World Sociology: Gender

- Types of Inequality

-Theories

-Adressing Issues

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  • Created by: Issy H
  • Created on: 18-06-12 16:25

Introduction

  • Measure Gender via:
  • Gender Development index
  • Gender Empowerment index
  • The UN MDG's focus on women: empower women, maternal health
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Health and Life Expectancy Inequality

  • Most Places have women with higher life expectancy- not 3rd world. 
  • Huge infant mortality, sex selective abourtions based on one child policy. 
  • Distortion of male/female ratios. 38% more males in some areas. Issues with back room procedures- cause illness. 
  • Issues with child burth. 99% maternal death in 3rd world. 1% in minorty world. 
  • Women are murdered due to lack of dowry payments. 
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Education and Work Inequality

  • Women have low status in education and the workplace 
  • Education provision tends to exclude women, 960million are illiterate 2/3 are women. 
  • Women therefore excluded from benifits of human rights. 
  • Women serve a domestic role. 
  • When women do gain employment, there are lower wages, fewer safety protection, lack of unions (FTZ's). 
  • Women work many long hours. However work is not guaranteed. 
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Socio-Political involvement Inequality

  • Lack of female involvedment in 3rd world politics. 
  • Women are underrepresented un politics.
  • Leghorn and Parker: Three Types of Power:
  • Minimal Power: Little 1st hand control, no reporoductive rights. 
  • Token Power: varied, women are still lower than a men, a bit more say at home, still under represented. 
  • Negotiating Power: women have their reporductive rights, womens have self sustaining power they have high status and contorl. 
  • This is true of some traditional societies. Many developed nations are only in the Token Stage, whilt 3rd world countries are more equal. 
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Integration Thesis (Liberal Feminist)

  • Moen should be encouraged to take employment roles available in the developed world e.g. nursing, secreteries.
  • Women rise above the mother label which lowers the birth rate. Induviduals have less babies. 
  • Education systems and a mass media are needed to spread positve roles for women. 
  • TNC's must offer female empolyment.  
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Marginalisation Thesis (Dependency)

  • Patriachy is established by a lack of inclusion. There is a change in the colonial era.
  • Traditional societies were more equal. West brought over views of patriarchy. 
  • Industrialisation brought paid work, meant that women were left at home. Wages should trickle down to women, but often this does not happen. 
  • Only 3.4% of aid projects are focses soley on women. Many assume women are not into science and technology- so leave them out. 
  • Aid projects which focus on wells (which women use more than men) are dominantly taught to men. 
  • There is a disregard for domestic jobs as they are unwaged. 
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Exploitation Thesis (Marxist Feminist)

  • Gender inequalities occur as capitalism needs women to exploit. 
  • Capitalism needs patriarchy to sustian for it to function. 
  • Women provide TNC's as a source of cheap labour- particularly in FTZ's. 
  • The FTZ's have low wages, with no unions, health and safety protection or contracts.
  • Women are useful to TNC's. They therefore encourage contraception to prevent women being off work due to maternity leave. 
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Adressing Inequalities

  • Modernisation Theories:
  • Cultural change is important. Education is needed to promite values for women. Encourage TC;s to have progressive employment. Opportunities for women to rise up. Givens them Freedom from husbands.
  • Bottom Up Approaches:
  • Work with women. 90% of microcredit loans are to female customers. We need to ensure there is legal representation.
  • NGO's and IGO's need to have a focus on rising equality. 
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Sociologists

  • Junhong: Infanticide, sex selective 200/820 abortion. one child policy
  • Mosem: 6 countries where men have a longer life expectance
  • Mies: Dowry deaths, angry husbands.
  • Harrisson:  women spend 8 hours working both places
  • Leghorn and Parker: types of power: Minimal Power, Token Power and Negotiatiing Power
  • Amyarta Sen:  types of inequality: special, education, mortality, natatlity, politics, basic needs, ownership, household
  • Parson: Traditional society was patriachal- industrailation imprved things for women. 
  • Illich:  traditional society- gender roles were equitable
  • Abbot and Wallace: colonialism produced patriachy
  • Clarkson et al.: cultures were matriarcha now patriarchal
  • Leornard: colonialism left women at home
  • Elson and Pearson: intrests of capitalism
  • Daisy Franscis: FTZ 85% women- suffering
  • Mies: TNC's acta as pimps for women with small hands
  • Foster-Carter: women the satellite to noones metropolis
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