Gender socialisation is how we as humans learn gender roles through the social agencies like families and media. It can be considered a long process starting from birth when friends and relatives respond to the news that “it’s a boy/girl”. Primary socialisation is how other people engage in activities that corresponds with a child’s their sex, guiding them down the ‘right’ path. John Bowlby argued that the mother is crucial to the primary socialisation of children. The impact of the mother on her young therefore plays a strong role in the socialisation of the child, setting the child into what is normal for that gender. Toys that are bought for the child and activities that are introduced to the child eventually set into the child’s mind that this is normal for them. Secondary socialisation is how children gradually accept what are the social ‘norms’ and expectations for their sex. Basically the whole upbringing of the child has a strong impact on the individual’s view of gender and leads to cognitive theories like “I am a boy/girl and I want to do boy/girl things”. This shows how the ‘sociological norm’ creates gender divisions. Schools also influence the way that gender is perceived and sometimes promote the division of genders without realising. In my own experience, disruptive boys get attended to regularly whereas girls in the same position either get ignored or reprimanded when acting in the exact same way. Books and other school resources also support gender divisions. Schools and similar influences play a major role in the reason why there is gendered division in labour and if ignored lead to further problems. Children are being urged to move away from the stereotypical subjects that are being chosen at GCSE and A Level. Peer, family and often sociological pressure causes students to choose subjects suited to their gender. In 2004 94% of all Home Economics GCSE students were female and 98% of all Engineering students were male. At A Level 78% of all Physics students were male. Figures like this show that teenagers are still influenced by gender socialisation and this causes the obvious trends in subject choice. The vast majority of girls selecting home economics not only shows that they are happy to be cast into the stereotype at an early age but also that boys do not see it as a subject they should be studying.
Liberal feminists aim to combat the gendered division of labour. They believe that women as individuals deserve the right to pursue their interests without any barriers halting such progress. They want to bring about changes in existing systems that will allow women to progress to their desired occupation. However it can be argued that they are combating the problem in the wrong way. Instead of changing current systems and barriers in the law they need to seek out the major root of the problem which, in my opinion, is the upbringing and socialisation of children. Minimising gender divisions at an early age will minimise the future gendered division of labour.
Gendered division of labour is apparent in today’s society and can be proven. The following figures are taken from Braham and James, 2002. In 1999, almost two thirds of all full time employees are male. This may be because of invisible barriers preventing women from achieving what they want in a full time job. If women want to advance in a certain profession they find it difficult and often hit what is sometimes called a ‘glass ceiling’, which prevents them from getting any further up the ladder. Men however, find advancing a lot easier even in female dominant areas such as teaching and often find themselves riding the ‘glass escalator’ straight up to the top of the ladder. Women sometimes find it hard to balance work and childcare and get discriminated because they need the time off. Male employers and employees can occasionally be uncooperative and view childcare as being the female’s main concern. Views like this often put many women off full time jobs and seek part time work. This is why, in 1999, 80% of part time workers were female. Many more women though are seeking work and a large proportion of the labour workforce consists of females. However, they are concentrated in custom, low income jobs that offer little or no advancement up the corporate ladder. Certain occupations are tagged as “women’s jobs” leading to the majority of women carrying on filling these low level, low advancement, low commitment jobs because of their response to them. The gendered division of labour can be shown through analysis of the male to female ratio of certain types of occupation. Females take up over three quarters of all clerical and secretarial work. These jobs are often labelled as “women’s jobs”. As females still take up a large percentage of “women’s jobs”, this reinforces the fact that females accept these jobs because of childhood gender socialisation. Males take up almost two thirds of all management and administrative jobs with a strong reason for this being the ‘glass ceiling’ that many women encounter in their line of work.
However it is not just types of work separate the majority of men and women, it is also the rate of pay. Although the gap is narrowing, the difference is still substantial. In 2004, the average difference of pay between men and women was about 25%, which is quite significant. The growing concern is that this figure is only narrowing slowly. Reasons for this could be the fact that many ‘glass ceilings’ exist in companies and also the way that children are influenced with their subject choices. The vast majority of males take up Information Technology and Physics whereas Home Economics consists of mainly girls. Surely this gives the boys an immediate step up if they want a successful career.
Inequalities in household work provide a strong contrast to the labour market division of labour. The following information is taken from Braham and James, 2002. The washing and ironing around the house is usually done by the women in 32% of all households compared to the men usually doing it in 1% of households. 1% is insignificant and is a direct example of what is believed to be ‘the norm’ in today’s society. However household tasks that might be considered biologically suited to a male rather than a female such as repairs around the house tell a different story. It is usually the man who does the repairs in almost half the households, yet it is only usually the woman in 3% of households. These figures match the approach of the functionalist who sees labour as a system that requires different skills and different genders offer different skills. It seems that the division of labour in a household matches what is considered the sociological norm.
Many women are held back and put off full time work because of the concern over gender based pay systems. Many women are forced to leave because of the discrimination in pay and also in the form of sexual harassment. Imbalances in power between males and females make it increasingly difficult to fight sexual harassment and related issues. Fear of losing ones job and inability to distinguish it from ‘a joke’ means that many cases go unreported. This is another example of how easily women can be put off work.