Sociology AS coursework: preliminary investigation
Sociology AS coursework
"Has Feminism forced women to go to work?"
Pollyanna Jones -
John Henry Newman School -
Sociology 'As' level coursework Pollyanna Jones 12RH
Aim
With the rise of Feminism since the 1970s several people wonder, "Has Feminism forced women to go to work?" The aim within this piece. To do this I shall look at a variety of feminist theories and comparing differences in women's roles in the past to the present to help demonstrate how feminism the effects of feminism has had in encouraging women to pursue careers. The idea of the 'triple shift' will also help me gather data on how women are over-worked. In particular, I will consider whether women really want to go into work or whether society has pressured them into doing so.
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Content and Concepts
"What do women want?" (Jane Elliot - Phillip Allan, Oxfordshire UK - April 1997) is an article about the changes of women's experiences in paid employment. It explores what is going on and the pressures of feminism, a well as looking at what women really want. Another key issue it looks into is the Hakim Debate, which is about myths, which have been created by feminists about women's work and attitudes to employment. It also looks into contrasts between women's life now and pre- World War 2. Have their lives really improved? In many ways it is has shown that they have not, due to the fact they have to work so much harder, due to the "lack of childcare" and "exploitation in poor quality jobs". And is there now unequal division of labour between women and men within the home and job market, with housework, childcare, job segregation, discrimination and unequal pay?
Feminism, my first concept, is the belief that society is disadvantageous to women, systematically depriving them of individual choice, political power, economic opportunity and intellectual recognition. Over time it seems to have pressurised women into going to work because they can. It disagrees with the view that women need to look after the family. But now many women feel the need to do work, meaning they are working the 'triple shift.'
Employment, my second concept, is the state of working for a financial return. The number of women entering employment has risen drastically over the last ...
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Feminism, my first concept, is the belief that society is disadvantageous to women, systematically depriving them of individual choice, political power, economic opportunity and intellectual recognition. Over time it seems to have pressurised women into going to work because they can. It disagrees with the view that women need to look after the family. But now many women feel the need to do work, meaning they are working the 'triple shift.'
Employment, my second concept, is the state of working for a financial return. The number of women entering employment has risen drastically over the last 50years but is this really what they want? Or is it pushing them away from their natural maternal links. Many women have found it difficult to adapt to being employed and looking after a family, and therefore accuse feminism of pushing them to give up their traditional roles, as mentioned in "What do Women want?"
"Hormones or Hegemonic musicality?" (Jane Pilcher - Phillip Allan, Oxfordshire, UK - February 1998) is an article, which explores and explains gender inequalities. It includes the feminist view on the issue, and looks into the argument: do women really belong in the work place or have they been forced there by socialisation and feminist views? In many situations, it is easy to see this is obviously the case, as seen in radical feminist theories where feminists say women need to go out to work, to win the "power struggle" against me. This will help me because it ties in nicely with looking at feminist views on employment. And answers key questions in my aim.
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Methodology
I will be using the interpretative and a comparative quantitative method, which will be set up to test my aim; "Has Feminism forced women to go to work?" I will need to find out a number of women's general views on this topic, comparing them to views from before the 2nd world war. As they will show me how the influence of feminism has encouraged women to enter the world place. The questions I will ask will be along the lines of, "If you had/ had had the choice, would you stay at home?" As they are most likely to allow me to develop strong theories.
To do this I will ask questions in the form of semi-structured interviews, which will allow me to ask key questions as questionnaires would but also mean I could probe deeply, as my topic is rather complex. Interviews will mean I have a much high response rate. I plan to ask 40 to gain sufficient accuracy. Interviewer bias will be a problem but I aim to reduce this by making sure I do not ask leading questions or using loaded words or phrases.
Carrying out a pilot will be vital to ensure I am asking the correct questions, to gain accurate results. I will carry this out on a small sample of 3-5 people, and will act as a check on my methods of research.
Using stratified systematic sampling will allow me to choose a representative sample, as the population will be divided according to known criteria. These will be class, age and ethnicity. The women will be based on women's responses, so I will not ask men. Class, age and ethnicity are vital categories though as they will ensure my sample is representative of everyone's views.
As views are often inspired by upbringings and these different groups will have had different upbringings. This broad stratum of people will be chosen at random, from names on my sampling frame. This will come from the register lists of 3 schools, one that will be private and 2 that shall be public schools. The method of systematic sampling was chosen, as it will allow me to quickly select my candidates, every nth number of the list.
In my interviews, I will probably come across practical and ethical issues, as I will be asking people about their feelings, therefore I will make my interviews anonymous.
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Potential Problems
When doing my research, it is likely that I will come across various practical, ethical and theoretical problems, as all research can be problematic. I will try and deal with these issues, which are mentioned below, as effectively as possible, when they arise, to ensure my theories are as accurate as possible.
There are many problems with interviews that I will have to take into account. These include, if the semi-structed interviews are different from each other it may be hard to make generalisations. The people questioned may not tell the truth and transcribing the interviews will be time consuming. Most importantly, the interviewer may influence the replies, this is known as interviewer bias. The respondents may give the replies they think I want (this type of response is often referred to as the Hawthorne effect) or I may make the mistake of asking leading questions or using loaded words or phrases.
Interviews take a lot of time and funding and finding the time and money to carry out the interviews may be difficult.
There are often many influences on the research process. These include the fact that my personal beliefs may cause the research to be bias. There will also be ethical constraints, as many people may be sensitive about the information I am asking them for. It requires opinions about information, which may be classed as sensitive. This includes information about the day-to-day running of their lives in society, what they think about it and how they would change it if the opportunity arose. Therefore the research may influence their lives and the wider society.
As the line of question may reflect around financial issues many people may feel reluctant to complain or give accurate information, as it can sometimes be seen as personal. Many women may find expressing opinions about things they cannot help hard and therefore not want to do it. To stop this becoming a problem I will make the questionnaires anonymous.
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