Gender roles are learned expectations about how people should behave based on gender. This lesson explains how those expectations are taught and reinforced in everyday life.
Socialization is the process through which people learn to behave according to a society’s values, beliefs, attitudes, and norms. Children often recognize gender roles by age two or three, and many are strongly familiar with culturally expected roles by age four or five.
All flashcards
Gender socialization
The process through which people learn culturally expected gender roles and behaviors.
Institutional discrimination
Unequal treatment embedded in social structures, policies, or institutions.
Glass ceiling
An invisible barrier that makes it harder for women to reach top leadership positions.
Double burden
Paid employment combined with a disproportionate share of unpaid domestic work.
Doing gender
Performing and interpreting gender through everyday actions and social expectations.
Quiz questions
What did George Murdock's comparative research identify as a cultural universal?Answer: Societies classify work by gender, although assigned tasks vary across cultures.
What does the glass ceiling describe?Answer: An informal barrier that limits women's access to the highest leadership positions.
What does Title IX prohibit in education in the United States?Answer: Discrimination on the basis of sex.
How does a traditional structural functionalist account explain gender roles in pre-industrial societies?Answer: It treats the division of men's and women's roles as supporting family stability.
What pattern did Broverman and Broverman's 1971 study find in mental health workers' descriptions?Answer: Descriptions of a healthy person closely resembled descriptions of men.
Based on Introduction to Sociology 3e by Tonja R. Conerly, Kathleen Holmes, Asha Lal Tamang (OpenStax), licensed CC BY 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.