Sociology 699F: Mason

Sociology 699F: Gender & Social Change

Mason, 1986

Mason, Karen Oppenheim. 1986. "The status of women: conceptual and methodological issues in demographic studies." Sociological Forum 1 (Spring): 284-300. JSTOR

Abstract:

This paper explores several conceptual and measurement problems in social demographic studies of the status of women, including:

the failure to recognize the multidimensionality of women's status

its variation across social "locations,"

the confounding of gender and class stratification systems,

the confounding of access to resources with their control.

the sensitivity of particular indicators to social context,

the need to select consistent comparisons

Table 1 (rearranged slightly):

DEMOGRAPHIC INDICATORS

female minus male mortality rates
parents' preferences for male children

KINSHIP-FAMILY INDICATORS

female age at marriage
average Husband-wife age difference
levirate
polygyny (multiple wives)
conjugal family households
emphasis on lineage
village exogamy of females
patrilocal post-marital residence
arranged marriages
cross-cousin marriages
male right to divorce wife without her consent

Household relations

female property inheritance
dowry
purdah (female exclusion)
male feeding priority
egalitarianess of the Husband-Wife Relationship
extended-kin support for widows and divorcees

Sexuality

emphasis on virginity of brides
pre- or post-marital sexual double standard
emphasis on women's sexuality

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Employment

female employment 'opportunities'
female labor force participation
exclusion of women form extra-domestic activities
female underemployment or unemployment rates
women's work 'commitment'

Segregation

concentration of women vs men in informal economic sector
occupational segregation of the sexes

Income

sex differences in wages or earnings
sex differences in the amount of leisure time
women's access to credit

female education
women's access to non-familial supports

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Last updated February 1, 2003

comments to: Reeve Vanneman. reeve@cwmills.umd.edu