Inequalities Based on Gender (AQA GCSE Sociology): Revision Note

Inequalities in life chances

• Life chances are a key concept in studying social inequality and stratification

• Life chances is a theory that refers to the opportunities each individual has to improve their quality of life and share in the rewards of society, for example:

  • being healthy

  • being wealthy

  • having stable employment and housing

• Life chances are distributed unequally between groups because they are affected by factors such as

  • class position

  • gender

  • ethnicity

  • age

  • sexuality

  • disability

  • religion

• Life chances are shaped by inequalities in wealth, income, power and status

• Sociologists disagree on how the different social divisions affect people's life chances

  • Marxists argue that social class in capitalist societies is more significant than factors such as gender or ethnicity

  • Feminists see gender inequalities in patriarchal societies as more important

Feminist perspectives on life chances

• Gender describes the different social practices, expectations and ideas that are associated with masculinity and femininity

• Learning of masculinity and femininity is largely influenced by agencies of socialisation like families, schools, and the media.

  • They may teach us that girls should be passive, kind and caring, and boys should be active, independent and strong

• Socialisation is a highly gendered process that prepares us for gender-specific social roles like housewife or breadwinner

• Feminist sociologists explore the ways that gender is socially constructed

Gender and power

• According to feminists, the primary cause of division in today's society is gender inequality

• Feminists argue that society is organised in a way that benefits men because we live in a patriarchal society, which

  • is controlled by men who have considerable power in politics and the workplace

  • permits men to have a bigger share of the available rewards, such as wealth and status

  • ensures that men have better life chances than women

• Statistics show that women are under-represented as holders of political power and decision-makers

  • MPs in the House of Commons are mainly male, white and elite

  • After the 2015 General Election, there were 459 male MPs and 191 female MPs

  • In 2016, Theresa May became only the second female prime minister

  • After the 2024 General Election, however, the number of female MPs increased to 263

• Women are under-represented within the judiciary in England and Wales

  • In April 2016, women made up 21% of Court of Appeal judges, 21% of High Court judges and 28% of judges in the courts

  • However, there are slightly more female than male court judges under the age of 40

Gender inequalities at work

• Feminist research explores the links between gender, life chances and social inequality

• Examining gender in the workplace is important as:

  • it is a source of status, power and income

  • women's participation in the labour market has increased over the last 40 years

• Changes in education and employment over the last 50 years have taken place in an attempt to achieve gender equality

• These changes are partly linked to the introduction of equality and anti-discrimination laws

  • The Equal Pay Act (1970) ensured that employers must pay men and women the same salary for doing the same work or work of equal value

  • The Sex Discrimination Act (1975) made it unlawful to discriminate against someone at work or school because of their sex

• As a result, gender inequalities have reduced since the 1960s and 1970s

Inequalities continue to exist

• Inequalities persist in the labour market, and gender is still a key division in society E.g.

  • engineering is male-dominated

  • childcare and primary school teaching is female-dominated

  • 85% of the construction labor workforce in the UK is male (UK Trade Skills Index, 2023)

• When men and women work in the same occupation

  • women are more likely to be in lower or middle-level jobs

  • men tend to hold higher-grade and senior management posts

• Feminists argue that women are held back by a glass ceiling that acts as an invisible barrier to achieving senior positions in their chosen career

The gender pay gap

• The gender pay gap is the term used to describe the fact that women still earn, on average, significantly less than men

• According to the Office for National Statistics (2024), the gender pay gap:

  • has been declining slowly over time

  • fell among full-time employees in April 2024 to 7% from 7.5% in 2023

  • is larger for employees aged over 40 years than those under 40 years

  • is larger among high earners than among lower-paid employees

Explanations for gender inequalities at work

• Sex discrimination within the workplace

  • Despite legislation, some women continue to be treated less favourably than men simply because of their gender; this is workplace sexism

    • For example, male employers may assume that women are too gentle and maternal, thus unsuitable for leadership or management roles

    • The employer is more likely to promote a male candidate, assuming they will be more assertive and capable of leading or managing others

  • Women are often locked out of informal networking opportunities such as drinks after work with managers, which disadvantages their career progression

    • They may be passed over for promotion by someone who is often invited out to social events and knows the boss better

  • Discrimination against mothers or potential mothers occurs in the workplace

    • Employers may be reluctant to promote women of child bearing age due to paying them and filling their position during maternity leave

    • Mothers are more likely than fathers to request part-time hours, which may be difficult to accommodate in more senior positions

• Women's triple shift

  • Women in paid employment bear the burden of employment, domestic labour, and 'emotion work' (Duncombe and Marsden)

  • Scott and Clery (2013) argue that gender inequalities in the home make it difficult to achieve equality in the workplace

  • Women are more likely than men to work part-time jobs that are low-paid with few promotion opportunities due to caring responsibilities

• Childcare provision

  • Childcare for the under-5s in Britain is inadequate and expensive

  • This acts as a barrier as it prevents women with young children from working in general, working full-time or staying in employment long enough to develop their career

Other sociological perspectives on life chances

• According to Marxism, an individual's life chances are largely related to their social class

  • Working-class students are less likely to achieve good qualifications compared to middle-class students, which affects their life chances

  • Middle-class parents are more likely to provide their children with attitudes that contribute to success in education and the workplace

    • For example, planning for the future, a disciplined attitude and deferred gratification are attitudes that lead to better life chances

• Functionalists argue that in a meritocracy, life chances are the product of an individual's hard work and talent

  • Those who work hard will have higher incomes and thus better life chances

    • This can result in social mobility as status is achieved, not ascribed

• The New Right perspective suggests that life chances are related to the lifestyle choices made by an individual

  • For example, an unwillingness amongst some of Britain’s youth to work as it's easier to claim benefits

    • These choices lower an individual's life chances