Gender Inequality

Ch. 10 - Section 3

• Biological Determinism – Major threat of making one “sex” inferior

• Sexism – A set of attitudes, beliefs, norms, and values

used to justify sexual inequality

• Sexist Ideology – The belief that men are naturally superior to

women– Used to justify a man’s leadership in high

ranking positions

Women as a Minority Group

• Some segments of American society have more positive attitudes about women– The gender gap IS shrinking in the USA

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What’s the Big Deal?

• In 1999, Carly Fiorina became the first female CEO of one of the top companies listed in the Dow Jones Industrial Avg.

• She resigned from HP in 2005

• Sexism is still a major hurdle for equality in this country and the rest of the world

What’s the Big Deal?

Women in the Workplace

• Women tend to be concentrated in the lower-status positions – This is known as Occupational Sex Segregation

• “Pink Collar Jobs”

– Secretaries

– Clerks

– Stenographers} Jobs mostly held by women

• Only 10 % of engineers are women • Only 27% of attorney positions are

held by women

• 2007:

Women in the Workplace

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Women in the Workplace

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