Gender & Social

Stratification
 • The distinction between men and women, masculine
and feminine, is a fundamental basis of social and
cultural organization.
Gender & Social • Feminists argue that though becoming a man or a
Stratification woman is a natural process and linear development the
differences between men and women are a historical
and historically and culturally variables.
• For example, there are range of feminities and
masculinities but only some of them only become the
norm of the society.
• Sociological perspective, hence, try to understand such
social construction and differences that are manifested
in gender order.
 • Gender differences are universal but culturally
variable. They are evident because in most
societies men are accorded high places in
relation to power and equality.
Gender • Gender inequalities that are manifested are
result of the complex form of social
Inequalities stratification in the society.
• Women are marginalised not only in cultural
beliefs, representations and practices but are
also oppressed and exploited through political,
economic, social and physical forms of power.
Disheartening
Statistic of
Violence against
Women
 • The term patriarchy has been made popular by British
writer Virginia Woolf to refer to a system of government
in which men ruled societies through their position as a
head of household.
• Sociologists such Walby has used the term to refer to a
much broader form of social stratification in which men
dominate in whole range of settings.

Patriarchy • This consists of following interrelated structures-

• Paid employment
• Household production
• Marginalised from state
• Violence
• Sexuality
• Cultural socialization
 Gender & Social Stratification

• Status inequality between men and women is not a new

phenomenon which is reinforced through patriarchy and its
institutions, gendered division of labour and social
institutions like marriage, dowry, property and inheritance
and subordination. 

• The unequal accesses to resources, opportunities and

rewards and to rights between men and women are
legitimized by patriarchy across societies and cultures.
 Gender & Social Stratification

• Sylvia Walby (1994) observes that patriarchy is not only

differential distribution of power but also it is built into the
very mechanism of production.
• Feminist sociologists sought to explain origin and
perpetuation of universal gender inequality in terms of
sociological, cultural and material terms. Each of these
explanations rested upon a major dichotomy which was
taken to be universal: public/domestic, nature/culture and
production/reproduction.
 • Gender is one prestige structure in every human
society, where men being men is higher. They
Gender & suggested that male prestige is linked to ‘public
roles’, such as chief or a Brahman, while female
Social prestige is defined in relation to men, in such
Stratification roles as wife, sister and mother. In other words
female structures are encompassed within the
male structures. 
 Caste and Gender

• The three basic characteristics of caste are:

i) Exclusion or separation i.e., rules governing marriage
and contact, which maintains distinctions of caste
ii) Hierarchy i.e., the principle of order and rank according
to status
iii) Interdependence i.e., the division of labor which is
closely tied to hierarchy and separation.
 Caste & Gender
• How caste stratification and gender stratification mediate each other.
• Differential treatment of women in history is essential to maintenance of caste hierarchy.
• Gender, class and caste intersect with patriarchy.
 • Caste is one of the basic institutions of Hindu society. The
significance of gender in understanding the caste system and
the way caste invades on women’s life cannot be ignored.
Indian society is strongly patriarchal. Women’s compliance to
structure of caste and class is not merely passive but can
extend to incitement of their menfolk to hold on to
unchallenged social power that they have wielded into
contemporary times. Women in India are treated as inferior

Caste & and lowly by their male counterparts. Women are treated as
subordinates and their sexuality is controlled by men. In India
caste system is an important institution. This feature makes the
Gender Indian society highly stratified and hierarchical. 
• Caste and gender are highly correlated. Though women of
upper caste face gender discrimination at every step of their
life and it is their men who control their destiny. Yet women of
upper caste are entitled to certain privileges. It is important to
note that these privileges are granted to them only when they
conform to the patriarchal order of society. Women of the
lower caste are the most disadvantaged lot. They are victim of
both gender discrimination and caste inequality
 Gender is not a monolithic
category.
• Subordination of women is a marked feature of most stages
of recorded history and is widespread in large parts of the
world. This subordination is culturally constructed and
maintained at material and ideological levels, each
reinforcing the other (Nakkeeran 2003). What is more
important to remember here is that though subordination of
women is a universal phenomenon, the extent and nature of
subordination of women is conditioned by their social,
economic and cultural environment. Gender is, thus, not a
monolithic category.
 Experiences of Black feminists
differ from White feminists

• The Black feminists, have often countered the feminist movement

in the West as being too ‘white and middle class’. According to
them, it is the white women’s experiences that have taken the centre
stage in defining the women’s movement. Many writers have thus
shown that this ‘shared oppression’ by men and women at the lower
end of social hierarchy often reverses the relations of patriarchy,
leading to a greater degree of equality within the familial situation.
Very similar accounts come from Dalit ethnographies that indicate
that women who are labourers , farm workers and engage in
traditional occupations , often are not only equal to men but also
share with the men the actions directed towards emancipation.
Feminist Theory of Stratification
 Gender stratification occurs when gender differences give men greater privilege and power over women,
transgender and gender-non-conforming people. Feminist theory uses the conflict approach to examine the
reinforcement of gender roles and inequalities, highlighting the role of patriarchy in maintaining the
oppression of women. Feminism focuses on the theory of patriarchy as a system of power that organizes
society into a complex of relationships based on the assertion of male supremacy.

 Intersectionality suggests that various forms of oppression– such as racism, classism, and sexism — are
interrelated to form a system of oppression in which various forms of discrimination intersect. The theory was
first highlighted by Kimberlé Krenshaw.

 Intersectionality suggests that various biological, social, and cultural categories– including gender, race, class,
and ethnicity — interact and contribute towards systematic social inequality. Therefore, various forms of
oppression do not act independently but are interrelated.

 Mary Ann Weathers drew attention to the ways in which white women face a different form of discrimination
than working class women of color, who additionally must fight racism and class oppression.
Intersectionality
• The feminist perspective of gender stratification more recently
takes into account intersectionality, a feminist sociological theory
first highlighted by feminist-sociologist Kimberlé Crenshaw.

• Intersectionality suggests that various biological, social and

cultural categories, including gender, race, class and ethnicity,
interact and contribute towards systematic social inequality.

• Therefore, various forms of oppression, such as racism or sexism,

do not act independently of one another; instead these forms of
oppression are interrelated, forming a system of oppression that
reflects the “intersection” of multiple forms of discrimination.

• In light of this theory, the oppression and marginalization of

women is thus shaped not only by gender, but by other factors
such as race and class.
Reference
https://time.com/5786710/kimberle-crenshaw-
intersectionality/