Gender Socialization Is The Process Of Learning Gender Expectations

Gender socialization is learning expected behaviors about one’s own sex based on society norms. Gender socialization has great impact on the health of both men and women. In our society, the assigned gender roles when adhered strictly can be detrimental to the overall mental and physical of health status of people. If males and females has to live within the society construct of what the roles of the genders should be, then there is great danger of not living a fulfil lives if one deviates from the assigned roles that the society demands.

As stated in the textbook, gender socialization is the outcome of countless interactions, starting with those between parents and children. At the youngest ages, of course, parents have the dominant influence over this process. But as children age, their socialization continues under a variety of influences, including their own personalities and their interactions with siblings, peers, schools, and the wider culture. In adult life, socialization more often occurs in the other institutional arenas (page 167-168).

That socialization is the process by which we learn culture and become functioning social members. Gender socialization explains what is expected cultural behavior related to masculinity and femininity. I have also learned that gender role socialization in children is patterned by important cultural factors such as race and social class.

In the United States, study after study continues to show that women have fewer opportunities to advance in the workplace than men. These disadvantages are a result of society’s views of women in leadership positions and how women may view themselves in these roles. Women have been making progress in terms of equality in pay and job positions, but significant gaps remain. Women who strive to be promoted into higher levels of responsibility in their companies often meet resistance that prevents them from achieving the goal of a senior or executive level of management. This barrier is referred to as the “glass ceiling” and it is a controversial issue in our country today. The glass ceiling called this because women are able to see the higher level positions, but can reach them because of an intangible barrier. One can look at the Fortune 500 companies, which are the most successful companies in the U.S. in terms of revenue to see how few women are in leadership positions. Clearly, women are significantly underrepresented in these companies, as less than 5 percent of these companies have female chief executive officers (CEO) today (Dockterman 105). Providing the opportunity for women to move into management positions, like CEOs, would bring a unique talent and a new perspective on how the company can operate to perform better (Buckalew 147). The “glass ceiling” is a real obstacle that creates an intangible barrier that puts women at a disadvantage in advancing in a company.

Meaning women have additional problematic issue then man. For example in education women face more obstacles as faculty rather when in manager and directors in corporate America. Even though there been great progress in the workplace, most jobs are segregated by sexes. There is wag gaps, the average women have to work roughly 4 months extra every year to make the same wage as man. For example, when the educational attainment increases the gender pay decreases for women no matter what levels of education than men. In other words, women earn 77cents for every dollar man earn and put in their pocket (Benokraitis, 2010, p.160-161). Discrimination where both woman and man share in the workplace is the glass ceiling and glass escalator. The glass ceiling being, “women efforts to scale organizational and professional hierarchies but cant because they are constrained by invisible barriers to promotion in their careers, caused mainly by sexist attitudes of men in the highest position” Similarly, men that choose to go into position like nurse and librarians encounter the glass escalator mostly vituperative criticism from the public when they are in the most female-identified specialties” “Therefore man are pressured to move out of the most female-identified areas, and up to those regarded as more legitimate and prestigious for men” (Williams, 1992, p.

Gender socialization takes place in our everyday lives whether we subconsciously know it or not. Gender socialization is the socially learned expectations and behaviors associated with members of each gender. For example, If I were to say it takes my friend at least 45 minutes to do their hair before school everyday, you would assume I am speaking about a friend who is a female as opposed to a friend who is male. This is because of the idea of gender socialization.

Challengers of the glass ceiling idea argue do, however recognize the obstacles women face in the corporate world. “According to an article in the Harvard Business Review by Alice H. Eagly and Linda L. Carli, the answer is no, however, the sum of many obstacles along the way often hold women back from making it into the C-suite” (Quast, Lisa). Some of these obstacles include prejudice, resistance to women's leadership, family demands, and leadership style issues. Men see leadership from women to follow than from men simply because they fall under the stereotypes. Yes, women do sometimes take time away from work rather than men to take care of children and families. Those who deny the existence of the glass ceiling believe they lack the time to engage in career advancement. They see the prejudice, how men are promoted more quickly than women with equivalent qualifications, even in traditionally female settings such as nursing and education. Another argument against this idea is within the name itself. They believe it is absurd for being called “clear”. “Supporters of this idea say, glass is clear so those forced under this ceiling would probably not even notice, at first, they were under such a restriction. But, if they tried to go through the glass, they would see quickly that the ceiling prohibited any rise to higher levels. This analogy is their only defense

Women in the Workplace There is a perception that the sexist ideals of the past are gone, no more expecting women to stay home with the kids, cook all the meals, and be at the beck and call of her husband. And while most of it is true, there is still is an immense amount of sexism occurring in today’s society. While women aren’t expected to be homemakers anymore, we are still tied down with the expectations that are on par with those in the 1940’s. We are still talked down to in professional settings, told certain fields aren’t appropriate for us, and many more infuriatingly stupid situations all because of our gender.

The definition of gender in the sociology textbook, The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology, is “the physical, behavioral, and personality traits that a group considers normal for its male and female members” (Ferris and Stein 243). The textbook defines socialization as “the process of learning and internalizing the values, beliefs, and norms of our social group, by which we become functioning members of society” (Ferris and Stein 101). Put two terms together and gender socialization is defined as being the process of learning to act masculine or feminine. The Sociology textbook, Boundless, says “gender socialization is the process of educating and instructing males and females to the norms, behaviors, values, and beliefs of group membership” (“Gender Socialization”). For example, if one is to be considered male at birth he is raised to fit in to the male gender role. From the beginning of one’s life, male or female, each is to be

What does it mean to be socialized in terms of one’s gender? During the process of socialization, one learns to behave accordingly within one’s society. So, gender socialization would be the process in which a person learns to behave a certain way based on their biological sex in their cultural context. Each culture has a different process of gender socialization, and each culture has different attitudes and norms associated with each gender. Some societies, and cultures, have more than two genders, like the Asian Indians and the Native Americas (Lindsey, 2011). Then there are other societies, like most of the modern world, have only two socially recognized genders. The United Sates

This myth has been perpetuated throughout history and in result; we have barriers such as the glass ceiling in existence. If we were to pull up a list of the Board of Directors for any given company, the probability of it being a predominately male group is high. This notion alone shows how companies have continued to dwell in olds days where men are considered more capable than women. The Glass ceiling effect has continued to place barriers against women endeavor in achieving success in their careers and participation in their work place. Women have not been able to realize their potential in their work places since they are not offered equal chances as compared to their men counterparts who enjoy great opportunities in organizations. The fact that an organization is ran by men, may cause an adverse effect on the performance of men. Obviously, a man thinks differently than a woman. It is likely that a decision made by men only is likely to ignore the interests of women in the organization. This creates a domino effect because it affects the woman’s performance in business since they only get limited chances to learn, and limited job assignments that will enhance their skills. Hence, low or limited skills and experience will lower their overall

The United States is a country that has a plethora of ethnicities within it from African Americans, to Indians, and Chinese. However, these particular ethnicities that make up America are under what we call the Glass Ceiling. From CEO jobs in politics or in general professions that are predominately male withholds the glass ceiling method against minorities and women. However, this invisible glass that is holding women such as myself can be broken but not evenly no matter how great in rank your position will be there is no businesses in the United Sates of high caliber will have a woman in an equal office without answering to one or multiple men in a higher position. Survey finds 73% of female manages believe barriers to advancement still

Gender roles and socialization are instilled in us at an early age, whether it’s in our household, work, school or society. The way we view ourselves as male or females and the duties we are believed to portray because of what society expect of us and how we are meant to act due to our sex. Gender socialization it is when you engage with the next person and learn how the dynamics as a community and what are their belief systems as well as being open about their cultures as well as their gender.

Even though numbers are slowly rising in the United States, there are still more men in executive positions than women. According to one survey, female workers only made up 43% of legislators, senior managers, and senior officials whereas male workers made up 57%. In congress, congresswomen make up only 17% of representation compared to congressmen making up 83% (Ferrante, 2011, p. 312). Gender stratification is one explanation for the tremendous gap. Ferrante (2011) describes gender stratification as the unequal distribution of opportunities and resources amongst male and female employees. (p. 311) For example, male workers have an increased opportunity to receive a promotion than a female worker. According to Tinsley (2013), women are more likely to receive executive positions when a company is doing well, rather than when a company is suffering. Some companies stereotype that women workers will leave the workforce soon to bear children, limiting their chances of achieving executive status (Ferrante, 2011, p. 316).

Unlike the majority of men, women are often over sexualized by their male coworkers and end up being treated in ways that are degrading and disrespectful. The sad truth is that if these women were in fact male they would have to put up with next no harassment, proving the unequal treatment of women in their places of work. Sexual harassment in work place first gained national attention in 19191 when President Bush nominated Clarence Thomas to US Supreme court. Thomas’s former assistant testified that he had sexually harassed her by making a series or sexually inappropriate comments, overtures and solicitations while acting as her supervisor. (Issues and Controversies) This is not the only sighted case of sexual harassment in the work place. It is reported that 81 percent of women are verbally harassed and 44 percent have encountered unwanted toughing and sexual advances (__) This form of harassment is degrading to women, putting them in a place that men perceive to be below them and shows the inequality that is present in the life of an everyday working