Feminist Theories of Gender Inequality

Abstract

The term gender inequality refers to the disparities that exist among individuals based solely on their gender rather than objective differences in skills, abilities, or other characteristics. Gender inequalities may be obvious (e.g., not receiving the same pay for the same job) or subtle (e.g., not being given the same subjective opportunities for advancement). Despite the strides taken to eradicate gender inequality over the years, the fact is that it still remains. There are many feminist perspectives of gender inequality, including that of liberal feminism, socialist feminism, radical feminism, and multiracial feminism. Each of these perspectives views the issue from a slightly different angle and offers different insights into the problem in addition to different solutions. However, gender equality is more than a quest for equal pay for equal work. The social roles of females and males are often far from "different but equal." Much more research is needed in order to be able to understand the extent to which gender equality is a good thing for society and how this can best be implemented.

Overview

In twenty-first century Western society, it is often difficult to think of women as an oppressed minority group. After all, according to the US Census Bureau population survey of 2010, females make up 50.8 percent of the total population of the United States: a slim majority, indeed, but a majority nonetheless (Howden & Meyer, 2011). In addition, one can see women in virtually every job and career throughout the levels of social stratification: women are no longer relegated to the positions of wives, mothers, or secretaries, but can and do become doctors, lawyers, and nuclear physicists, as well as truck drivers, welders, and factory workers. Yet despite such advances, women are significantly underrepresented in many segments of twenty-first century society. For example, of the 535 members of the 114th Congress, only 107 of these were women in 2018 (Center for American Women in Politics, 2018). Although women have achieved positions in other important national leadership roles (e.g., Sandra Day O'Connor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan becoming justices of the US Supreme Court; Madeleine Albright, Hillary Clinton, and Condoleezza Rice becoming Secretary of State), they still are significantly underrepresented when compared to their majority status in the population. Sociologically, a minority or a subordinate group is defined by five basic properties:

• Unequal treatment;
• Common physical and cultural characteristics that distinguish them from the dominant group;
• Involuntary membership in the subordinate group;
• Development of a sense of solidarity;
• Intermarriage within the subgroup.

Women as a general classification fulfill virtually all of these characteristics. Women today still receive unequal treatment when compared to men.

• First, in 2017, the median income for full-time, year-round male workers was $52,146 as opposed to $41,977 for female workers (Fontenot, et al., 2018).
• Second, most women share obvious physical characteristics that distinguish them from men as well as cultural characteristics that also differentiate them from men (e.g., gender roles and stereotypes).
• Third, being a woman is a result of a fact of birth rather than of voluntary membership in a class. Most feminists argue this is true for both cisgender women, or women who are assigned female at birth, and for transgender women, or women who are assigned male at birth; however, some radical feminists dispute this assertion and insist that transgender women are men (Goldberg, 2014).
• Fourth, although the fight for women's rights may have been going on since time immemorial, contemporary feminism in many ways has helped women to develop a greater feeling of solidarity.
• Finally, although some women may intermarry within their class, most marriages that take place are heterosexual unions and many women believe that the institution of heterosexual marriage is irrevocably linked with their subordinate position in society.

Gender Inequality. The term gender inequality refers to the disparities between women and men based solely on their gender rather than objective differences in skills, abilities, or other characteristics. These inequalities may be obvious (e.g., not receiving the same pay for the same job) or subtle (e.g., not being given the same subjective opportunities for advancement). There are many answers to the question of why gender inequality exists. For example, the structural functionalist view of gender is that it has a fixed role in society, with men filling instrumental roles and women filling expressive roles. Conflict theorists, on the other hand, view women as being disadvantaged by power inequities that emanate from the social structure. Feminist theorists, however, take exception to both these views of gender inequalities. For example, one of the objections to the functionalist view is that it assumes that such sexist arrangements are functional for society. Feminist theorists differ with conflict theorists because the latter assume that all inequalities stem from the same source.

It would seem that the feminist perspective would have much to say about both gender in general and gender inequality in particular. In general, feminism is an ideology that is opposed to gender stratification and male dominance. Feminist beliefs and concomitant actions are intended to help bring justice, fairness, and equity to all people regardless of gender and aid in the development of a society in which women and men are equal in all areas of life. In general, feminists attempt to understand the nature of women in society in order to bring about social change that will liberate women from being oppressed and bring them parity with men.

Feminist Frameworks

Liberal Feminism. Feminism, however, is far from being a unified perspective, and different feminists view gender inequalities as stemming from different sources depending on their assumptions. Within feminism, there are at least four distinct, major frameworks. Each of these views the issue of gender inequality from a different perspective. Liberal feminists, for example, posit that gender inequality has its origins in historical traditions that have set up barriers to the advancement of women. In addition, liberal feminism emphasizes issues such as individual rights and equal opportunity as a basis for social justice and reform. In addition, this framework assumes that the socialization of women into gender roles contributes to the inequality experienced by women in society. To bring about social change and neutralize gender inequities, feminists advocate removing barriers to the advancement of women within society and developing policies to promote equal rights for women. The liberal feminist framework has been the basis of many legal changes that have been used to bring about greater equality for women within the United States.

Socialist Feminism. A second major feminist perspective is socialist feminism. As with socialist perspectives on other aspects of culture and society, the socialist feminist perspective posits that women's oppression is a result of capitalism. According to this perspective, women are a cheap labor supply that is exploited within the capitalist system. Further, socialist feminists believe that capitalism interacts with the patriarchal system to make women less powerful both within society and as laborers. Socialist feminism is more radical than liberal feminism and critiques the liberal feminist view as being shortsighted because it does not take into account the interaction between capitalism and patriarchal systems. Socialist feminists believe that gender equality can only be brought about if the economic and political systems on which gender inequality is based are changed.

Radical Feminism. An even more radical view of gender inequality comes from the radical feminists. In this view, patriarchy is seen as the primary cause of the oppression of women. Gender inequality stems, according to the radical feminists, from the fact that men have control over women's bodies. As a result, violence against women (e.g., rape, sexual harassment, physical abuse, sexual abuse) comprises some of the mechanisms by which men assert their power within society. Since the existing social system is dominated by men, radical feminists believe that social change in the form of gender equality cannot be accomplished through the existing social system because it is controlled by men. Although liberal feminists believe that state institutions can be reformed through political action and legislation to bring about gender equality, radical feminists argue that this cannot happen because by its very nature the current state is male.

Multiracial Feminism. The fourth branch of feminism that speaks to gender inequality is multiracial feminism. Although not in and of itself a single theoretical perspective, multiracial feminism has developed new theoretical avenues for studying race, class, and gender. Multiracial feminism grew out of the observation of some theorists that more traditional feminist theories tended to exclude women of color from their analyses, thereby making it difficult if not impossible to truly understand and articulate the experience of all women. Multiracial feminism examines the interactive influences of gender, race, and class on various social outcomes and the way that women's and men's experiences differ. Further, multiracial feminism points out the fact that there is no such thing as a common experience for all women. Rather, women's experiences are further complicated by other variables including race and class. The multiracial feminist perspective attempts, for example, to explain why the experience of women of one race differs from the experience of women of another race within the same social class.

Applications

Evolving Manifestations of Feminism. As discussed above, feminism is not a unitary concept and there are many feminist perspectives. Jabbra (2008), for example, discusses ten separate feminist perspectives of gender inequality issues. There may be more. In fact, in some ways, although we may group feminist perspectives together under general rubrics such as liberal, socialist, radical, or multiracial, one could almost make an argument that there are as many variants of feminism as there are women pondering the role of women within their culture, society, or world. My grandmother's brand of feminism (although she would be appalled at the appellation), for example, was being allowed to do whatever it took to work alongside her husband and ensure the smooth running of the farm on which their livelihood depended. Although for the most part this meant that she looked after hearth and home and canned the foods that her husband grew, when necessary she stepped out of this expected gender role and donned pants and worked alongside him in the field. Such, in many ways, was the nature of early twentieth century feminism. By the mid-to-late twentieth century, however, many women were involved in a different feminist battle, demanding equal pay for equal work and even attempting to gain the same kind of respect and status that was accorded male colleagues. One of the ways women tried to do this was by "dressing for success," which meant dressing to look like slightly feminized versions of successful males: pinstriped power suits, starched white shirts, and feminine versions of ties. Today's women, of course, are fighting their own feminist battles in their own ways.

Peters (2005) discusses the trends towards gender equality in the latter half of the twentieth century. She observes that gender equality will never occur as long as only one gender strives for such a goal. Women can band together all they want and demand equality, but unless men want it as well — and it is perceived as being advantageous to them — gender equality will not occur. In principle, twenty-first century society has developed flexible gender roles that can encompass a wide range of variation from stay-at-home moms to stay-at-home dads, from female (or male) secretaries to female (or male) rocket scientists and fighter pilots. Furthermore the very notions of gender are expanding beyond the rigid male-female binary. Despite this growing flexibility, in the late 2010s, most individuals see women and men as being bound by their biological distinctions and concomitant behavioral tendencies. Although some fathers prefer to stay home and raise the children, this is still the exception rather than the rule. Further, it is not just the men who cling to traditional gender roles. When given the opportunity to return to work early so that their husbands can stay home and bond with the new baby, most women still prefer to stay home themselves. Further, to the chagrin of their feminist mothers, many young girls still worry not about whether or not they can achieve a position of power, but whether in doing so they will lose the boy.

Conclusion

Despite the advances that women have made over the years towards equality with men, the simple fact is that this utopian condition still has not been achieved. Although laws have been enacted to ensure equality in the workplace and the education system continues to attempt to teach everyone that there are no inherent differences between the genders regarding intellectual capacities, most people still view women and men differently and make assumptions about gender roles and abilities based on physiological differences. For this reason, despite their greater numbers, women continue to endure discrimination and gender stratification.

As opposed to some other social theorists who view gender inequality as a good thing that supports and helps maintain society, feminist theorists of all bents view gender inequality as a bad thing and work to eradicate it. However, feminist rhetoric or even legislation is unlikely to be able to do this alone. Gender equality will not become a global reality until both women and men believe that it is true and act accordingly. To do this, more research needs to be done concerning the notion of gender equality not only to empirically demonstrate that there are no important non-physiological differences, but also to understand the psychological and sociological mechanisms whereby obvious differences are inappropriately extrapolated to other areas. Research is also needed to better understand the psychological mechanisms underlying social change. Gender equality by fiat will be a fleeting thing at best unless people believe that the underlying principles are true. In addition, it must be remembered that feminist views of gender inequality — despite the fact that there are many of them — are only one set of ways to look at this issue. Other perspectives yield other views, including the opinion that gender inequality is a good thing and ensures the stability of society. In the end, although the words of the old commercial tell women that "you've come a long way, baby," the truth is that as a society we still have a long way to go before we truly have gender equality.

Terms & Concepts

Capitalism: An economic system in which the means of production and distribution are privately owned (i.e., not owned by the government or state) either individually or corporately (i.e., by a group of individuals) and operated for profit. In capitalism, investments, distribution, income, production, and pricing are determined by a free market economy.

Class: A group of people or stratum within society that shares a similar level of wealth and income and that have access to the same resources, power, and perceived social worth. Social class is the stratum of the group within the society. (See also: social stratification)

Feminism: An ideology that is opposed to gender stratification and male dominance. Feminist beliefs and concomitant actions are intended to help bring justice, fairness, and equity to all women and aid in the development of a society in which women and men are equal in all areas of life.

Functionalism: A theoretical framework used in sociology that attempts to explain the nature of social order and the relationship between the various parts (structures) in society as well as their contribution to the stability of the society by examining the functionality of each to determine how it contributes to the stability of society as a whole. Also referred to as structural functionalism.

Gender Inequality: Disparities among individuals based solely on their gender rather than objective differences in skills, abilities, or other characteristics. Gender inequalities may be obvious (e.g., not receiving the same pay for the same job) or subtle (e.g., not being given the same subjective opportunities for advancement).

Gender Stratification: The hierarchical organization of a society in such a way that members of one gender have more access to wealth, prestige, and power than do the members of the other gender.

Patriarchy: A social system (e.g., society or group) in which the male is the head of the family, descent is traced through the father's side of the family, and men have power over women.

Physical Abuse: A physical behavior that is violent toward another person (e.g., assault, battery, inappropriate restraint).

Sexual Abuse: The violation or exploitation of another person by sexual means. For adults, sexual abuse includes all non-consensual sexual contact. Sexual abuse can arise in relationships of trust (e.g., between a caregiver and the person being cared for).

Social Change: The significant alteration of a society or culture over time. Social change involves social behavior patterns, interactions, institutions, and stratification systems as well as elements of culture including norms and values.

Social Justice: A striving to achieve justice in every aspect of society not merely through the application of the law. Social justice is based on the principle of universal human rights and working to ensure that all individuals receive fair treatment and equally share the benefits of society.

Social Stratification: A relatively fixed hierarchical organization of a society in which entire subgroups are ranked according to social class. These divisions are marked by differences in economic rewards and power within the society and different access to resources, power, and perceived social worth. Social stratification is a system of structured social inequality.

Socialization: The process by which individuals learn to differentiate between what the society regards as acceptable versus unacceptable behavior and act in a manner that is appropriate for the needs of the society.

Society: A distinct group of people who live within the same territory, share a common culture and way of life, and are relatively independent from people outside the group. Society includes systems of social interactions that govern both culture and social organization.

Status: A socially established position within a society or other social structure that carries with it a recognized level of prestige.

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Suggested Reading

Fox, B. J. (1988). Conceptualizing "patriarchy." Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology, 25(2), 163–182. Retrieved August 21, 2008, from EBSCO Online Database SocINDEX with Full Text. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=10624715&site=ehost-live

Hewitt, L. (2005). Reflections on the role of the scholar-activist in feminist sociology: Dilemmas, frustrations, and visions for the future. Conference Papers -- American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, 1–20. Retrieved August 21, 2008, from EBSCO Online Database SocINDEX with Full Text. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=18615781&site=ehost-live

hooks, b. (2015). Feminist theory: From margin to center (Third edition). New York: Routledge. Retrieved from EBSCO Online Database eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=862044&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Kainer, J. (1995). Pay equity strategy and feminist legal theory: Challenging the bounds of liberalism. Canadian Journal of Women and the Law, 8(2), 440–469. Retrieved August 21, 2008, from EBSCO Online Database Academic Search Premier. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=11081727&site=ehost-live

Kane, E. W. (1998). Men's and women's beliefs about gender inequality: Family ties, dependence, and agreement. Sociological Forum, 13(4), 611–637. Retrieved August 21, 2008, from EBSCO Online Database Academic Search Premier. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=10811282&site=ehost-live

Lorber, J. (2012). Gender inequality: Feminist theories and politics. New York: Oxford University Press.

Tolman, D. (2012). Female adolescents, sexual empowerment and desire: A missing discourse of gender inequity. Sex Roles, 66(11/12), 746–757. Retrieved October 25, 2018 from EBSCO Online Database Sociology Source Ultimate. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sxi&AN=74714951&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Van der Lippe, T. & Fodor, E. (1998). Changes in gender inequality in six eastern European countries. Acta Sociologica, 41(2), 131–149.