SoophiEskandani

Hughes
12/8/14

GenderInequality:Class,Race&Ethnicity
Genderisconsideredadimensionofsocialstratificationbecauseduringthetransition
fromhuntergatherersocietiestoagriculturalsocieties(andfurthermore,industrialized
societies),womenweredisplacedasequallycontributingmembersofsociety.Lookingat
modernsocietiestoday,womendothesameamountofworkcomparedtomen,buttheyre
gettingpaidatamuchlowerwage.MinoritywomeninAmericaarebeingpaidsignificantlyless
thantheaveragewhitewomen.Withthatbeingsaid,lookingonamoreglobalperspective,the
roleofwomenchangeswithinvariousethniccultures.Theevolutionofgenderrolesinour
societybleedsintoclass,racial,andethnicsocialstratification.
Inhuntergatherersocieties,peoplelivedanegalitarianlifestyle,meaningthateveryone
inthegroupisequal,becauseeveryonecontributesequally(i.ewomangatherabout80%of
plantfoods,whilemengathertheremaining20%ofrequiredcaloriesfromhuntingallmembers
ofthegroupsharefood).Inagriculturalsocieties,technologicaladvancesleadtotheadventof
privatepropertyandsurplusofgoods.Upperclassmensoughttopassdownwealthtotheir
sons,whichfacilitatedtheneedtobesecurewiththeirpaternity.Thisinturnleadtothecontrol
offemalesexualitybecausemenneededwomentobevirginsuntilmarriage,andremain
monogamousthroughouttheirlifespanssothatmencouldbeconfidentintheirpaternity.In
industrializedsocieties,capitalismcreatesmorewealthwhichleadstomoreclassdivision.

Theseindustrializedsocietiesplacedmenincontrolofallthewealthwhilemakingbothmenand
womenconsumers.
FriedrichEngelstheoryofwomen'soppressionrestsontherelationshipbetweenthe
sexualdivisionoflaborandmodeofproduction.Womeninindustrializedsocietieswere
expectedtocontributetothefamilybyfocusingonchildrearing,andatthesametimeinvolving
oneselfintheworkforce(Smith).Becausewomenwerecentraltoproductioninpreclass
societies(i.e.huntergatherergroups),inequalitybetweenmenandwomanwasnonexistent.
Lookingatmodernsocietiestoday,womenaretreatedequallyintheexpectationsofthework
theyperform,butnottheamountofpayorthenumberofhourstheyworkwhencomparedto
theirequallyqualifiedmalecounterparts.Theaveragefulltimefemaleworkerisscheduled7.81
hoursperdayonthejob,versusthe8.3hoursfortheaveragefulltimeworkingmale.Men
makeup55%ofworkersaveragingmorethan35hoursperweek(Cooper).Thisistypicallywhy
mentendtobethebreadwinnersofthefamily.Thesewageandlaborgapsrepresentamajor
genderinequalitywithintheclasssystemsofmenandwoman.Itcouldbesuggestedthatthe
heteronormativeviewofmenbeingdominantandwomensubmissivecontributesheavilytothis
inequality.
Genderinequalityhasasignificant,profoundimpactonAfricanAmericanand
Latinowomen,whichiswhereracecomesintothepicture.Itwasntuntilthe1980sthatthe
relativewagesofAAsandLatinaswerefallingbehind,effectingthosewithlittleeducationand
lowworkethics(Kerby).Butwhyshouldsomeonebepayedlessjustbecauseoftheirracial
background?Everyonewithhandsandfeetcanbetrainedtoperformequaltasks.Perhapsnot
everyjobisrightforeveryperson,giventhedemandsofphysicallabor,butprimarily,everyone
shouldhaveequalcompensationfortheamountofworkthatsputinonthejobsite.According
toNationalPartnershipforWomenandFamilies,AfricanAmericanwomenandLatinasinthe

U.Sarepaid$18,817(AA)and$23,298(Latino)lessthannonHispanicwhitemen,yearlythat's
64cents(AA)and55cents(Latina)foreverydollaramanmakesintheU.S.(Kerby).Theres
notonlygenderinequalityamongstmenandwomeningeneral,butitswomenofcolorthat
sufferfromlowwagepaymorethantheaveragewhitewoman.Theselongtermwagegapshurt
familiesofcolor,forcingthemtochoosebetweenputtingfoodonthetableandsavingmoneyfor
aneducation.Womenincolorarebasicallylivingpaychecktopaycheck,whileanaveragewhite
womanmighthavetheluxuryofleftovermoneyforsavingsorfrivolousexpenditures(travels,
clothing,remodelingofhouses,etc.)
Onaverage,AfricanAmericanwomanworkingfulltimelosetheequivalentof118
weeksoffoodeachyearduetowagegapLatinaslose154weeksworthoffood.
Unemploymentratesstandat12.2%(AAs)and9.3%(Latinas),comparedtotheaveragewhite
womanbeingat6.1%(Kerby).Whitewomansufferunemploymentratesatabouthalfasmuch
asAfricanAmericanswomendo,andaboutathirdpercentlessthanLatinawoman.Results
fromthe2010Censusshowedthatracialandethnicminoritiesaccountedfor91.7%ofthe
nationsgrowthsince2000.Mostofthatincreasefrom20002012(56%)wasduetoHispanics
(Passel).LatinawomengenerallyhavethehighestbirthratescomparedtononHispanicwhites.
Havingmorechildrenmeansthatoneneedsmoremoneytosupporttheiroffspring,butwiththe
lowpayrateforthisgroupofminoritiesmakesitextremelyharderforthemtomakeendsmeet.
Lifetimeearningsarelowerforwomenofcolorbecausetheyfacehigherlevelsof
unemploymentandpovertyrates.
Globally,genderinequalityaffectswomeninheavilypatriarchalcultures.Muslimwoman
intheMiddleEastgenerallyreceivegrosslyunequaltreatmentcomparedtowomenlivinginthe
U.S.AccordingtotheUnitedNationsDevelopmentProgram,womenwhoarecharacterizedby
atraditionalidentityhavestatisticallylowerprobabilityofenteringthelaborforce.Labor

marketsinArabcountriesdisplaythemarkofsocialnormsthatcontributetogendersegregation
intheworkforce,encouragingfemalestofocusonchildbearingactivities(Hayo).Thesocial
normsintheMuslimreligioniswhatskeepingthesefromwomenworkingoutsidethehome,
whereasintheU.S,itscommonforawomantobeworking.Infact,today,womenaregaining
moreindependencefrommenintheU.S.IfIslamicculturalnormscontributetothegender
inequalitythatMuslimwomenface,thenitisunlikelythatwomeninthisreligionseeanissue
withthegenderinequality.Infact,theywouldmuchratherstayathomewiththeirchildrenwhile
themanmakesthemoneytobringhometothefamily.AkerlofandKrantonsidentitythe
economicalapproachtothis,normsarethemissingpieceinthestandardeconomic
conversation.Theyperceiveidentityasreflectionofpersonssenseofself,placedinsocial
context(Hayo).Religionisclearlythemaindrivingforcebehindthelowfemalelabormarket
participationrates.Typically,atraditionalfamilyisdistinguishedbyapuredivisionoflabor
wherethewifesroleinthehouseholdischildrearing.IfanyMuslimwomanmakesthedecision
togotoworkoutsideofthehousehold,thatmotherisseentobringshameonherfamily
members,onlybecauseitsviolatingtheirtraditionalnormswithintheMuslimreligion.The
familysuffersanidentityloss(Hayo).Theyseethisassociallydeviantbehaviori.edetaching
oneselffromone'sculture'snorms.Traditionally,womenfromArabcountrieshavemorethan
71%pointlowerprobabilityinparticipatinginthelabormarket(Hayo).
Asweveshiftedfromthesehorticulturesocietiesandintomoreindustrialized
economies,theroleofawomenhassignificantlychanged.Backinthehuntergatherertimes,
womenwereseenasanequalcontributortolaborasmen.Womenwereabletohelpeach
otherrearchildrenaswellasgatherthemajorityofthefoodrequiredfortheirentiretribe.
Womenwerentviewedasunequalinanyway,simplybecausetheyweredoingthesamework
asthemen(ifnotmore).Today,womenarepaidlessthanmen,andarestilldoingthesame

amountofworkasidefromtakingcareoffamiliesathomeaswell.Thissproutsahuge
genderinequalitybetweenmenandwomen.Inaclassistsociety,womenarevaluedlessthan
men.Thefactthatamangetspaidmorethanawomanrepresentsthedissimilaritiesinwhich
thetwogendersaretreatedbecausewomenarenotonlypaidless,butexpectedtodomore
(i.e.workandraiseafamily).Thisdoesntonlyaffectwomeningeneral,butwomanofcolorare
theonesthatsufferthemostfromlowwages.AfricanAmericanwomenandLatinasarealmost
paidhalfasmuchlessthantheaveragewhitewoman.Latinashighbirthratesmakeitharder
forthemtobeabletosurviveandbestable.Infact,theygetpaidsolowthattheycanteven
managetosavemoneyforcollegetuitionwhichiswhytheirchildrendontendupwiththe
sameeducationaswhites.Therefore,theyreatriskforgettingpaidlessaswell.Thisobviously
doesntmeanthatallLatinochildrenbornwontbesuccessful,butthosethatcomefrom
impoverishedfamiliesdontnecessarilygetthesameamountofeducationasanonHispanic
whitewould.GenderinequalityhasalsobecomeanissueinmeasuringEthnicgroupsona
globalperspective.Muslimwomenarelookeddownuponiftheyevenconsidertoworkoutside
ofthehome.ReligiousnormsalsoleadtofewerwomeninIslamicsocietiesseekingtojointhe
workforce.Thesocialstratificationsofclass,race,andethnicityalltieintogenderinequality.
Womenfacegenderinequalityinmanydifferentways,butitisespeciallyharmfultodifferent
classes,aswellasracialandethnicgroups.