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Attitude of male and female university students towards gender discrimination

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Abstract and Figures

Gender inequality exists among all spheres of life and students are inclined to respond to other gender either favorably or unfavorably in light of their own beliefs. The present study investigates the attitude of male and female university students towards gender discrimination. Sample consisted of (N = 150) university students including equal number of men and women, from different universities of Islamabad. Gender Attitude and Belief Inventory (McCabe, 2013) was used to assess the attitude regarding gender discrimination of university students. Effects of some demographic variables were also explored such as age and education. Results showed that female students had higher scores indicating that they face more gender discrimination than male university students. There were nonsignificant differences between university students on the basis of education (graduate and undergraduate) and age (below 20 years of age and above 20 years of age). This study has strong implications in terms of gender discrimination in Pakistani society.
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Pakistan Journal of Psychological Research, 2018, Vol. 33, No. 2, 429-436
Attitude of Male and Female University Students
Towards Gender Discrimination
Mussarat J. Khan, Kehkashan Arooj, Hafsah Arif,
Noreen Nazir, and Mehwash Nosheen
International Islamic University
Gender inequality exists among all spheres of life and students are
inclined to respond to other gender either favorably or unfavorably
in light of their own beliefs. The present study investigates the
attitude of male and female university students towards gender
discrimination. Sample consisted of (N = 150) university students
including equal number of men and women, from different
universities of Islamabad. Gender Attitude and Belief Inventory
(McCabe, 2013) was used to assess the attitude regarding gender
discrimination of university students. Effects of some demographic
variables were also explored such as age and education. Results
showed that female students had higher scores indicating that they
face more gender discrimination than male university students.
There were nonsignificant differences between university students
on the basis of education (graduate and undergraduate) and age
(below 20 years of age and above 20 years of age). This study has
strong implications in terms of gender discrimination in Pakistani
society.
Keywords: Gender discrimination, university students, attitudes
Gender refers to the social attributes and opportunities associated
with being male and female. These attributes, opportunities and
relationships are socially constructed and learned through the
socialization processes. They are context or time specific and
changeable. Gender determines what is expected, allowed and valued
in a woman or a man in a given context. In most societies there are
differences and inequalities between women and men in decision
making, opportunities, responsibilities assigned, activities undertaken,
and access to and control over resources (Bukhari & Ramzan, 2013).
Mussarat J. Khan, Kehkashan Arooj, Hafsah Arif, Noreen Nazir, and Mehwash
Nosheen, Department of Psychology, Female Campus, International Islamic
University, Islamabad, Pakistan.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Mussarat J.
Khan, Department of Psychology, Female Campus, International Islamic University,
Islamabad, Pakistan. Email: mussarat.jabeen@iiu.edu.pk
430 KHAN, AROOJ, ARIF, NAZIR, AND NOSHEEN
The concept of gender discrimination arises when these humans
deny their responsibilities or ask for favors or grants on the basis of
their gender. Gender disparity generally occurs in two aspects of being
social and biological. Social perception discriminates human beings
on the basis of social status of gender while biological discrimination
is based on the bodily constructs of both genders. As the development
of brain occurs differences in chromosomes and hormones distinguish
one gender from the other. In general terms we can consider gender
inequality as any difference, whether realistic, grounded or socially
perceived (Zucker & Bay-Cheng, 2010).
It is a common perception that males and females are not taken
equally, sometimes females are prohibited to do some jobs, prevented
to study some subjects of their interest, their activities are more
restricted than males. This practice is more prevalent in Pakistan.
Researches on medical students in US and Canada revealed that 42%
men and 46% women reported harassment during medical training.
Here women faced more differentiation in comparison to men (Frank,
Carrera, & Stratton, 2006; Moscarello, Margittai, & Rossi, 1994).
Similar finding was obtained from a study conducted in Pakistan by
Hashmi et al. (2013) on medical college students where 78% of the
students have been found to be victims of gender discrimination with
both men and women being equally victimized. Gender inequality
appears both in the workplace and home settings in a society.
Inequality among gender circles three major things: firstly, in defining
rights and responsibilities of both genders, it gives more opportunities,
freedom, and social status to men as compared to women although
they belong to the same race, family, or have same age (Dasli &
Saricoban, 2016). Secondly, men are given more control than women
in any relationship where both are holding same social status. Thirdly,
men have dominant status and high utilities of their powers in society
in the fields of politics, economics, and in legal or cultural institutions
(Hooks, 2010; Jackson, 1998).
Gender inequality has a huge influence on people’s lives, but its
major consequence is that it acts to create biases in communities
(Ridgeway, 2011). A study found that students attending the English
medium schools scored high on positive views on gender equality
(Nazar, Österma, & Björkqvist, 2017). According to the study by
Bukhari and Ramzan (2013) educational system in Pakistani society is
one of the major factors that lead to the inferior status of women. Girls
are usually taught subjects related to the language, arts, teaching, and
official skills while boys are encouraged to for different levels and
fields of study result in different opportunities of work and
ATTITUDE TOWARDS GENDER DISCRIMINATION 431
consequently result in gender inequality (Channar, Abbass, & Ujan,
2011).
Gender is part of the broader socio-cultural context; where other
important criteria for socio-cultural analysis include class, race,
poverty level, ethnic group, and age. Today gender roles are knitted by
culture and tradition. Humana (1999) has reported that top ten
countries of the world ranked as per their resources and wealth
provide economic and social equality to women, while if this ranking
is further studied, it is revealed that bottom ten countries badly fail to
provide such equality to their women. It is also obvious from the
population of countries that almost half of the population of every
country is comprised of women, so giving such freedom to them
would enhance the country’s macroeconomic resources while any
failure in providing such freedom would result in failed or
deteriorating economy (Sen, 1999).
The general concept of gender is taken as the biological and
social difference among being a man and woman. These roles of
masculinity femininity are narrated by societies in terms of personal
characteristics, responsibilities, values, expectations, and judgment of
behavior (Dokmen, 2004). In this study the concept of gender equality
is referred to as both men and women having equal rights,
responsibilities and opportunity for achievements. In addition,
discrimination means due to the gender of the individual a person
would be using opportunities, resources, and getting more
achievements; whereas, other gender becomes a sufferer, a deprived
one or an ignored one, and mostly the second stance is considered for
females (Sayer, 2011). Even though the policies are being made to
create gender equality but still in many areas of the world, gender
discrimination occurs in the form of fewer rights for women. Women
are given less opportunities for their education, their decisions,
business, and life choices. They are provided with less financial
facilities and lesser rewards for their jobs. This kind of discrimination
prevails both at family and society level and the purpose of the present
research is to study the attitude of male and female university students
towards gender discrimination. It is also aimed to explore the effect of
some demographic variables such as age and educational qualification
among university students in relation to study constructs.
Method
Sample
Sample consists of 150 university students, conveniently selected
from different universities of Islamabad that is, International Islamic
432 KHAN, AROOJ, ARIF, NAZIR, AND NOSHEEN
University, National University of Modern Languages, and Quaid-i-
Azam university. Fifty students were selected from each university
having an equal number of male (n = 25) and female students (n = 25).
The age range of the sample was 18 to 30 years (M = 23.0, SD = 2.13)
including undergraduates (n = 65) and graduates (n = 85). All
respondents were students of masters or BS program of different
departments of natural and social sciences.
Instrument
Gender Attitude and Belief Inventory (GABI). McCabe
(2013) developed Gender Attitude and Belief Inventory to measure
the attitude of individuals toward gender discrimination or gender
inequality. It consists of 45 statements with 4-point Likert scale and
response categories for all 45 items range from Strongly disagree (1)
to Strongly agree (4). Maximum score that could be attained was 180;
while minimum possible score was 45. Furthermore, the GABI
indicates 11 theoretical perspectives (McCabe, 2013) which are often
used on gender, including both conservative theories (physiological,
sociobiological, and structural functionalist) and feminist perspectives
(liberal, socialist, Marxist, radical, separatist, cultural, multicultural/
black, and postmodern feminism) which might influence attitudes.
However, this study focuses only upon the consolidated GABI score
attained from summing all the 45 items. The alpha reliability
coefficient for the total GABI has been reported adequate (.83;
McCabe, 2013); while in the present study, reliability coefficient of
.78 was achieved for the total scale.
Procedure
The data were collected by administering the scale on the male
and female pupils. Participants were given instructions for filling out
the questionnaires and were assured of the confidentiality of their
data. Upon completion, the questionnaires were scored and
statistically analyzed.
Results
Independent sample t-test was used to measure the differences
between male and female university students across gender, age, and
education.
ATTITUDE TOWARDS GENDER DISCRIMINATION 433
Table 1
Gender Differences on Gender Discrimination Among University Students (N=150)
Groups
N
M(SD)
t
LL
UL
Cohen’s
d
Gender
Men
75
62.08(1.24)
4.76
.000
-1.35
-4.70
.23
Women
75
70.70(9.81)
Education
Undergraduate
65
67.07(10.07)
0.36
.71
-3.87
5.36
0.08
Graduate
85
66.19(11.53)
Age
Below 20 years
68
66.03(10.03)
0.43
.73
-3.62
5.24
0.10
Above 20 years
82
67.12(10.97)
Results indicate significant differences between male and female
university students on attitudes towards gender discrimination. Female
university students show more favourable attitudes towards gender
discrimination as compared to the male counterparts. This difference
is significant at p < .001. However, there are nonsignificant
differences based on age and education.
Discussion
The focus of the present research was to determine the attitudes
of men and women about gender inequality and the relationship of
other variables such as age and educational level of the individuals
with respect to gender inequality.
Findings revealed more favourable attitudes towards gender
discrimination in female students as compared to male students.
Robinson and Bell (1978) argued that females face disadvantages of
opportunities, thus more conscious of the inequality than men. In a
survey, 57 percent participants agreed to send their sons to schools
and higher education institutes instead of their daughters (Tisdell,
2002). Similarly, a study in Turkey reported more than half of the
female participants stated having experienced discrimination, whereas
only a little above 20% male participants reported being
discriminated. It was also reported that about 87% of women reported
gender-based inequality (favoring men) while only 24% boys reported
the same. Almost half of the university student population reports
exposure to gender-based discriminatory behaviour (Dasli &
Saricoban, 2016).
434 KHAN, AROOJ, ARIF, NAZIR, AND NOSHEEN
Nonsignificant differences among undergraduate and graduate
students were found on attitudes towards gender discrimination. It
seems that not only the educational level but social norms also play an
important role in the perception of inequality. As we present our social
norms by the toys we provide our children to play. These norms depict
the development of the parenting style and preferences of individuals
in different aspects of life for example marriage, choosing profession,
and work relations in and outside the home. There are cultural
stereotypes on the perception of a gender role as it is a worldwide
common believe that there is a strong connection between feminism
and arts and that women are for satisfaction and sexism (Massey, &
Douglas, 2007).
Findings also revealed nonsignificant differences among various
age groups in relation to gender discrimination. Different researchers
such as Wulansari and Ayu (2009) summarized that there is a
nonsignificant relationship among variables of age and employment
with the perception of gender inequality. It is observed that important
educational decisions about field of study are taken between the ages
of 10 and 20 years. This is a time of expectations that influences later
life career decisions; therefore, there is a likelihood that this age group
does not correlate with the experiences of gender inequality. In
addition, Ongen and Aytac (2013) also reported that young adults are
less likely to be influenced by various forms of discrimination;
however, middle aged adults and elderly people displayed more
diverse perceptions of discriminations on the basis of gender, race,
and ethnicity.
Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research
The present study has certain drawbacks such as the size of the
sample may limit the generalizability of the findings. In addition, lack
of comparative data from the various age groups would hinder the
derivations of the study. In future, studies should incorporate the role
of other variables like personality traits, coping strategies, and social
and emotional intelligence in shaping the attitudes towards the gender
discrimination. Moreover, the inclusion of other demographics such as
parental education and occupation along with race and regional
affiliations would enhance our understanding about the phenomena of
gender discrimination. Future researches should focus on
identification and remedies of the leading reasons behind gender
discrimination and how to adopt a successful model of gender equality
in developing countries.
ATTITUDE TOWARDS GENDER DISCRIMINATION 435
Conclusion
Gender is an expression of social and biological characteristics of
being a male and a female in any culture. There are some expectations
and values attached with these two types of roles. Males are expected
to be ambitious, strong, decision maker, independent, a head of a
family while females thought to have traits of compassion, affection,
emotionality, sensitivity, gentility, obedience, faithfulness, patience,
and empathy. Both genders are considered equal for all basic needs
and human rights but man is provided with more strength; while
female is created gentle and is dominated by her tenderness. The
socially defined roles and generally observed patterns of behavior are
different; hence, perception of these roles is also discriminating. All
needs, behaviors, desires, ambitions and requirements of men and
women are not equally considered and valued in a society. Same is
happening in a developing society of Pakistan in the sample of
university students and it has been found that university female
students are more discriminated on the basis of gender than male
students.
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Received 24th March, 2017
Revision received 8th August, 2018
... Participants state that they experience gender discrimination due to social restrictions, and religious orientations and they are not allowed to speak openly in comparison to male. Majority of female students experience fear to perform in public and avoid it (table 3) (Kazmi, 2018;Khan, Arooj, Arif, Nazir, & Nosheen, 2018;Shaukat et al., 2014). Value of girls staying home is portrayed more than girls with modern trends. ...
... The analyses suggest that gender inequality has negative and strong impact on female students' social engagement. The results of present study linked from large range of literature that suggests gender inequality has significant negative influence on women and development goals as well (Khan et al., 2018(Khan et al., , 2018Klasen & Lamanna, 2009;Zafar, 2019). ...
... The analyses suggest that gender inequality has negative and strong impact on female students' social engagement. The results of present study linked from large range of literature that suggests gender inequality has significant negative influence on women and development goals as well (Khan et al., 2018(Khan et al., , 2018Klasen & Lamanna, 2009;Zafar, 2019). ...
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... Although there are many methods for choosing the sample size, in this research, Cochran's sample size determination formula was used (Khan et al., 2018). From the statistical population of 6714 total students of Bamyan University, 130 females equal to 35.8%, and 233 males equal to 64.2% with a confidence level of 95% and considering a 5% degree of error, the statistical sample size is equal to 363 students of Bamyan University. ...
... The selection of the socio-demographic variables was based on the literature which studied in this study and the questionnaire of (Khan et al., 2018;Tiwari et al., 2018). these included variables such as Age, Gender, Grade, Faculty, marital status, family type, and some other determinant of gender inequality in Bamyan society. ...
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... Should females have perceived the signs as discriminatory, they may consequently have expressed anger towards them. Additionally, because females have previously been disadvantaged, they are more sensitive to gender discrimination than males (Drury & Kalser, 2014;Khan et al., 2018). Category 2: Females Critically Questioned Gender Signs Females critically questioned why gender signs were required in the social setting. ...
... Literature indicates that females are more sensitive to sexism than males are (Drury & Kalser, 2014;Khan et al., 2018), therefore if they perceived the signs as sexist, they may have consequently questioned them. Category 3: Males Expressed Amusement at the Experience Males expressed amusement, laughing, and intentionally not conforming to gender signs. ...
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... In the literature review of previous studies, no significant gender differences were found in terms of attitudes toward seeking psychological help in one study [50,51]. In contrast, other researchers found a significant difference between attitude and gender, as women tended to have more favorable attitudes and a willingness to seek psychological help [15,52,53]. ...
... In contrast, other researchers found a significant difference between attitude and gender, as women tended to have more favorable attitudes and a willingness to seek psychological help [15,52,53]. This was reversed in Khan et al. 's [50] study, where women with internalizing stigma tended to consistently experience discrimination and social withdrawal that likely evoked negative attitudes ...
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... In the literature review of previous studies, no signi cant gender differences were found in terms of attitudes toward seeking psychological help in one study [45,46]. Contrariwise, other researchers found a signi cant association between attitude and gender as women tended to have more favorable attitudes and willingness to seek psychological help [47,48,49]. ...
... Contrariwise, other researchers found a signi cant association between attitude and gender as women tended to have more favorable attitudes and willingness to seek psychological help [47,48,49]. While it was reversed in Khan et al.,'s [45] study where women with internalizing stigma tended to consistently experience discrimination and social withdrawal that likely evoked negative attitudes toward seeking professional help. Such discrepant ndings may be linked to the use of different study designs or research measures that render incomparable results. ...
Attitudes and Stigma Toward Seeking Psychological Help Among Saudi Adults
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... It largely prevents them from receiving education [8]. Even if they can go to school, they still cannot avoid being discriminated against [9]. E-mail address: osmanpala@kmu.edu.tr. ...
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... National-level (Fernández et al. 2022;Madolell et al. 2020) and international studies have confirmed this idea. In fact, the evidence indicates that female university students are more sensitive to questions of gender (Khan et al. 2018). It is reasonable to think that female and non-binary students do less to propagate stereotypes, as they are the groups that suffer most from the prejudice and stigma that these beliefs produce. ...
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Over recent years, socio-political discourse has been full of language aimed at reaching gender equality. This is a complex goal that should address the underlying bases of inequality—gender stereotypes that continue to legitimize unequal consideration and treatment. It is also a reality that universities are not exempt from. The objective of this study was to analyze university students’ stereotyped beliefs and look at the differences based on self-identified gender and branch of knowledge. The analysis looked at a sample of 3433 university students (67.9% women), aged between 17 and 56 (M = 18.95; SD = 2.35) and reported low rates of prevalence of stereotyped beliefs, with significantly higher means in men and in engineering students. The survival of gender stereotypes in a population who were born and raised in a legally egalitarian society points to the importance of education programs aimed at university teachers that would give them the capacity to incorporate a gender perspective in all disciplines, especially those disciplines reporting greater adherence to stereotyped beliefs.
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... This agrees with the trend seen in elective undergraduate research programs, in some western universities, where women were more likely to participate than male students, and entering graduate studies at a signi cantly higher rate than their male counterparts [19]. However, some studies in the region, in Saudi Arabia [18] and Pakistan [20] reported a more positive perception of UGR among male students compared to females. Whereas, some reports showed no apparent gender differences in research perceptions, attitudes, motivations or knowledge [13,21]. ...
Student and supervisor perceptions of undergraduate research in college of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman
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Full-text available
  • Jun 2022
Undergraduate research (UGR) is a valuable experience, that can potentially enhance the quality of graduates, and raise the awareness of the importance of research and its impact on career development. These outcomes, however, depend on the environment under which students conduct research. We undertook a self-administered survey, to elucidate the experiences of both students and supervisors, in the College of Medicine and Health Sciences (COMHS), Sultan Qaboos University, Oman. The study examined supervisors (n = 90) and students’ (n = 314) perceptions to UGR and factors that hinder the research experience. The supervisors’ and students’ satisfaction towards UGR was good (mean = 72.4 ± 13.0) and moderate (mean = 57.8 ± 14.2), respectively. The students reported a good satisfaction towards the relevance of research (Mean = 71.34 ± 20.0) research learning skills acquired (63.43 ± 18.9), research supervisor (68.47 ± 23.5), with female students been more positive towards UGR than males. The students’ grade in UGR module was the only independent factor influencing the overall satisfaction. The supervisors were highly satisfied with the relevance of UGR (mean = 84.4% ±20.7), the module structure (mean = 73.3 ± 14.6), workload (mean = 73.3 ± 14.6) and the students’ performance (71.8%±18). However, supervisors were less positive towards the students’ acquired skills (mean = 69.0% ±12.8) and logistics for UGR (mean = 67.8%±16.3). In summary, supervisors and students in COMHS, Oman, regard UGR as valuable and recognize its relevance. Supervisors were more likely than students to report lack of resources to run UGR. Thus, resources should be maintained to inspire supervisors and sustain a research-oriented environment to inspire students.
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... Sipe et al. (2016) in their studies tried to determine the perception of gender discrimination in the research conducted between 2006 and 2013. Khan et al. (2018) measured the gender discrimination perceptions of university students. In the survey study with 150 students from different countries they concluded that the gender factor made a significant difference in the perception of gender discrimination; however, education and age factors did not. ...
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Gender Issues Influenced Working Women in Educational Sector in Haryana
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Full-text available
  • Jul 2022
Gender imbalance stretches out crosswise unlike features of society. Political interest is on a regular basis seen as a key factor to modify this incident. In any case, gender disposition stretches out to component governmental issues and allot supervision also. The comparative distinction between male and female voters is the way to understand the sexual point of reference inequality in legislative issues. While the female voter turnout has been consistently expanding, the quantity of female applicants handled by parties has not expanded. More ladies challenge as independents, which doesn't give the spread to unessential costs, in any case, accessible when they are a piece of an ideological group. Gender issues in the training part including high lack of education rates among ladies have long-haul suggestions for women's monetary freedom, wellbeing, self-motivated limits, and general strengthening. This likewise impacts the financial aspects of the nation as the entire while the women's interest in monetary exercises is required. After the wedding, the spouse lives with her better half's family. From that minute my main wish was to have a kid. Imagine a male youngster would pick up the acknowledgment of the family and hail as a success for the spouse. On the off chance that she brought forth a young lady, now and again, the spouse's family can accuse her successive in abuse which can prompt incurring physical and mental damage. They can educate her to end it all due to the solid convictions which encompass female birth. Female infanticide is the demonstration of slaughtering a female young lady either new-conceived or within the initial scarcely any long stretches of life. It could be successfully, killing through suffocation, harming, and so forth. Such acts can likewise be aloof, where no intrigue is taken concerning taking care of or towards her general wellbeing as a result all out concession. In this paper we discussed gender issues and women's positions in the educational sector.
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Determination of Attitudes on Gender: a Study on Higher Education Students
Article
Full-text available
  • Sep 2016
In this study, it’s aimed to specify the perspectives, attitudes and the awareness levels of university students on gender. 7,200 students studying at Cumhuriyet University and staying at the Credit and Dormitories Institution constitute the population of the study. Samples selected by random sample method are determined to be 370 individuals. 370 individuals, 185 women and 185 men, have participated in the study, and their average age was 21.47. The monthly income of 62.1% of these students was less than 500 TL, 68.4% of them had a nuclear family type and 43.5% of them has resided in the city center. 68.9% of students have stated that men and women aren’t equal while 37.8% have stated that this inequality arises from the structure of society, 22.4% have stated that the biggest challenge of women is violence and 73.8% have stated that women and men have equal amount of task share for the sexual equality. The results obtained by this study show that when all aspects related to gender roles concerning working life (Table 6), social life (Table 7) and family life (Table 8) of the students are examined, it is observed that male students have a more traditional viewpoint compared to female students and female students have a traditional viewpoint in propositions concerning married life (Table 8).
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Religious Tolerance, Gender Equality and Bellicose Attitudes: A Comparative Study of Three Educational Systems in Pakistan
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Full-text available
  • Jun 2017
The study explores differences between Pakistani students from three types of schools regarding religious tolerance, views on gender equality, and bellicose attitudes towards India. A questionnaire was filled in by 285 girls and 300 boys, 15−17 years of age (mean age identical for both = 15.8, SD = 0.8), from three different types of schools (Urdu Medium, English Medium, and Madrassas). Significant differences were found: students attending English Medium schools differed most from other students. They scored highest on religious tolerance and gender equality, and lowest on bellicose attitudes towards India, while students attending Madrassas scored lowest on gender equality. Especially girls from the Madrassas scored lower than all other students on religious tolerance, and highest on bellicose attitudes. Madrassa students experienced themselves as victims of religious intolerance more often than others. Religious tolerance and positive attitudes towards gender equality were highly correlated.
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Gender Discrimination in Workforce and its Impact on the Employees
Article
Full-text available
  • Sep 2011
This research paper explores the issue of gender discrimination in workforce and its impact on the satisfaction and motivation, commitment and enthusiasm and stress level of employees. Close ended questionnaire was administered from 526 males and females oflower, middle and higher category employees of public and private health and education departments of Hyderabad and Jamshoro districts. Gender discrimination in workforce was measured through independent samples-t test. The analysis shows that females were discriminated more than males in private organizations. Thus the findings show that females are discriminated more than males in private sector than in public sector. The impact of gender discrimination on satisfaction &motivation, commitment & enthusiasm and stress level was assessed through Pearson product moment correlation co-efficient. The results show that gender discrimination decreases satisfaction & motivation and commitment & enthusiasm level of employees, and increases the stress level in the employees.
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Gender Discrimination: A myth or truth Women status in Pakistan
Article
  • Jan 2013
Naturally human beings are divided into two genders and both are given responsibilities and rights which suit them, discrimination is the practice of granting or denying rights or offer privileges based on the gender. The aim of this study is to enrich the understanding of existence of gender discrimination in Pakistan in reality in Islamic perspective. It further explores is there any relationship between practiced gender roles in Pakistan and gender roles described in religion Islam and what are reasons of discrimination. Methodology for paper was thematic and secondary data was analyzed thematically. Qualitative data was collected based on previous literature and current reports to explore the discrimination in Pakistani culture is real or is a myth. Neutral studies about this topic were found limited. Studies are done by religious scholars in one extreme and moderate scholars on another extreme. Data was analysed using thematic analysis. The data analysis process was done using the principles recommended by Spiggle 1999) and others (Strauss and Corbin 1990; Arnould and Wallendorf, 1994) for the analysis and interpretation of qualitative data.
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Framed By Gender: How Gender Inequality Persists in the Modern World
Article
  • Jan 2011
How does gender inequality persist in an advanced industrial society like the United States, where legal, political, institutional, and economic processes work against it? This book draws on empirical evidence from sociology, psychology, and organizational studies to argue that people's everyday use of gender as a primary cultural tool for organizing social relations with others creates processes that rewrite gender inequality into new forms of social and economic organization as these forms emerge in society. Widely shared gender stereotypes act as a "common knowledge" cultural frame that people use to initiate the process of making sense of one another in order to coordinate their interaction. Gender stereotypes change more slowly than material arrangements between men and women. As a result of this cultural lag, at sites of social innovation, people implicitly draw on trailing stereotypes of gender difference and inequality to help organize the new activities, procedures, and forms of organization that they create, in effect reinventing gender inequality for a new era. Chapters 1 through 3 explain how gender acts as a primary frame and how gender stereotypes shape interpersonal behavior and judgments in contextually varying ways. Chapters 4 and 5 show how these effects in the workplace and the home reproduce contemporary structures of gender inequality. Chapters 6 examines the cultural lag of gender stereotypes and shows how they create gender inequality at sites of innovation in work (high-tech start-ups) and intimate relations (college hook-ups). Chapter 7 develops the implications of this persistence dynamic for progress toward gender equality.
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Categorically Unequal: The American Stratification System
Book
  • Jan 2007
The United States holds the dubious distinction of having the most unequal income distribution of any advanced industrialized nation. While other developed countries face similar challenges from globalization and technological change, none rivals America’s singularly poor record for equitably distributing the benefits and burdens of recent economic shifts. In Categorically Unequal, Douglas Massey weaves together history, political economy, and even neuropsychology to provide a comprehensive explanation of how America’s culture and political system perpetuates inequalities between different segments of the population. Categorically Unequal is striking both for its theoretical originality and for the breadth of topics it covers. Massey argues that social inequalities arise from the universal human tendency to place others into social categories. In America, ethnic minorities, women, and the poor have consistently been the targets of stereotyping, and as a result, they have been exploited and discriminated against throughout the nation’s history. African-Americans continue to face discrimination in markets for jobs, housing, and credit. Meanwhile, the militarization of the U.S.-Mexican border has discouraged Mexican migrants from leaving the United States, creating a pool of exploitable workers who lack the legal rights of citizens. Massey also shows that women’s advances in the labor market have been concentrated among the affluent and well-educated, while low-skilled female workers have been relegated to occupations that offer few chances for earnings mobility. At the same time, as the wages of low-income men have fallen, more working-class women are remaining unmarried and raising children on their own. Even as minorities and women continue to face these obstacles, the progressive legacy of the New Deal has come under frontal assault. The government has passed anti-union legislation, made taxes more regressive, allowed the real value of the federal minimum wage to decline, and drastically cut social welfare spending. As a result, the income gap between the richest and poorest has dramatically widened since 1980. Massey attributes these anti-poor policies in part to the increasing segregation of neighborhoods by income, which has insulated the affluent from the social consequences of poverty, and to the disenfranchisement of the poor, as the population of immigrants, prisoners, and ex-felons swells. America’s unrivaled disparities are not simply the inevitable result of globalization and technological change. As Massey shows, privileged groups have systematically exploited and excluded many of their fellow Americans. By delving into the root causes of inequality in America, Categorically Unequal provides a compelling argument for the creation of a more equitable society.
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Making Theory Relevant: The Gender Attitude and Belief Inventory
Article
  • Jun 2013
This article describes and evaluates the Gender Attitude and Belief Inventory (GABI), a teaching tool designed to aid students in (a) realizing how sociological theory links to their personal beliefs and (b) exploring any combination of 11 frequently used theoretical perspectives on gender, including both conservative theories (physiological, sociobiological, and structural functionalist) and feminist ones (liberal, socialist, Marxist, radical, separatist, cultural, multicultural/black, and postmodern feminism). In this article, I discuss the inventory, how I use it in my sociology of gender class, and how it could be adapted for use in other classes. I also analyze qualitative and quantitative evaluations of its effectiveness based on responses from students at two universities (N = 603) and pretest and posttest results of its impact on student learning immediately following the activity (N = 161) and at the end of the semester (N = 33). These data suggest that the GABI increases students' understanding of theoretical perspectives on gender, encourages them to reflect on their own views and (mis)perceptions of theories, and is an engaging exercise for students. Most importantly, this is a valuable exercise to aid students in realizing how sociological theory links to their everyday lives.
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Equality, Success, and Social Justice in England and the United States
Article
  • Apr 1978
In an exploratory study of matched samples in England and the United States, we construct a path model that explains 26% and 39%, respectively, of the variance in social judgments about the fairness or unfairness of equality. The underdog principle, from which we predict that egalitarians compared to inegalitarians are more likely to be nonwhite, to have low prestige occupations, to have low family incomes, and to identify with the lower and working classes, is accepted. The principle of enlightenment, from which we predict a positive relationship between education and favorable attitudes toward equality, is accepted for England but not for the United States. The principle of an egalitarian Zeitgeist, from which we predict younger people are more egalitarian than older people, is accepted for the United States but not for England. Two additional important causal variables are found. First, a sense of personal equity, that is, a belief that a person has the standard of living that he/she deserves, reduces egalitarian attitudes in England more than in the United States and may reflect a cultural belief that British society is extraordinarily just because social arrangements result from fair rules of the game. While it is of no importance in England, the cultural belief in monetary success reduces egalitarian attitudes in the United States and functions as the belief in the just society does in England.
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