Meritocracy And Structure Of Gender Inequality - 1773 Words

Meritocracy and Structure in Gender Inequality In the past half century, America has seen a historic decline in gender inequality across many realms of society. Women have reached unprecedented levels of success, finding equality in education, employment and political representation. Yet despite these gains, inequality remains a persistent issue. It is particularly prominent in the workplace, where women face the glass ceiling effect and a significant gender wage gap across all professions. A closer look at the competing explanations – broadly defined as meritocratic versus structural – shows that although the first may play a role in unequal pay, the second, which encompasses systemic problems of discrimination and gender â€Å"pay penalties,† contribute quite significantly to inequality in the workplace and to pay gaps in particular. Literature Review Gender inequality is broadly understood to be the unequal distribution of economic resources between men and women. It is a nearly universal problem that women suffer from lower access to resources than men. Recent studies show that women’s position relative to men has improved around the world (Hausmann, Tyson and Zahidi 2007), and America is no exception. In fact, American values which drive globalization and economic growth may play a role in the worldwide dissemination of ideals of equality between the genders (Dorius 2010). So why does a country that values economic growth and gender equality have such a persistent wageShow MoreRelatedAssess the functionalist explanations of social inequality1181 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿Asses the Functionalist explanations of Social Inequality. (40) Social Inequality refers to any difference between groups or individuals in society which results in one having inferior life chances than the other. Functionalists believe these inequalities are the result of the meritocracy we live in. This is a system based on the idea that social stratification is necessary and desirable for the society. Functionalists argue that inequalities have a purpose; they are functional for society. FunctionalismRead MoreAssess the Contribution of Marxism to Our Understanding of the Role of Education1676 Words   |  7 Pagesan important ISA and it performs two important functions. Firstly, it reproduces class inequality by transmitting it from generation to generation, by failing each successive generation of working class pupils in turn, as mentioned in Item A. secondly; it legitimates class inequality by producing ideologies that disguise its true cause. The function of ideology is to persuade workers to accept that inequality is inevitable and that t hey deserve their subordinate position in society. If they acceptRead MoreAssess the view that the main function of the education system is to reproduce and legitimise social inequalities930 Words   |  4 PagesThe education system has faults and many inequalities throughout it. The inequalities can be seen in many different areas including, meritocracy, different social classes, gender and ethnic inequalities, racism, cultural capital, and repressive state apparatuses etc. Various sociologists have different views about the education system and what the inequalities consist of. The neo-Marxist Althusser (1971) disagrees that the main function of the education is the transmission of common values. HeRead MoreThe Dream Of The American Dream1047 Words   |  5 Pagesthe Dream to also be stratified. This hierarchy of possibilities is not accounted for in the rhetoric of the American Dream, due to the assumptions of innate freedom and equality. 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Stratification is aRead MoreGender Inequality Across All Professions1799 Words   |  8 PagesIn the past half century, America has seen a historic decline in gender inequality across many realms of society. Women have reached levels of success that they never have before, finding equality in education, employment and political representation. Yet despite these gains, inequality remains a persistent issue. It is particularly prominent in the workplace, where women face the glass ceiling effect and a significant gender wage gap across all professions. A closer look at the competing explanationsRead MoreLack Of Socio Cultural Factors1594 Words   |  7 Pagesquality educati on with an outcome of lower quality futures. â€Å"It is one thing to understand that in today’s society many minority groups are educationally disadvantaged due to their race, ethnicity, geographical location, socioeconomic status and gender. 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Companies that permit the family-work conflict bias to exist stand the chance of being looked upon by outsiders as discriminatory