Gender Role Analysis
How Gender is Shaped by Education
How Gender is Shaped by Public Policy
How Gender is Shaped in the Workplace
This report discusses the role played by social institutions such as schools, workplaces and policy making institutions in the shaping of gender roles and norms in society. These institutions hold control over desired resources such as information, wealth and social progress. They control the distribution of these resources by making it contingent on the performance of certain behaviours. It is found that these behaviours vary according to gender with boys expected to excel at certain subjects at school and girls at other regardless of differences in intelligence and cognition. Similarly, women in the workplace are expected to show a preference and aptitude for certain jobs whereas men are encouraged to aim for top management positions because they are perceived to be more intelligent, aggressive and rational. Similarly, in the public sphere, laws and policies also grant rights on the extent to which gender norms are conformed to in society. The case of Baker vs. Canada illustrates the bias against women that prevents them from entering the country as economic migrants.
Gender role analysis
Introduction
Gender is a social construct and is shaped by the members of society as they work to create institutions for social and economic progress. The concept of division of labour is implicit here as the power dynamics that make one group want to seek dominance over another perceived to be different. This has led to the establishment of gender norms within society that ascribe certain roles to women and some to men. The more active and imitative-taking roles are ascribed to men while women are relegated to the background as passive recipients and homemakers.
The social institutions and structures propagate and reinforce these norms in order to maintain the balance of power in favour of men by awarding them the greater control over resources of society. In this report, the role played by major social institutions such as the educational institutions and the workplace in shaping and propagating gender norms putting women at a disadvantage is explored in the light of research. The role played by public policy and lawmakers in considering gender differences in the distribution of economic and social resources is also explored. Addressing the issues is necessary to achieve a harmonious balance in society between men and women and to achieve social progress.
How Gender is Shaped by Education
Gender norms and attitudes are shaped by education during the earliest phase of a student's life. These attitudes and gender norms become part of the child's socialization process and ultimately affect the decisions and preferences of the child in later stages of life, including higher education and career decisions. The question is how the gender norms are shaped at the level of school education. Starting from the preschool age, young children are encouraged to read fictions written for preschoolers. These stories are attractively presented and encourage the development of reading skills but they also carry an undercurrent of gender roles that children absorb unintentionally. Taylor (2009) carried out a study of some of the most popular children's books such as those written by Dr. Seuss. The results of the study disclosed that within those stories boys were presented as active and intelligent individuals who were active in the outdoors and displayed initiative and curiosity. On the other hand, girls were stereotyped as being homely, passive, prissy and with no ambition. Assertive girls or women were mostly portrayed negatively.
In another study by Keller (2007) the effect of stereotype threat on the performance of boys and girls in math tests was studied. The results showed that when test applicants are told that a certain test is designed to show differences in the math ability of boys and girls along gender lines, the girls performed worse than boys. This has been attributed to the raise levels of anxiety among girls who believe that boys are better suited at performing on math and science subjects. In another study, test applicants in one group were asked questions about their academic aspirations before taking a spatial intelligence test on which boys typically perform better. In another group, applicants giving the same test were asked questions that highlighted gender differences. The performance gap between boys and girls was wider in the second group than in the first, showing that consciousness of gender stereotypes affects academic performance among students.
Good, Woodzicka & Wingfield (2010) have conducted a study on how gender stereotypes are created among middle school students through educational material. They conducted a study by exposing one group chemistry...
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References Anderson, I. (2007). What is a typical rape? Effects of victim and participant gender in female and male rape perception. The British Psychological Society, 46, 3225-245. Anderson, I. & Lyons, a. (2005). The Effect of Victims Social Support on Attribution of Blame in Female and Male Rape. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 35(7), 1400-1417. Davies, M. & McCartney S. (2003). Effects of Gender and Sexuality on Judgments of Victim Blame and Rape
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