Gender In The Economy Mid Term
Essentialism vs Nonessentialism
"Essentialism is the view that, for any specific entity (such as an animal, a group of people, a physical object, a concept, etc.), there is a set of attributes which are necessary to its identity and function." Thus an "essentialist" viewpoint argues that there is something fundamental or "necessary" to the operation or identification of an object. Essentialism has its origins in Platonic and Aristotelian philosophies.
Late Feudalism
"Patriarchal feudalism could be described as a set of implicit exchanges in which the subordinated parties (whether serfs, women, or children) received protection and security in return for working long hours in the service of their superiors..." "[T]hese exchanges were enforced by threat of violence as well as weight of political and military power... lords benefited from the extraction of labor dues from serfs; men benefited from a division of labor that assigned women the least remunerative forms of work; and parents benefited from their children's labor and support."-Folbre
Gender and Sex
"Teaching" gender; Traits and behaviors that match gender are socially reinforced; Male and female children are treated differently; Girls are told to be kind, not get dirty and are praised for looking pretty; Boys are told not to cry, to be tough, and are encouraged to be competitive.
"Industrialization, Female Labor Force participation, and the Modern Division of Labor by Sex"
3 competing theories concerning how the changed division of labor by sex has affected women: 1) Emancipation Hypothesis 2) The U-Hypothesis 3) The Constancy Hypothesis Note: Labor Force Participation Rate is written as FLFPR The U-Hypothesis: argues for decreases in female FLFPR during early phases of industrialization and then subsequent increases among more developed or industrialized nations...
The meaning of gender in a transitional era
Although gender still creates expectations about behavior, gender roles have become less clear over time Confusing attitudes The typical roles for men as breadwinners and women as homemakers are no longer as prevalent in the U.S. However, many hold to certain beliefs or expectations about gender: Ex. "women should not be on active combat duty, men are better managers, mothers rather than fathers should be the ones taking time off to raise children, etc."
Gender and Sex
Androgyny: an androgynous individual rejects traditional sex roles and tries to exhibit a combination of masculine and feminine qualities; Different cultures vary in the ways they define gender: Some cultures have more than two; Others see gender as changeable. Meaning of gender varies over time.
Gender pay ratio
Around 1815 gender pay ratio was as low as 29% (women earned 29% of what men earned); 1820 gender pay ratio was in the range of 30% to 37%; By 1930 gender pay ratio increased to 56%, largely due to the movement of women in into higher-paying sectors. Today the gender pay ratio is roughly 79%. Image 2
Mainstream Economics Meets the "Unproductive" Housewife
As economists studied investment in human capital, economists were reluctant to consider care work done at home as a real cost input into human capital; As economists attempted to value human capital investment in terms of GDP growth, the lack of housework and childrearing fundamentally deflected a study of the costs involved in creating this human capital, i.e. the lives of (mostly) women; Economists like Barbara Bergmann and Nancy Folbre would begin work in the mid-1970s on what we now call "Feminist Economics".
Early Capitalists Philosophers (Mary Astell)
Astell argued that women not having control over their own intellectual property and even their money was wrong. And that women should not be barred from working in wage employment; Poulin de la Barre and Mary Astell both argued that family labor had been devalued: -Astell specifically claimed that women's subordination was located in the fact that men saw childrearing as a lowly form of work; -Care work would be devalued because such work would take place even without pay—something feminists would argue in a hundred years and to this day.
LFPR 2
Before 1940 women would leave the labor force upon marriage and maybe went back when the kids got older Between 1940-2007 participation had increased for women between ages of 25-44 Declines in birth rates and increases in divorce rates too
Theoretical approaches to gender
Biological influences on gender Biological theory: biological characteristics of the sexes are the basis of gender differences; Influence of chromosomes: Females inherit X chromosomes from both parents, while males inherit X from their mothers and Y from their fathers (males: XY structure, females: XX structure): Males might inherit their intelligence from their mothers, while females might inherit it from either or both parents; Social skills are passed through X chromosomes.
Theoretical approaches to gender
Biological influences on gender Hormonal activity: Estrogen strengthens the immune system, causes females to produce more good cholesterol, and causes greater deposits of fat around the hips and breasts; Testosterone has been linked to dominant personalities. Brain structure: Men generally have greater development of the left lobe, which controls linear, logical thought; Women tend to have greater development of the right lobe, which controls imagination, artistic activity, and holistic, intuitive thinking.
Theoretical approaches to gender
Biological theory is useful in explaining some differences; The controversy lies in how strong biological forces are; Biology is an influence on, but not the main determinant of gender.
The "Unproductive" Housewife
By the 1920's women had much greater access to higher education in the U.S. Though women never dominated in economics they became the majority of academics in a field called 'Home Economics". Between 1886 and 1924 women accounted for less than 10% of authors in economics journals, but 63% of all those published articles which studied "women and children": This strategy reinforced sex segregation while allowing some of the brightest and hardest working to receive some level of professional cachet.
The "Unproductive" Housewife
By the early 20th century/late 19th century birth rates were dropping in the U.S. and Britain: "Alfred Marshall explained that fertility decline was attributable partly to a 'selfish desire among women to resemble men'"—Folbre Eugenicist Karl Pearson at the time argued that women should be refused education if it meant that they would be more willing to bare children. Petitions were circulated arguing that women who have had four or more children should be allowed to vote, but others should not --Fobre
Enlightened(?) Revolution
By the late 18th century both the United States (or what was to be the United States) and France were embroiled in revolution: In both the Declaration of Independence and the French "Declarations of The Rights of Man" women's rights were conspicuously absent. This was followed however by the Constitutional Convention (in France) outlawing all forms of collective action by women. -The reason given: women "would be obliged to sacrifice the more important cares to which nature calls them."-Folbre—another example of the moral double standard
The "Unproductive" Housewife
Charlotte Perkins Gilman, argued that because housework is unpaid meant that incentives in the household were misaligned: There is no relationship between quality of the work and the pay; Capitalism has left women behind within a semi-feudal system; Women's dependence on men for financial support meant that being a housewife carried real economic risks.
Neoclassical Model: Comparative Advantage
Comparative Advantage: Commodity production is most efficient if one member specializes (at least to some extent) in market production, while the other member specializes in home production. The family members then exchange their outputs and achieve utility maximizing outcome. Women are relatively more productive at home and men are relatively more productive in the market, thus each of them should specialize at what they are better at and maximize total utility.
The meaning of gender in a transitional era
Conflicting attitudes: On one level, we might believe in equality between men and women; On another, we have deeply engrained values and beliefs based on tradition. Where do these beliefs come from? How do they affect us and our relationships?
Theoretical approaches to gender
Cultural influences on gender Anthropology: Different societies have varied views on gender as well as varied levels of equality between genders; Research indicates that division of labor (specializing in a certain task) leads to inequality.
Theoretical approaches to gender
Cultural influences on gender Standpoint theory: Position in society (race, gender, class) influences circumstances in life; Standpoint, or perspective, can distort views of social life: Those in power do not fully understand the viewpoints of those that are subordinate; Different social groups develop particular attitudes, skills and values based on their "place" in society: Ex. What we assume is a natural maternal instinct is actually a set of behaviors and attitudes that result from placing women in roles that require caregiving.
Early Capitalists Philosophers
David Ricardo (1772-1823) developed a theory of production which made labor the fundamental input: -The idea is that all things are made by labor (even factories) and so if we want to find the natural or "true" value of a good, i.e. its true price, then we must look at how much labor went into its production. Like Smith though, reproductive work (like raising kids, having children, housework, etc.) was never considered important or even mentioned in Ricardo's model: -He assumed that labor itself was a good which is not produced (i.e. that children were just the product of sexual desire and not the product of work!?); -He also took no interest in how wages were distributed by fathers within the family.
Childcare
Despite changing norms, women still spend more time on childcare; Employed wives with at least one preschool-age child spends ¾ as much time directly engaged with their children as their nonemployed counterparts; Single mothers spend less time in primary activities with children than married ones; Unequal division of labor is likely to affect employed women, in terms of the types of jobs they take, the hours they work, their earnings and career trajectory.
The meaning of gender in a transitional era
Differences between men and women: They do exist, but there are also many similarities Essentializing: thinking and speaking as if all women are alike and all men are alike. Certainly this is not true! We will discuss some generalizations, but that does not mean we ignore individuality; To think about differences and similarities between genders, we need to understand gender and sex as well as how they are influenced.
Early Capitalists Philosophers (Mary Astell)
During the period of Locke and Filmer (17th century) a few women of wealth were allowed to take part in debates about political/public issues and be educated: -Poor women were not allowed this right; Mary Astell (1666-1731) for example, a self educated merchants daughter, was a writer who argued against the Social Contract idea, believed that the church and state enforced "social obligations" and thus were a civilizing force: -She did argue that the idea of a sovereign having unchecked power was unnecessary in the state OR the family (i.e. that father's unchecked power was wrong); Mary Astell also argued that Christian doctrine required that women serve their husbands but felt that contemporary marriage was "tantamount to slavery" Folbre
Early Socialist Philosophers
Early socialist feminists argued that women were altruistic and argued that society should follow that model and not the model of self-interest/rationality/competition: -Early Liberal feminists argued instead that women should adopt the competitive behavior considered acceptable for men; -Both were arguing that the economic double standard which states men should be competitive while women are altruistic, was wrong.
Aggregates vs Individuals
Economics is in many ways the study of aggregates: -Averages, distributions, proportions, variance, regression analysis; -These tell stories about how things work on the societal, group, or aggregate level; -This does not mean that there are not deviations from the norm, i.e. the aggregate story is not necessarily the story of any given individual. In fact, no individual may conform to the average and yet the average can tell us something. In the scope of this class we'll study individuals, families and households: -A family consists of two or more persons related by blood, marriage or adoption, living in the same household; -A household consists of one or more persons living in one dwelling unit and sharing living expenses.
Besides, there are advantages of families beyond specialization
Economies of Scale; Gains from Shared Consumption; Public Goods; Risk Pooling; Institutional Advantages etc.
Mainstream Economics Meets the "Unproductive" Housewife
Economists like Gary Becker pioneered economic theories attempting to analysis the household: -Intrinsic to this model is the idea that people are choosing how to invest in their and their children's education; -This is called "human capital investment". Becker's model relied heavily on the idea that male heads of household were altruists who would share all of their income equally with their wives and children: -This model then cannot incorporate abandonment or abuse; -It also assumes people can value the unborn and predict what their lives will be concerning human capital investment and employment.
Adam Smith: The Wealth of Nations (1776)
Emphasized the role of competitive markets in ensuring good social outcomes; Smith offered a solution to the tension between virtue and self-interest by assigning virtue to the family and self-interest to the market: '''It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner but from regard to their self-interest.' Smith neglected to mention that none of these tradesmen actually puts dinner on the table, ignoring cooks, maids, wives, and mothers in one fell swoop."-Folbre Smith explicitly argued that only labor devoted to material production could create that all important key to economic growth and surplus-Folbre. Not all "unproductive" work was considered without merit: "Churchmen, lawyers, physicians, men of letters, the army, and the navy all graced the list of those who deserved the support of productive workers. Neither domestic servants nor wives nor mothers were included."-Folbre. This does not imply that Smith thought women's unproductive work was worthless per se but that he did not consider it a key to economic growth.
Essentialism vs Nonessentialism
Example of an Essentialist argument: "A baseball game includes the use of a baseball. Any game which does not include the use of a baseball cannot be called a baseball game." -Here the essential characteristic of the object "baseball game" is the fact that it is played with a baseball. -All it takes is one example of a game we would all agree is a "baseball game" played with something other than a baseball to disprove the statement. So all it takes is one example of the object in question not containing the essential characteristic for the essentialist argument to be falsified.
Nonessentialism and Gender
For the purposes of this class we will be arguing that: A) Gender is a social construct; B) A fundamentally nonessentialist view of gender. The idea is simply that a person's sex describes their physical characteristics but gender describes the expected norms, mores, sociocultural roles, and expectations a person of a given sex is subject to.
Labor Market Segregation
Gender differences in occupation and industries Men dominate blue-collar and manufacturing jobs, which have above average layoff and unemployment rates as well as much higher death and injury rates with less flexible work schedules Women tend to be in health and education, which have low layoff and unemployment rates as well as more flexible schedules on average and lower death and dismemberment rates
Gender and Sex
Gender: More complex than sex; Gender is not innate: We are born with a sex (usually male or female), but we learn to be masculine or feminine; Gender is a social construct; gender is acquired through interaction in a social world: "A culture constructs and sustains meanings of gender by investing biological sex with social significance"; Gender is learned; Masculinity and femininity in the US: Some traits are masculine, such as strength, ambition, rationality, stoicism Some traits are feminine, such as attractiveness, passivity, caring nature, etc.
Mainstream Economics Meets the "Unproductive" Housewife
Here Becker seems to invert the argument that women are purely altruistic, arguing that heads of household (usually male) are purely altruistic--Folbre Becker effectively defends inequalities in marriage contracts and the market with the argument that they are the result of individual free choice: i.e. women do more house work than their husbands because they prefer to; Note: when studying racism and sexism in the business world Becker's model assumed no firm would ever discriminate because such an act would be irrational.
Distribution of workers by occupation and race
Image 1
The "Unproductive" Housewife
In 1890 Alfred Marshall testified to parliament about the census: -He argued that England should adopt the German practice of labeling wives/mothers as "dependents"; -In 1891 the norm became to only count paid domestic services as "Domestic Class" while unpaid housework was labeled as "dependents"; -New South Wales (later to be called Australia) followed this format as well In 1896 France followed suit by labeling paid domestic work as their own category while labeling unpaid housework as "inactive" in the census So early economic thinkers' leaving out the household affected economic data collecting for centuries
The "Unproductive" Housewife
In 1900 the federal census labeled those who worked for income as "breadwinners" and housewives as "dependents"; Massachusetts originally labeled housework by wives and mothers differently, but by 1905 changed their classification of these workers to a "not gainful" class; Richard Ely, the founder of the American Economics Association (the largest economics association to this day) argued that leaving housework out of the census meant that GDP was being overstated; William Smart (1853-1915) was an economist that argued that non-market work (housework, childcare, etc.) created implicit income . Housework had value and it would be impossible to get similar work from the market.
Historical Evidence of Occupation and Earnings
In 1950, roughly over 30% of women and more than 80% of men aged 16 to 64 worked; In 2015 closer to 70% of women and slightly less than 80% of men worked; For occupations since 1950 please follow this link https://flowingdata.com/2017/09/11/most-female-and-male-occupations-since-1950/
Historical Evidence of Occupation and Earnings
In early 20th century relatively few women were employed; Women and men had different occupations; Men had agricultural and manufacturing jobs, while women mainly worked in manufacturing and services. Virtually all women in manufacturing were in three industries—textiles, clothing and tobacco. 18% of men and women held white-collar jobs: -Women worked as schoolteachers or nurses; -Men worked as managers and proprietors.
What Does this Mean For Economics?
In economics our job is to define whether or not the market is fairly/equally distributing resources/opportunities: We can also study how non-market institutions affect the market or how the market might be affected should we begin to include non-market work in the market; Ex. Child care is often unpaid. So we can talk about what would happen if it was paid for (via subsidy), or if it was moved into the market (child care centers), or what the labor market effects might be of offering maternity leave, etc. In economics we can predict policy effects or the effects of past polices.
The Greatest Happiness For The Greatest Number
In the early 19th century Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) proposed a new philosophical treatise: That the greatest society is one which aims to maximize happiness for the greatest number of people: -This became known as "Utilitarianism"; -This idea will become very important in mainstream economic thinking. Jeremy Bentham believed that humans were driven by a desire to maximize pleasure and avoid pain: -He was a critique of slavery and supported giving women the vote; -He also argued against all forms of government involvement in private life (against marriage laws, laws against homosexuality, etc.) .
The "Unproductive" Housewife
In the mid-1800s the Census of England and Wales included "wives, mothers, and mistresses" in the census as the "Fifth Class" of workers; The "Seventh" Class" was dependents like children or the sick and infirm By 1881 wives and mothers are places in the "Unoccupied Class"
Theoretical approaches to gender
Interpersonal influences on gender: Two major theoretical views in this category; Psychodynamic theory: emphasis on interpersonal relationships within the family that affect a child's sense of identity; Psychological theories: stress learning and role modeling between children and a variety of other people.
"Industrialization, Female Labor Force participation, and the Modern Division of Labor by Sex"
Interpretation: -The article argues that "shifting most work into man's sphere, the industrial transition deprives women of a role in the institution-building stage of modern societies -Thus if developing nations wish to avoid issues with women's labor force participation/male advantage, actions needs to be taken early on And of course, the U-shaped hypothesis and the constancy hypothesis are compatible. -The constancy simply is saying the U-shape is a result of productive and reproductive labor being often unremunerated and unrecognized as we transition to postindustrial states.
The Source of Gender Differences: Nature vs Nurture
Is nature (biology, genes) or nurture (social environment, culture) responsible for observed differences between men and women? Biology may play some role in explaining gender differences; Gender roles and women's status are also determined by environment, opportunities, interaction of technology, the role of women in production, and variety of social and political factors which may help to overcome biological limitations; Women's relative status: -Positively influenced by the importance of their role in production; -Determined by the extent of participation in productive activities outside the home and family. The productive role of women has varied over the course of economic development.
Reproduction
It is an essential fact of human beings that only women can carry and bear children. -This becomes less of a truth as technology moves forward. Though only women can carry and bear children (given current technology) the benefits are shared by everyone: -Thus, if the costs of reproduction are disproportionately born by women and the benefits are enjoyed by everyone this is a classic example of sex discrimination; -And when the social roles assigned to the sexes support/perpetuate/cause this unfair distribution of work/resources we call it "gender discrimination".
The "Unproductive" Housewife
John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946) a student of Marshall, became prominent after the great depression for his work studying how the economy can be in disequilibrium for extended periods: You may have studied this somewhat in your Principles of Macroeconomics classes. Keynes completely ignored non-market work even though his focus was often on unemployment and living standards: Something highly affected by non-market work.
Early Socialist Philosophers
John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) argued that the traditional patriarchal family was inconsistent with modern factory production: -Argued that tyranny within the family (letting fathers control wages) would lead to tyranny in society; -Predicted that economic independence of women would lead to fertility decline. Mill argued that the position of women would only improve if the position of the working class was made better: -He argued against the division of labor that put men in the factory and relegated women to home work; -He argued for the equal bargaining power of women within marriage and for women's right to vote; -He was highly influenced by the contemporary feminist socialists.
Disadvantages of Specialization
Lack of Sharing of Housework: -The model assumes one type of home good and a value associated with production of this activity. However, tasks performed within the couple vary. -The model ignores the utility and disutility people derive from particular work (how we feel about doing certain tasks depends on how much time we have to spend on them). Life Cycle Changes: -Comparative advantage varies over the life cycle. Costs of Interdependence: -While specialization may improve the well-being of the family, it makes the couple insecure and unprepared for unforeseen situations (working member of household being laid off, death etc).
Trends in Hours Worked
Men avg 42 hours a week Women avg 36 hours a week Women are more likely to work part time than men Part-time work could represent free-choice (wanting to work less) or negative economic forces which affect women
What Economics Is About
Neoclassical or mainstream economics is concerned with decision-making under condition of scarcity (not enough resources are available to satisfy everyone's needs); Choices have to be made: The cost of having more of one good is forgoing the opportunity cost of having more of another. In economics this is called opportunity cost. To allocate scarce resources efficiently or maximize wellbeing individuals make rational decisions. Economic individuals (econs) have knowledge of available opportunities, can carefully calculate costs and benefits and make the decision that maximizes their wellbeing. Is this how individuals truly make decisions?
Nonmarket Work
Nonmarket work is unpaid work that largely contributes to well-being of individuals, their families and society at large. Types of nonmarket work are: -Housework; -Childcare; -Volunteer work. Housework: -Working wives spend 1.7 times more in housework than their husbands; -Time spent in housework is highest among unemployed wives; -Smaller family size, technological advancement and shifting norms contributed to decreased time spent on housework for women; -Interestingly, cohabiting men spend more time doing housework than married men.
The family as an Economic Unit
Outline: -Neoclassical model of the family; -Critique of Neoclassical approach; -Nonmarket work and time spent in housework and childcare.
Neoclassical Model: Comparative Advantage
Picture 3
Housework Diagrams
Pictures 4 and 5
More Diagrams
Pictures 6 and 7
Theoretical approaches to gender
Psychodynamic theory of gender development According to this theory, early relationships are the primary basis of sense of identity; Usually the most important relationship is with the primary caregiver- in many cases, the mother; This theory implies that the way a mother treats each child influences the child's gender identity; Daughters share close identification with their mothers, while sons do not; Adult women, according to the theory, would then internalize her mothers identity into her own and place more importance on relationships, while adult men would value independence.
Theoretical approaches to gender
Psychological Theories of Gender Development Highlight role of communication in individual learning and cognitive development; Social learning theory: we learn gender identity through communication and observation; Imitation and reinforcement Cognitive development theory: children actively develop own identity because of an internal desire to be competent.
The "Unproductive" Housewife
Racist arguments about who should have children, driven by the Eugenics movement played a large role in this debate on government vs. the "living wage" Often public support was seen as acceptable but only if given to certain people. Groups like the Fabians argued for limits on the number of children people could have and licensing of parental rights
"Industrialization, Female Labor Force participation, and the Modern Division of Labor by Sex"
Remember though this data is all 1985 -The end of the article discusses what might happen if greater outsourcing leads to MNC-induced industrialization in the third world -This of course is exactly what happened -The article suggests we may see a flattening of the U-shape or its complete disappearance "A crucial issue, therefore, is whether this employment gives women a secure and stable foothold in the industrial order or whether it represents, as in the past, a temporary interlude." -Well in fact, we find something of a temporary interlude...
Trends in LFPR
Rising female LFPR has been associated with an increase in labor force attachment of women over the life cycle More likely to work while pregnant than in 1960's Increased commitment to career/labor force -Is this empowerment or necessity as wages have stagnated? Or both?
"Industrialization, Female Labor Force participation, and the Modern Division of Labor by Sex"
Scott and Tilly (1975) see a curvilinear (read U-shaped) relationship between industrialization and female FLFPR -At first, they argue, most women's work was production which took place at home -Like women sewing quilts and then selling them In this situation women could care for children and work Pre-industrial farms were labor-intensive and highly diversified i.e. there was a lot of work and a lot of different kinds of work As farms become more mechanized the importance of women's labor was reduced, argues the U-hypothesis
Adam Smith The Wealth of Nations (1776)
Smith's work is considered the founding of modern economic thinking: It continues the well established tradition of devaluing reproductive care (the economic double standard) and relegating women to the realm of "virtuous" behavior (the sexual double standard). In The Wealth of Nations Smith criticizes policies which interfered with free trade or the free mobility of labor: But does not as loudly (or at all) criticize the state's control of women which included "denial of independent property rights to women and...restrictions on access to education and apprenticeships".
Simple Neoclassical Model
Specialization and Exchange -Assumption: The family is a unit whose adult members make informed and rational decisions that result in maximizing the utility or well-being of the unit. -Simplest Neoclassical model also assumes that the family's goal is to maximize its utility or satisfaction by selecting the combination of commodities from which its members derive the greatest utility. -Neoclassical model has been used to explain the division of labor within the family (how the time of each individual should be allocated between home and market most efficiently).
Nonessentialism and Gender
Taken from "The Anatomy of Racial Inequality" by Glenn Loury -Note: Original is describing "anti-essentialist" axiom for arguing against racial inequality The enduring and pronounced social disadvantage of WOMEN is not the result of any purportedly unequal innate human capacities of the SEXES. Rather, this disparity is a social artifact—a product of the peculiar history, culture, and political economy of society. What about reproduction? Isn't that a "innate human capacity" differing between the sexes? Well...Yes and No...
Disadvantages of Specialization
Tastes and Bargaining Power: -If tastes differ significantly, how the couple decides on the combination of commodities to be consumed? -Who has greater bargaining power? (usually the read-winner has the "power of the purse"). Domestic Violence: -Specialization may limits women's opportunities of getting out of an abusive situation.
"Industrialization, Female Labor Force participation, and the Modern Division of Labor by Sex"
The Constancy Hypothesis: Argues that women always work, the U-hypothesis is simply capturing the fact that women's work is strongly unremunerated during industrialization. -The lowering of women's LFPR, Bose argues, is simply the fact that census data in the early 19th century did not count women's work which contributed to family farms, or when done for pay informally. She finds, when using different data, that women's LFPR was 49% in 1900 -This suggests that there was no "meaningful difference in the employment rate for women in 1900 relative to that of 1980" once this type of work is included!
Women's rights
The Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions (1848) presented a list of demands: -Women's right to vote (achieved in 1920) when the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution was passed; -Women to own their own wages and property (achieved mostly by 1890-1920). Lack of women's ownership and property rights discouraged married women from participating in labor force (since their wages belonged to husbands) and limited family income.
"Industrialization, Female Labor Force participation, and the Modern Division of Labor by Sex"
The Emancipation Hypothesis: argues a direct (positive) relationship between industrialization and increasing employment and "freedom" for women -Argues that industrialization frees women from patriarchy Shorter (1973) argues that women being able to work, after industrialization caused "patriarchy to disintegrate" -Impersonal labor markets (i.e. not social but economic labor markets) fostered a new mentality of self-interest among women(p54) -Factory work allowed women to leave the social confines of work at home(p54) -Economic self-sufficiency diminished the ability of men to control women (p54)
The "Unproductive" Housewife
The Living wage argument became a method for excluding married women from work or defending lower wages to single women. Francis Edgeworth (early economist) strongly argued that if men had so many dependents they should be paid more to care for them. Arguments for a living wage paid for by employers however was slowly replaced by demands that the government support (partially) the rearing of children.
Early Capitalists Philosophy (Wages)
The argument to restrict women's wages and/or their right to work centered around the idea that men had to make a living wage and women in the labor force would lower wages and make it harder for men to support a family: -Jean Baptiste Say (of "Say's Law" fame) argued this exact point. Analysis like Say's ignored the work women did in the home which made male work possible as well as ignoring women's lack of property rights over their own earnings: -The "inconsistency in his reasoning can only be explained by his firm conviction that women were naturally designed to specialize in family work."-Folbre
The "Unproductive" Housewife
The collection of data for economic analysis are not without subjective assertions: Female work in the household was left out of Adam Smith's productive labor category; And Alfred Marshall, who different from Smith argued paid service work was productive, still left out "voluntary" housework by mothers/wives/daughters in his theories; This lack of recognition carried over to census data collections
"Industrialization, Female Labor Force participation, and the Modern Division of Labor by Sex"
The constancy hypothesis relies on the idea that the growth in the service sector in post industrialized countries was the result of moving work traditionally seen as women's work (care work) from the home to the market -For example, making child care into market work Thus women are working as much as they ever have, but the move from informal labor to formal labor looks like the U-shape that others see Even if this is true, what we do see in the transition to formal work is the privileging of males -i.e. that men are more likely to be given better work or managerial work -We see this in the article on supermarket work in Ch. 20
Colonial America: The Preindustrial Period
The family enterprise was the dominant economic unit and production was the major function of the family; Family was largely self-sufficient; Both men and women held same economic role of being a producer, though their tasks differed; Men were responsible for physically demanding agricultural work; Women did housework, care of children, worked in garden and cared for farm animals, provided seasonal help with the crops etc.
"Industrialization, Female Labor Force participation, and the Modern Division of Labor by Sex"
The findings of the article: First the definitions: -A Mature Industrial nation has >50% of labor in nonagricultural occupations -A Early industrial nation has <50% of labor in nonagricultural occupations When early and mature nations are separately studied we see strong support for the U-hypothesis Management is highly sex segregated with men holding 89% of all management jobs -And as industrialization increases this segregation actually accelerates -Note this data is relevant for 1985
Early Capitalists Philosophy (Wages)
The subsistence wage: -The minimum wage needed to survive; -Malthus and Ricardo argued that wages never went above or below subsistence; -It became a debate as to how much a man "needed" to make. -The "living wage" became the idea of making enough money for a man to support a family; -The work women (and children) did in the home and in the factory was not considered in the calculation of the difference between single men's and married men's wages
Gender and Sex
The two terms are often used interchangeably, but have different definitions: Sex: classified by biological characteristics Sex is determined by chromosomes and influenced by hormones; Usually, humans either have the XX or XY chromosome structure, but sometimes there are deviations that lead to a person having biological characteristics of both sexes; Hormones continue to influence human bodies throughout the life cycle Some controversy over how hormones might affect sexual orientation, cognitive abilities, and personality traits such as aggression Recent research: connection between hormones and behavior is not direct, but is mediated by social factors; Biology might influence behavior, but it does not determine it
Theoretical approaches to gender
Theory: A way to describe, explain, and predict relationships among phenomena; There are many ways to explain gender and gender differences; The theories are not in competition with each other; they can actually complement one another
Early Capitalists Philosophers
Thomas Robert Malthus (1766-1834) Proposed an idea about population growth which stated that as population grows food supplies fall; as food supplies fall population growth slows; as population growth slows food supplies rise again and thus population grows again. His argument then was that the poor would always be in poverty and always suffer from lack of food. This is why he adamantly opposed any government support for the poor.
The Scope of Our Class
Traditionally economics has focused on the market; Non-market household production has been often ignored; In this class we'll concentrate on men and women, their market and non-market activities and interdependence among individuals within households; How individuals and their families decide to allocate their time between housework and market work; How women's changing roles in this regard are affecting their own well-being and that of their families; How labor market discrimination, labor force participation by men and women effect the status of women and men within the family.
Early Capitalists Philosophers
Until the late 19th century in the United States and Britain a father legally claimed all wages of wives and children. -This would not change in France (and parts of U.S.) until the early 20th century! -In political economy terms this meant that father's could capture the families "surplus". Family farms were slowly replaced with wage work, but it was not until the mid-19th century that the idea of individual wage workers was included on the British census: -Women's work in the home was not included in the census until the early 20th century.
Volunteer Work
Volunteer work—tasks performed without direct reward in money or in-kind that mainly benefit others rather than the individuals themselves or their immediate family. Why would anyone do volunteer work? -" Warm glow"- the utility derived from charitable giving of any form. -Women and men differ in kinds of volunteer work they do : women contributing more to healthcare organizations and educational institutions, while men doing more volunteer work for civic and political, as well as sports and recreational organizations.
Summary
We are born with certain sex - typically biologically male or female; We learn a gender which is usually associated with sex; Gender theories attempt to explain gender development or differences between genders: Biological theory Interpersonal theories Cultural theories
Gender and Sex
We choose to accept or reject gender ideals; Rejection of those social norms can bring about changes in culture; Ex. Women protesting (rejecting the norm of being quiet and passive) to obtain the right to vote; Small scale: discussions between friends can alter beliefs about what is socially acceptable.
Early Philosophers
William Godwin (1756-1836) was a socialist who argued that the realm of family, the altruistic realm should dominate all of society: -But he still argued women were outside the realm of reason and so were not capable of self-interest. Some early socialists (Roberts Owen, Charles Fourier, etc.) argued that love and filial relations were more important than market gain: -They often argued for equal wages for women and argued against the requirement that women accept their husbands advances; -They also often argued for equal responsibility in caring for children.
Trends in Gender and Unemployment
Women had higher unemployment rates than men until 1980's After that men and women have the same rates or women slightly lower Women have lower labor force attachment and are more likely to leave the labor force when they lose their jobs (not counted as unemployed if not in the labor force) IS this because women want to work less? Or have higher spousal income? Or the fact that women are the first to be fired and 1st to be re-hired?
Period of Industrialization
Young women and children worked in early textile factories; The locus of production shifted from home to market; Family shifted from a production unit to a consumption unit: -Husbands took on the role of breadwinner; -Wives assumed the role of homemakers. Married women's employment differed by race and ethnicity; Married women's labor force participation declined with industrialization (until 1920s); By 1920 the stage was set for a rise of women's participation in labor force (large number of female high school graduates, more opportunities for employment), but women's labor force participation remained low: -Marriage bars; -Lack of part time jobs. Married women's labor force participation began to increase during and after WWII as economic development proceeded further;
Labor Force Participation Rate
number of members of a group in the labor force divided by the total number of that group in the population Ex. LFPR of women= 57%, meaning 57% of women over 16 are in the labor force
Unemployment Rate
number of people who are unemployed divided by size of labor force
Unemployed
people not working who have looked for work during previous 4 weeks
LFPR
slow rate of increase for women pre 1940 1940: 28% of women were in the labor force 2007: 59% of women were in the labor force Men's LFPR has been declining from 86% in 1950 to 73% in 2007
Labor Force
the total number of workers, including both the employed and the unemployed that are 16+ who work for pay
Employed
those who work for pay
