Sex Segregation and Socialization - Blog #2

Sex segregation means that there are boundaries that exist between males and females, which often result in unfair conditions for women. Sex segregation is created in our society through a variety of means; unequal pay between genders, stereotypes, and the media.

I have never personally thought about sex segregation in the employment at Arizona State University, however, the majority of my professors have been and currently are male. Since being enrolled at ASU (for the past two years), I have only had two female professors. Most of the teachers’ assistants tend to be women. I have encountered more women working in advising positions or service positions on campus than men. This could be a result of the belief that women are more likely to take positions that “assist” rather than aiming for the top positions in society.

Socialization in relation to gender is encountered everyday in every aspect of my life. Even when I do not realize that sex segregation is occurring, it is still constantly there. In my home life, growing up my sisters and I played with dolls while my brother played with cars and legos. We fed our dolls, read to them, cuddled them, and were “nurturers” in training from a very young age. I think while children are being raised, female children are raised to put family as a top priority whereas as male children are raised to put independence and hard work as a top priority. Gender roles play a huge role in shaping individuals because they are everywhere. In a school environment, boys are more likely to play sports, be playful and goofy, and be more independent while females are cliquey and more judgmental to their fellow female peers. Girls are also viewed as more gossipy than boys even though boys participate in gossip as well. Work environments produce gender roles because many women take secretarial positions or other jobs that are thought of as “a woman’s job”. When I worked in a law firm, it seemed that at least 90 percent of paralegals and secretaries were females, while the majority of attorneys were males. While many women are still struggling to become the breadwinners of their families, it seems more women than men are inclined to work part-time or quit their jobs completely once they have children. All of these societal gender roles larger contribute to our patriarchal society.

While women today are less likely to be laid off than men, according to the NPR report, “Moms become Breadwinners as Job Losses Hit Men”, there is still an uneven impact on the labor force. Women are still only making .77 cents to every dollar a man makes. Also, the types of jobs that women have are not likely to provide benefits such as life insurance and healthcare. Women are struggling to fill the role of the mother as well as the sole breadwinner and many women have had to take on second jobs. Therefore, even though more men are unemployed, women are still not reaping the same benefits from being the breadwinners as their male counterparts.