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Chapter 19 - Gender Inequality

from Part III - Problems of Discrimination and Inequality

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 March 2018

By
William J. Scarborough  and
Barbara J. Risman
Edited by
A. Javier Treviño
A. Javier Treviño
Affiliation:
Wheaton College, Massachusetts
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Summary

In this chapter, we provide a brief overview of gender inequality in contemporary society. We begin by reviewing several theoretical frameworks that have been used to explain women's subordinate position in society. After a discussion of the historical development of gender theory, we use a gender structure framework to organize contemporary theories into the analytic categories of individual-, interactional-, and macro-level explanations of gender inequality. Next, we illustrate both progress that has been made toward gender equality and the level of inequality that remains, and sometimes has even increased, in three realms: education, paid employment, and the family. We close the chapter by discussing the prospects for a world without gender inequality – stressing the way gender consciousness must coincide with change in interpersonal interactions and organizational structures.

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The Cambridge Handbook of Social Problems , pp. 339 - 362
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2018

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