BY T.S.
Japan, where I was born, has a big social issue which is sexism. The role of women has changed however, a place of women has traditionally been in the home in Japan. This thought existed not only in Japan but also in the United States. The internationalization from 1960s in the United States allowed women to become paid employment outside of their house. It changed economic condition in many ways and changed definitions of gender at the same time. Before the economic globalization started, definitions of gender was that men as providers and women were housewives. So how and in what ways did definitions of gender change throughout the internationalization? Are women treated equally in workplace today?
It is clear that women became more active as women’s labor force participation increased 20 percent in 1900 from 55 percent in 1988. Even though women could work as domestic responsibilities, they were limited to work in low skilled jobs. Those jobs were low productivity and wages compared to men’s jobs. However, women were still expected to take care of children, and do household. These gender gaps between women and men show ideological construction that men is the great provider of family, while women do household. As “ Recasting women in the global economy” by Fernandez Kelly and Saskia Sassen states that “The economic internationalization has not abolished older patriarchal definitions but transformed”, changing definitions of gender made women’s position worse because they were expected to be able to support themselves and do their household.
Women’s participation in society is increasing today, thanks to the diffusion of feminist thought. Unfortunately, in general, women are subordinate to the position of men in terms of a work. I think that women’s position is affected by ideological construction not only gender but also race. In fact, women’s work condition improved and hourly wage rose in the United State but Hispanic and Black people do not apply to the fact. Changing definitions of gender is not easy and takes long time by transforming the relationships with economy and politics.
References:
Fernandez Kelly, Patricia, and Saskia Sassen. 1995. “Recasting Women in the Global Economy: Internationalization and Changing Definitions of Gender.”
CliffsNotes “Sexism in the workplace”, (accessed Oct 24, 2016) https://www.cliffsnotes.com/study-guides/sociology/sex-and-gender/sexism-in-the-workplace
Japan, where I was born, has a big social issue which is sexism. The role of women has changed however, a place of women has traditionally been in the home in Japan. This thought existed not only in Japan but also in the United States. The internationalization from 1960s in the United States allowed women to become paid employment outside of their house. It changed economic condition in many ways and changed definitions of gender at the same time. Before the economic globalization started, definitions of gender was that men as providers and women were housewives. So how and in what ways did definitions of gender change throughout the internationalization? Are women treated equally in workplace today?
It is clear that women became more active as women’s labor force participation increased 20 percent in 1900 from 55 percent in 1988. Even though women could work as domestic responsibilities, they were limited to work in low skilled jobs. Those jobs were low productivity and wages compared to men’s jobs. However, women were still expected to take care of children, and do household. These gender gaps between women and men show ideological construction that men is the great provider of family, while women do household. As “ Recasting women in the global economy” by Fernandez Kelly and Saskia Sassen states that “The economic internationalization has not abolished older patriarchal definitions but transformed”, changing definitions of gender made women’s position worse because they were expected to be able to support themselves and do their household.
Women’s participation in society is increasing today, thanks to the diffusion of feminist thought. Unfortunately, in general, women are subordinate to the position of men in terms of a work. I think that women’s position is affected by ideological construction not only gender but also race. In fact, women’s work condition improved and hourly wage rose in the United State but Hispanic and Black people do not apply to the fact. Changing definitions of gender is not easy and takes long time by transforming the relationships with economy and politics.
References:
Fernandez Kelly, Patricia, and Saskia Sassen. 1995. “Recasting Women in the Global Economy: Internationalization and Changing Definitions of Gender.”
CliffsNotes “Sexism in the workplace”, (accessed Oct 24, 2016) https://www.cliffsnotes.com/study-guides/sociology/sex-and-gender/sexism-in-the-workplace
I really enjoyed this article. Also seeing the fact that working conditions improved and hourly wages rose but not for Hispanic and Black people hit home. My mother while working as a chef was offered the lowest amount possible per hour while her coworkers that were white had been offered more. Its important to see facts like that out there because they show the inequalities minorities face and do not benefit like the white population does.
ReplyDeleteYou raised an interesting point how as we work toward complete gender equality, many aspects still don't apply to women of color. It's important that when we speak of gender issues we're including people of color, and not just defaulting to white women, something I think is pretty common unfortunately. The prospect of a female president is exciting, but I think it's also key to remember that despite a powerful role obtained by someone of an oppressed group, it doesn't usually translate down to everyday citizens. These improvements are great, but as you said there is an ideology that still needs some work.
ReplyDeleteIt's very interesting that you related this to Japan, since we haven't talked about that in class at all. It shows that other countries besides ours also has a hard time defining gender roles. Although women in the workplace has definitely improved, it's not at the point that it should be at in today's day and age. It's 2016, and women in corporate positions are still very hard to find. It takes time to change history. Gender roles are similar to racial differences in the fact that it has improved, but it is still not fair to women and other races besides Whites. I am also in a mass media course, and we learned about the way different races and genders are portrayed in the media. Women are much more sexualized in the media, and Blacks and Latinos are definitely much more targeted than Whites. It's sad to think that we are such a powerful nation that many people want to live, but things like this are still happening today.
ReplyDeleteI like how you related some our own problems to those of Japan. That shows us that these inequality is a problem that the human race as a whole have to still improve on. I almost found it interesting how you mention the fact that even though things have gotten better for women in general but still have ways to go especially for minority females.
ReplyDeleteFrom my personal experience, a lot of Latino families still abide by these rules where women stay home and cook, clean, and take care of the kids while the men work. I've seen it in Florida and I still see it here in NY. I do not agree with this system but as you said, it unfortunately is still prevalent in society. With companies paying women lower wages for similar work is unfair.The best thing to do is to hire individuals based on their skills but you would be hard pressed to make that change in society today. As times move on these "patriarchal definitions" could change as they generations change and evolve.
ReplyDeleteI like how you relate some of the problems we face to those in Japan concerning women and their role in society. It is interesting because the ‘duty’ of the wife to stay at home and provide to her family by maintaining the kids and house are the same kind of society rules that a lot of the Latino women face. While the women do all the housework it is known that the man is the real breadwinner of the family and the face of it. We can see this ‘men are superior than women’ attitude even within the workplace in the U.S., where women are not being paid the same amount as men. I like how you also include that there are gender issues within the work place but on top of that color is taken into consideration too.
ReplyDeleteI think you brought up a very interesting point of women's role and race correlating. It is evident that there is a sexist divide in the labor market. But it is also quite evident that race does play a major role. I do believe that woman of color are the ones that are affected the most the society we live in. Not only are they limited because of there gender they also face many obstacles because of their race. It is unfortunate that the society we live in, racism is institutionalized. The glass ceiling for woman has not fully been broken, but it should be noted that there many women of color challenging it though. It should also be noted that with the 2016 election a few women of color "pushed" the ceiling and have entered into politics. This is important to note because this will determine the future for women to an extent.
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