are common in the workforce and affect both men and women.

Management and similar leader positions are often perceived to be "masculine" in type, meaning they are assumed to require aggressiveness, competitiveness, strength and independence. These traits do not line up with the perceived traditional female gender role stereotype. (This is often referred to as the "lack of fit" model which describes the dynamics of the gender bias.) Therefore, the perception that women do not possess these "masculine" qualities, limits their ability to be hired or promoted into managerial positions.

Added a section to the article (my edits are italicized) :

StewartB (talk) 07:28, 11 March 2017 (UTC)Women and men are often categorized into different career fields based on society's idea of masculinity and femininity. Masculinity is equated with an assertive nature, confidence and strength. Femininity is considered to be more quiet, nurturing and meek. Certain careers are categorized as a man's job or a woman's job based on society's views of which gender is more suitable for certain careers. A poll was taken from men and women alike in one article which shows men and women's attitudes towards certain careers and whether or not they are better suited for a man or a woman. One example of the articles results is: "Firefighting is more suitable for a man according to 43% of men and 31% of women", whereas 44% claim that a midwife is more suitable for a woman . A more traditional view on masculinity and femininity is that women are considered to be the homemakers, while men are expected to be the ones to earn money for the family.These roles do not necessarily represent men and women as a whole, it is a basic model generated by society.

One's performance at work is also evaluated based on one's gender. If a female and a male worker show the same performance, the implications of that performance vary depending on the person's gender and on who observes the performance; if a man performs exceedingly well he is perceived as driven or goal-oriented and generally seen in a positive light while a woman showing a similar performance is often described using adjectives with negative connotations. Female performance is therefore not evaluated neutrally or unbiased and stereotyped in ways to deem their equivalent levels and quality of work as instead of lesser value.

Consequently, that gender stereotype filter leads to a lack of fair evaluation and, in turn, to fewer women occupying higher paying positions. Gender stereotypes contain women at certain, lower levels; getting trapped within the glass ceiling. While the number of women in the workforce occupying management positions is slowly increasing, women currently fill only 2.5% of the higher managerial positions in the United States. The fact that most women are being allocated to occupations that pay less, is often cited as a contributor to the existing gender pay gap.

In relation to white women, women of color are disproportionally affected by the negative influence their gender has on their chances in the labor market. In 2005, women held only 14.7% of Fortune 500 board seats with 79% of them being white and 21% being women of color. This difference is understood through intersectionality, a term describing the multiple and intersecting oppressions and individual might experience. Activists during second-wave feminism have also used the term "horizontal oppressions" to describe this phenomenon. It has also been suggested that women of color in addition to the glass ceiling, face a "concrete wall" or a "sticky floor" to better visualize the barriers.

Liberal feminist theory states that due to these systemic factors of oppression and discrimination, women are often deprived of equal work experiences because they are not provided equal opportunities on the basis of legal rights. Liberal feminists further propose that an end needs to be put to discrimination based on gender through legal means, leading to equality and major economic redistributions.

While activists have tried calling on Title VII to provide an equal hiring and promotional process, that practice has had limited success. A proposed step towards solving the problem of the gender pay gap and the unequal work opportunities is the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment which would constitutionally guarantee equal rights for women. This is hoped to end gender-based discrimination and provide equal opportunities for women.

This Section Needs Citations

Before Edits:

Theories of the social construction of gender[edit | edit source]

Main article: Social construction of gender difference Changing norms of socialization: Louis XV in 1712, wearing the customary clothes of unbreeched boys, would be considered cross-dressed in the 21st century.

Some theories - which are collectively termed social construction theories - claim that gender behavior is mostly due to social conventions, although opposing theories, such as some theories in evolutionary psychology, contest this.

Most children learn to categorize themselves by gender by the age of three. From birth, children learn gender stereotypes and roles from their parents and environment. In a traditional view, males learn to manipulate their physical and social environment through physical strength or dexterity, while girls learn to present themselves as objects to be viewed. Social constructionists claim for example that gender-segregated children's activities create the appearance that gender differences in behavior reflect an essential nature of male and female behavior.

Gender role theory "treats these differing distributions of women and men into roles as the primary origin of sex-differentiated social behavior, their impact on behavior is mediated by psychological and social processes." According to Gilbert Herdt, gender roles arose from correspondent inference, meaning that general labour division was extended to gender roles.^{[citation needed]}

Socially constructed gender roles are considered to be hierarchical, and are characterized as a male-advantaged gender hierarchy by social constructionists. The term patriarchy, according to researcher Andrew Cherlin, defines "a social order based on the domination of women by men, especially in agricultural societies".

According to Eagly et al.^{[clarification needed]}, the consequences of gender roles and stereotypes are sex-typed social behavior  because roles and stereotypes are both socially shared descriptive norms and prescriptive norms.^{[citation needed]}

Judith Butler, in works such as Gender Trouble and Undoing Gender, contends that being female is not "natural" and that it appears natural only through repeated performances of gender; these performances in turn, reproduce and define the traditional categories of sex and/or gender.^{[citation needed]}

After Edits:

Theories of the social construction of gender[edit | edit source]

Main article: Social construction of gender difference Changing norms of socialization: Louis XV in 1712, wearing the customary clothes of unbreeched boys, would be considered cross-dressed in the 21st century.

Some theories - which are collectively termed social construction theories - claim that gender behavior is mostly due to social conventions, although opposing theories, such as some theories in evolutionary psychology, contest this.

Most children learn to categorize themselves by gender by the age of three. From birth, children learn gender stereotypes and roles from their parents and environment. In a traditional view, males learn to manipulate their physical and social environment through physical strength or dexterity, while girls learn to present themselves as objects to be viewed. Social constructionists claim for example that gender-segregated children's activities create the appearance that gender differences in behavior reflect an essential nature of male and female behavior.

Gender role theory "treats these differing distributions of women and men into roles as the primary origin of sex-differentiated social behavior, their impact on behavior is mediated by psychological and social processes." According to Alice Eagly "social role theory suggests that the sexual division of labor and societal expectations based on stereotypes produce gender roles".

Socially constructed gender roles are considered to be hierarchical, and are characterized as a male-advantaged gender hierarchy by social constructionists. The term patriarchy, according to researcher Andrew Cherlin, defines "a social order based on the domination of women by men, especially in agricultural societies".

According to Eagly the consequences of gender roles and stereotypes are sex-typed social behavior  because roles and stereotypes are both socially shared descriptive norms and prescriptive norms.

Judith Butler, in works such as Gender Trouble and Undoing Gender, contends that being female is not "natural" and that it appears natural only through repeated performances of gender; these performances in turn, reproduce and define the traditional categories of sex and/or gender.