Blog #2

Gender inequality is how unit A begins. The readings along with the video’s made a clear point that there is still inequality between the genders. I think it is easy to not realize that inequality is still out there unless the information is presented all at once in front of you. In our reading England and McCreary define sex segregation as, “the segregation of jobs by sex” (p. 286). This reading goes into detail about the gender differentiation in pay, the skills involved in those who hold individual positions and the rewards on those positions. The reading explains different factors as to why specific genders take specific positions. I personally think that sex segregation does exist at ASU in employment. Through grade school and high school I mostly had women for teachers. This I know what not area specific because I moved around to different schools, but once I got to the university level that changed. University professors generally get better pay than high school or grade school teachers. Majority of my professors have been men (with the exception of this semester). Also, out of the few women professors I’ve had, only one has been a 10-year professor, the rest of the women were fairly new to the university or they were graduate students. Out of the men professors I’ve had, many were 10-year professors and less were graduate students.
I think part of the sex segregation is highly influenced by us being a patriarchal society and the gender wage gap. The video on patriarchy gives two clear definitions of patriarchy. They state patriarchy, “is a form of social organization in which the father is the supreme authority in the family, clan, or tribe,” or the second definition is, “a society, community, or country based on this social organization.” Our upbringing is highly influenced by our patriarchal society which highly teaches gender roles. As children we are dressed in feminine or masculine colors; we are taught that girls play with dolls, make up, and play quietly, while boys play with trucks, cars, and are more likely to be rough and loud. We are also taught women should be doing domestic work while men should be mr. fix-it and working outside or being the bread winner.
I think the first time women entered into the work force was during the wars when men went to fight and women had to take on those positions. Also, now in today’s time, with the economy being so bad many men and women are losing their positions. However, when women are the bread winners their pay is hardly ever equal to their male counterpart. One example that hits home for me is with my own mother. The position she worked a couple years ago she experienced the wage gap. Her male counterpart made quite a bit more money than her when they had equal training and experience. Now since, he has been let go and she has had to step up and take on some of his responsibilities however she is still not making the amount that he was when he left. The gender wage gap still exists when men are being laid off because women start out at lower wages an even when a raise is granted they are still behind male counterparts.