Sociology of Gender

Amy S. Wharton is Professor of Sociology and Director of the College of Liberal Arts at Washington State University, Vancouver. Dr Wharton's research on gender inequality, the sociology of work, and work-family policies has been published in the American Sociological Review, Social Forces, and Work & Occupations, as well as many other peer-reviewed journals and edited books. She is the editor of Working in America: Continuity, Conflict, and Change (2002, 2nd ed.) and co-author of The Sociology of Work: Structures and Inequalities (2009).

• 1 Introduction to the Sociology of Gender 1Chapter Objectives 1Introduction 2Sociological Vantage Points 3A Brief History of the Sociological Study of Gender 5Defining Gender 8Three Frameworks for Understanding Gender 16Gender Matters 18Who is to Blame? Understanding Gender Inequality 19Chapter Summary 20Further Reading 21Key Terms 21Critical Thinking Questions 21Part I: Conceptual Approaches 232 The Gendered Person 25Chapter Objectives 25Sex Differences in Traits, Abilities, or Behavioral Dispositions 27The Origins of Sex Differences 31Environmental Explanations of Sex Differences: Becoming Gendered 36Sex Differences and Social Policy: The Case of Mathematics Aptitude 50Sex Differences and Gender Inequality 54Chapter Summary 56Further Reading 57Key Terms 57Critical Thinking Questions 583 Gender in Interaction and Institutions 59Chapter Objectives 59Interactionist Views of Gender 60Gendered Organizations/Gendered Institutions 86Toward a Multilayered Conception of Gender 92Chapter Summary 92Further Reading 93Key Terms 93Critical Thinking Questions 94Part II: Gender in Context 954 Work and Family as Gendered Institutions 97Chapter Objectives 97The Division of Labor 98Work, Family, and Gender in the Industrial Age 100A Half-Century of Gender Change: Work, Education, and Gender Egalitarian Beliefs 105Changes in Gender, Family, and Caregiving 112Gender, Work, and Family: The Roles of Social Policy and the State 122Gender, Work, and Family in the Twenty-First Century: Looking Ahead 126Chapter Summary 130Further Reading 132Key Terms 132Critical Thinking Questions 1325 Gender, Childhood, and Family Life 135Chapter Objectives 135Parents’ Preferences for Children’s Sex 136“Is it a Boy or a Girl?”: Gender Construction in Families 137Childhood and the Importance of Same-Gender Peers 154Gender Socialization in Childhood Reconsidered 158The Household Division of Labor and the Family 159Explaining Women’s and Men’s Involvement in Household Work and Childcare 165Lesbian and Gay Families Rewriting Family Life 174Marriage, Families, and Their Consequences for Women and Men 175Chapter Summary 185Further Reading 187Key Terms 187Critical Thinking Questions 1886 Gendered Jobs and Gendered Workers 189Chapter Objectives 189Sex Segregation and the Division of Labor in Paid Work 190Explaining Sex Segregation 198Gender Typing of Jobs, Hierarchies, and Workplace Expectations 203The Gender Pay Gap 213Explaining the Gender Pay Gap 217Chapter Summary 220Further Reading 221Key Terms 222Critical Thinking Questions 222Part III: Epilogue 2237 Deconstructing Gender Differences and Inequalities 225Chapter Objectives 225Gender Distinctions and Gender Inequalities 227The Reproduction of Gender Inequality 229Challenging Gender Inequality 236Making Gender Matter Less 240Chapter Summary 241Further Reading 242Key Terms 242Critical Thinking Questions 243References 245Index 265