Women in Comparative Societies

WomenÕs Work

Women work

Women work hard

Women work more than men

60-90 hours per week (UNICEF 2006)

 

Is this our perception? Why or why not?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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WomenÕs economic dependence is a primary basis of patriarchy?

How? Why?

 

 

 

 

 

MenÕs Òmicro powerÓ i.e., power in the home; power to determine whether and how much their wives work

Software: Microsoft Office

Working less- earns less but also diminishes your earning capacity

 

Puts and keeps men in the top spots

i.e., creates menÕs macro power to hire/fire, segregate women in lower paying jobs

 

Feminist Economics

   Seeks to include womenÕs unpaid labor in the study of economics

 

   Including measuring womenÕs work in the informal economy

Software: Microsoft Office

   Òunder the tableÓ Òoff the booksÓ

   Gray economy, also in small family businesses and farms

   Women are often the majority of workers in this sector

 

Gender-Responsive Budgeting

Analyses of the impact of government spending on women and girls vs. men and boys

 

Time-use Survey

 

Reproductive Labor or ÒCare LaborÓ

   Purveying and cooking the food

   Water hauling

   Finding wood, heating fuel

   Caring for sick children, older parents

   Cleaning

   Doing errands

   Taking kids to appointments

 

 

Women

Men

US

13

4

Denmark

13

7

Russia

14

6.5

Mexico

33

6

India

35

4

 

Varies by class, socio-economic status

More educated men do more

 

In industrialized countries, gap between women and men has shrunk not because men do more, but because working women do less lower standards

ÒoutsourceÓ meal prep, cleaning

 

Time Availability Perspective

Women have more time so they clean more

 

Resources Perspective

Men have more resources (e.i., economic power but also status) so they can avoid housework

A gender caste system

 

 

Do women do less housework as they earn more and their status rises?

Evidence Mixed

Women donÕt always control the wages they earn

WomenÕs status may increase when they are dependent upon their husband – how?  Why?

 

 

Gender perspectives on household labor

Acting out, reinforcing gender roles

Gender socialization

Valorization of motherhood, especially for small children

Men do the ÒmanlyÓ jobs, women do the ÒfeminineÓ jobs

Evidence of change: household division of labor became more equal as more women attain positions of power in government, careers

 

 

Women in Paid Labor Force

Varies by country, region, level of development

See Box 5.3 in Burn

 

Percent  of women in paid workforce

US

60%

Mexico

43%

India

36%

Pakistan

34%

Afghanistan

40%

Rwanda

85%

 

Maternity Leave Policies

Mandatory/paid vs. ÒvoluntaryÓ and unpaid

 

  

The Gender Pay Gap: Explanations and Solutions

 

What are the 4 main determinants of the pay gap? (101)

 

Which is responsible for the largest portion of the pay gap? (102-3)

 

What part of the pay gap is attributable to discrimination? (104)

 

The Glass Ceiling

Women largely absent from the upper reaches of economic power

 

Only 15 Fortune 500 and

24 Fortune 1000 companies are headed by women

 

Only 11.2 percent of corporate board seats are occupied by women (internationally)

 

Why?

Stereotypes and Leader Prototypes

Responsibilities of Home and Family *(real and perceived)

Organizational Practices

   Recruitment

   Norms

   Mentoring Lacking

 

Worse for minority women: concrete ceiling

 

In US of all managers and professionals COMBINED

 

Only 5% African American Women

4% Latina

2% Asian American Women

 

Sexual Harassment

Gender Harassment

Sexual Coercion

Unwanted Sexual Attention

 

Self Employed Women

Own Account Workers