Gender is one of the most important dimensions of inequality, although it was neglected in the study of stratification for a long time. There are no societies in which women have more power than men and there are significant variations in how women's and men's roles are valued within a society.
Biological differences between women (they give birth and care for children) and men do not necessarily lead to gender inequality. Some argue that differences in human biology (specifically, that women have children and can spend many years of their lives pregnant) cause gender differences. Sociologists argue that cross-cultural and historical evidence shows that gender inequalities are variable rather than constant.
The development of feminism has led to attention being focused on the inferior position of women in many societies. Feminist sociologists have been responsible for the development of theories in gender inequalities. However it is to be noted that there is little agreement among sociologists about the causes and about what actions should be taken to reduce or end these inequalities (Haralambos 2000:136).
Feminism is a general term used to describe a very broad and complex ideology. There are lots of different feminist theories and approaches, as well as several different types of feminists. The most straightforward meaning however describes it as “a movement advocating the rights of women and of their social, political and economic equality with men” (Scruton 1983).
Feminism views the personal experiences of women and men through gender - gender identity (how people think of themselves), gender roles (how people act), and gender stratification (each sex's social standing) are all rooted in the operation of society.
The importance of change is obviously paramount in feminist thinking as feminism is definitely political since it links ideas to action. Feminism is critical of current situations, and promotes social equality for women. Feminists use the word patriarchy to describe the power relationship between men and women as it stands now, whereby men rule and dominate over women in today's society, in both public life through politics and economy, and in private life, involving the roles played in the family.
Feminists disagree about many things, though most feminists usually support some general principles and their political rallying cry is the elimination of gender roles (Oakley and Mitchell 1986). Although feminists are united by their common desire for sexual justice and their concern for women's welfare, there is a wide spectrum of 'feminisms' (Oakley 1986). These can be divided into four broad groups - liberal, radical, Marxist/socialist and Black. The writer will now discuss the various feminist groups.
Radical feminists believe that women are exploited by men, because they carryout unpaid labour such as childcare and housework. Women also do not achieve access to power both in the home and in the workforce. From a radical feminist’s point of view, men are the ruling class and women are the subject class. The family is often seen as the key institution of the oppression of women in modern societies.
Some radical feminists such as Shulamith Firestone, one of the founding members of the Chicago Women’s Liberation Union, believe that women’s oppression originated from their biology, while others believe that it is part of their culture. Radical feminists refuse to accept the help from men in their struggle to fight for women’s rights because men are often seen as enemies of women’s liberation from a radical feminist point of view. They believe that even if they are well-meaning, men will only create trouble with their masculine perspective and behaviour (Frye,M, 1997:413).
Liberal feminism is the dominant ideology of modern society and is grounded in classic liberal thinking that individuals should be free to develop their own talents and pursue their own interests and should be treated according to their individual merits rather than on others basis's such as in the feminist’s case and sexual characteristics. But because liberalism evolved in a context in which the private sphere of the family was excluded from political demands for equality, in which traditional social arguments remained strong, and in which the Church upheld women's subordinate role in the family, liberal feminism developed.
Marxist and Social Feminists do not blame women’s exploitation entirely on men. They see capitalism rather than patriarchy as being the basic source of women’s oppression, and capitalists as the main beneficiaries. Marxist-feminist’s focus on the historical and political roots of sexism unlike the radical approach which focus on the biological root (Thompson 2001: 56). Marxist and social feminists also see that women are exploited in unpaid work as housewives and mothers. Although men benefit from this unpaid work, it is mainly capitalists who gain from this as women reproduce at no cost to the capitalist. Marxist and socialist feminists relate women’s oppression to the production of wealth, while radical feminists attribute greater importance to childbearing. Marxists would focus more on the exploitation of women in paid employment (Haralambus 2000:137).
The first major feminist political statement was Mary Wollstonecraft's Vindication of the Rights of women in 1792. She argued that women should be entitled to the same rights and privileges as men on the grounds that they too were human beings (Heywood 2003). She believed the key to liberating women lay in education.
Education has always been advocated by liberals as a way of replacing ignorance and prejudice. Liberal feminists have looked to education to widen the 'narrow mental horizons imposed on women by domesticity'. But later feminists saw this as only the beginning. They argued that freedom and equality for women could only really come about through legal reform, for example the right to influence political decisions through the vote.
Earlier research in inequality of educational grades focused on class but by the 1970’s the focus had changed to gender. There was great concern about the fact that females’ were under-achieving more than the concern about the working class (Haralambos 2000:851).
Early socialisation may be a factor of girls underachieving. Fiona Norman and her colleagues (Norman et al 1998) point out that before children start school, conditioning and sex stereotyping have already begun. Different attitudes can develop by the types of toys that children are given to play with from an early age. Girls may be given dolls to play with which reinforces the stereotype of women as carers. Boys tend to be more active and this can reflect on their attitudes in the classroom. Boys may also be given constructional toys which will help them develop in subjects such as maths and sciences.
Stereotypes of women and men are also supported through the media. A possible consequence of stereotyping can have a long lasting effect on girls’ values towards education. They may feel the need to take on the role as a carer rather than pursue a career. This may lead to the girls not having any interest and in having little incentive towards achieving high grades in school.
In 1976 in London a study was carried out by Sue Sharp. She used a group of mainly working-class girls and found that the girls’ priorities lay in marriage and childrearing. She followed up her research in the 1990’s. In her findings she saw that the priorities of girls had changed. These changes may help to explain why the educational attainment of girls at school is now greater than boys (Haralambos 2000:854).
The standard of achievement for all pupils has been rising since the 1980s but because of the differential rates of improvements, girls are performing better than boys.
According to first national results of the Foundation Stage profile revealed in March 2005, girls do better than boys in every area of learning before they are five (Department for Education and Skills, March 2005). This trend continues at GCSE, A-Level and in higher education. The situation is similar in some parts of Europe, plus Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States, where women now gain 54% of higher education places compared with 41% 30 years ago (TES, 25 August 2000).
At GCSE, girls outperform boys by 5.3% at the top grades of A* and A, and by 0.8% at A* to G. Boys have closed the gap slightly at grades A*-C, jumping by 1.3% compared with 0.9% for girls (Smithers and Ward 2004).
Throughout the 1990’s, the independent council representing the exam boards throughout the UK have continually urged the government to tackle the continuing problem of boys' under-achievement in its shake-up of secondary school qualifications. They warn that the results show that the gender gap in attainment has continued almost without variation for eight years, prompting concerns that increasing efforts to target the problem are failing to make an impact.
However, research also shows that the brightest pupils in the country are boys, despite girls' increased lead over boys in top-grade GCSEs and dominance at A level according to the results of the world-class tests. An analysis of the first advanced extension awards, aimed at the cleverest 1% of upper sixth formers, shows that boys outperformed girls in 14 out of 16 subjects (TES, 23 August 2002).
Research on Gender and Educational Performance, London, reported,
“… that there are no simple explanations for the gender gap in performance or any simple solution; in any one context several factors are likely to have an influence. For example, the ways in which pupils are grouped, the way in which their work is assessed, the curricula they encounter, the teaching styles they experience, the role models they are offered, the expectations teachers have of boys and girls and the ways teachers reward and discipline them can all affect the size and nature of the gender gap” (Arnot, et al l998).
Girls may be outperforming boys in education but it is evident that in the workplace men will still occupy the highest positions as Tim Hames from The Times wrote: "Anyone out there who thinks that, because boys have achieved only 46% of all the A grades at A-level in August 2000, men will command only 46% of the most senior and lucrative posts available when this same group of teenagers hit their mid-30s, is either utterly crackers or has privately devised a means of rendering pregnancy, as it has been understood for the past four million years, entirely redundant." He said later, "The underlying dilemma in the British education system is now, as it has been for a hundred years, if not more, still social class not gender." (TES, 18 August 2000).
Women achievements and contributions are rarely given due credit in a male dominated society. Social workers need to value women, their thoughts, feelings and work. At a micro level, social work can contribute to enhanced self esteem for women clients and staff and at a macro level play at least a small part in the breaking down of the sexist devaluation of women.
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