Question1.
It is true that gender imbalance is experienced in very many ways. One of the very best examples to express this is the way in which men and women earn different wages even if they do the same job, have the same educational qualifications and even work experience. It is not a new thing and can even be illustrated through the study of labor movements that arose during the industrial revolution more so in the twentieth century (Plous 22). This phenomenon can be looked at from different perspectives among them through theories such as symbolic interactionism, structural functionalism as well as the conflict theory.
In regard to the conflict theory as propagated by Karl Marx, such happenings are constructions by man in order to bring social order by looking at issues that affect humanity as a result of conflict. There has always been conflicting ideologies of how both men and women view things. Unequal distribution of power is the reason behind these conflicts and this is evident among men and women. That is why men will see themselves as superior and therefore deserve better pay than women and unfortunately, this capitalist ideology has led to this scenario (Henslin 38).
Structural functionalists on the other hand advocate for the idea of there being in existence social structures in society. These structures are hierarchical therefore leading to social stratification making people group themselves according to gender and even social class. As a result of this, a difference is seen through occupations and the salaries they take home. In regard to this, both men and women have found themselves in this trap of social stratification thereby leading to them occupying specific jobs and not others. When they occupy the same jobs with similar work experience and academic credentials, chances are that men will earn more than women. This is as a result of how society has conditioned itself.
When symbolic interactionism is applied in this case, the inequality exhibited through what society generally views as acceptable. For instance, prior to the rise of feminism, it was widely acceptable that men were superior to women and whatever they did was deemed as so. It is from this background that even in the employment sector, it was assumed and widely believed that women were inferior to men and thus the disparity that was seen then and even now because that notion is hard to die. Gender mainstreaming has seen this go on and on over time despite the fact that there are many efforts to equalize it. Society has been conditioned to see men as superior to women since time immemorial. This has been hard to change especially in places where this belief is still adhered to. It will therefore be difficult to see both genders as equal and it is for this reason that a woman will not get equal treatment in terms of pay at the work place regardless of the fact that they perform better than men and hold the same credentials and work experience.
Question 2
Whenever there are groups of people interacting, there could be instances of prejudice and discrimination. Social patterns are prone to such instances more so when one group feels superior to others. This may lead to issues such as racism which is a creation of mere attitudes and people’s behaviors. Normally stereotypes are more often the cause of prejudices and discrimination sets in because in such cases, a group of people treat others unfairly. Prejudice and discrimination happens in two levels, micro level and macro level. In the micro level situations, a group is person is devalued without any factual grounding while in macro level situations, a dominant group looks down upon a minority group and their relationships are normally strained.
There are different types of both Micro and macro level prejudice and discrimination. In the case of micro level prejudice and discrimination, stereotyping takes center stage. This is further worsened by the fact that a group of people will often seek to distort information about others and even exaggerate ideas about them. This is normally passed from one generation to another and is applied to all members of the group that deems itself superior. In some instances, all these is triggered by the mere fact that one cannot or has not achieved their goals and therefore their anger is vented on the wrong people who are set to take the blame. In the macro level discrimination and prejudice, power is the score card against which a group seeks to offend the other. This boils down to who has more power against whom in their set up. Scarce resources also contribute to such scenarios because they draw back to history and want to justify their positions in society (Andersen & Taylor 48).
In all these, the lives of the minority groups are put on the receiving end. Those who consider themselves privileged tend to perpetuate discrimination and prejudice and this leads to inequality in sharing of resources and other privileges that come with their positions. Hostilities are therefore likely to happen which will lead to untamable dislike amongst the involved groups of people. A good example for such scenarios is where an immigrant group is involved. Normally, the natives will feel threatened by the presence of the new comers. The majority group will want to be the owners of the production mechanisms whereas the immigrants will definitely occupy the secondary labor market. Prejudice and discrimination goes beyond the individual and affects society a great deal. No one will be left unscathed especially in the minority group even though some of the majority group members may at some point feel the brunt of it all.
Question 3
Home ownership is an ultimate goal for very many people the world over. It does not really matter the amount of income one earns, owning a home gives an individual a sense of security. But this is not the case as a good number of the people do not have enough finances to enable them achieve this dream. This then leads to the fact that the gap between goals and the available means of achieving them is huge. It is at this point in time when Robert K. Merton’s theory of structural strain applies.
According to this theory, society through culture has a way of establishing goals that people strive to achieve in their lifetimes. For instance, when a child goes to school, he or she aspires to take up a certain profession in the future. But on the other hand, social structures give the means through which attainment of goals is made possible. This child has no option but to go to school and work hard in order to achieve this dreams and the same applies to home ownership. The goals and the means of achieving them do not concur; the likelihood of deviance developing is very high.
In as much as deviance is the case, there are several ways that can be used in order to adapt to the strain that is caused. The first one is conformity whereby, a person believes in the system. An individual will follow the stipulated rules and work hard to see that they achieve their goals. Secondly, there is innovation. An innovator will accept the situation as it is but reject the means that society has established in order to achieve these goals. An innovator will come up with their own means of achieving the goals. They disregard the conventional means and always have a way of doing things
Apart from these two, there is ritualism. Here people tend to ignore the cultural goals that society has set up. In this case people often tend to abide by the means that can enable them attain their goals. Last but not least, there is retreatism whereby people choose to reject the cultural goals as well as the acceptable means of achieving these goals. Lastly, there is rebellion whereby people tend to reject the goals as well as the means of achieving these goals. They instead come up with their own goals and the means and ways of achieving them (Merton 68). Regardless of the means that people use to adapt to the strain of home ownership, the bottom line is that some will achieve this goal and others will not depending on which way they choose to go.
Works Cited
Andersen, Margaret & Taylor, Howard, Francis. Sociology: The Essentials. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth. 2009
Henslin, James M. Sociology A Down-to-Earth Approach. 3rd Custom Ed. Boston: Pearson. 2012
Plous, Scott. Understanding Prejudice and Discrimination. New York: McGraw- Hill. 2003
Turner, Jonathan. Handbook of Sociological Theory. New York: Springer. 2001
