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Attitudes toward women and the influence of gender on political decision making.

• Mary-Kate Lizotte Mary-Kate Lizotte Department of Social Sciences, Augusta University
• https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.013.771
• Published online: 28 August 2018

There is a great deal of research, spanning social psychology, sociology, and political science, on politically relevant attitudes toward women and the influence of gender on individual’s political decision making. First, there are several measures of attitudes toward women, including measures of sexism and gender role attitudes, such as the Attitudes Toward Women Scale, the Old-Fashioned Sexism Scale, the Modern Sexism Scale, and the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory. There are advantages and disadvantages of these existing measures. Moreover, there are important correlates and consequences of these attitudes. Correlates include education level and the labor force participation of one’s mother or spouse. The consequences of sexist and non-egalitarian gender role attitudes include negative evaluations of female candidates for political office and lower levels of gender equality at the state level. Understanding the sources and effects of attitudes toward women is relevant to public policy and electoral scholars.

Second, gender appears to have a strong effect on shaping men’s and women’s attitudes and political decisions. Gender differences in public opinion consistently arise across several issue areas, and there are consistent gender differences in vote choice and party identification. Various issues produce gender gaps, including the domestic and international use of force, compassion issues such as social welfare spending, equal rights, and government spending more broadly. Women are consistently more liberal on all of these policies. On average, women are more likely than men to vote for a Democratic Party candidate and identify as a Democrat. There is also a great deal of research investigating various origins of these gender differences. Comprehending when and why gender differences in political decision making emerge is important to policymakers, politicians, the political parties, and scholars.

• public opinion
• attitudes toward women
• political behavior
• gender role attitudes
• feminist identification
• party identification
• political ideology
• political decision making

Introduction

Historically, gendered attitudes toward women effectively excluded women from political participation, silencing women’s policy preferences and public opinion, and preventing them from contributing to political institutions. American women supporting the abolition of slavery attended the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London in 1840 . These women, including Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, were not allowed to participate in the conference proceedings. Realizing that their desire to effect change was hindered by their inability to participate in politics, a desire for change—via women’s rights and eventually suffrage—soon began to develop (Ford, 2017 ). Attitudes toward women were making it impossible for women’s policy preferences to be heard by other citizens or heeded by government officials. This historical example illustrates the importance of understanding attitudes toward women and the influence of gender on public opinion and other political decisions. Stanton and Mott epitomize the importance of studying gender and political decision making. This essay discusses both attitudes toward women and gender differences in political decision making. The first section provides an overview of politically relevant attitudes toward women. A discussion of the role of gender in shaping individuals’ political attitudes and decisions follows. This article focuses primarily on political decision makers as its unit of analysis. For more on how candidates are gender stereotyped and its implications, see Bauer (“Gender Stereotyping in Political Decision Making,” this work).

Attitudes Toward Women and Gender Equality

An abundance of research exists studying attitudes toward women, much of which has a particular focus on sexist attitudes and gender role attitudes. This research is predominantly from social psychology and sociology but is relevant to politics and political science because of the consequences such attitudes have for policy preferences and support for women in politics. This section provides a critical overview of several measures of attitudes toward women and their consequences. Gender differences are an important component of this research and are noted throughout this section on attitudes toward women. This section does not provide an exhaustive list of measures of attitudes toward women and does not discuss the reliability or validity of the measures (see McHugh & Frieze, 1997 , for a discussion).

Sexism, Gender Role Attitudes, and Feminism

One of the older measures is the Attitudes Toward Women Scale, which was developed in the early 1970s to measure attitudes about women’s rights, gender roles, proper behavior of women, and women’s responsibilities in the public and private spheres (Spence, Helmreich, & Stapp, 1973 ). Women are consistently more egalitarian in their scores on the Attitudes Toward Women Scale (Spence & Hahn, 1997 ), meaning that women are more likely to endorse equal opportunity in the workplace, to advocate shared household and parenting duties between men and women, and to oppose a double standard for sex before marriage. Overtime, men’s and women’s attitudes have on average become more egalitarian (Spence & Hahn, 1997 ). Although its widespread usage over the decades makes it useful for comparisons over time, the scale may now be outdated and no longer properly discriminates between individuals with differing attitudes, particularly at the liberal end of the spectrum. This may be due to changes in attitudes and possibly also because of social desirability (Fassinger, 1994 ; Spence & Hahn, 1997 ). For example, this scale measures support for equal opportunity in the workplace, the acceptability for women to engage in sex before marriage, and the sharing of household and parenting responsibilities, all of which have become much more mainstream attitudes and behaviors compared to in the 1970s when the scale originated.

Two more recent measures of sexism exist, which were developed to better capture contemporary sexist attitudes. First, the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory measures hostile sexism and benevolent sexism (Glick & Fiske, 1996 ). Hostile sexism includes antagonism toward women seeking special favors in the workplace, the belief that women are overly sensitive to sexist remarks, and the belief that women use of their sexuality to control men. Benevolent sexism consists of the desire to protect women, placing women on a pedestal, and believing that women are morally superior. Men are more likely to endorse hostile sexism, and women often endorse benevolent sexism while opposing hostile sexism (Glick & Fiske, 2001 ).

The second category of contemporary measures of sexism, the Modern Sexism Scale and the Old-Fashioned Sexism Scale, measure nuances within contemporary sexist attitudes (Swim, Aikin, Hall, & Hunter, 1995 ). The Modern Sexism Scale is a measure of sexism including the denial of gender discrimination, a lack of understanding for the concerns of women’s groups, and denial of sexism on television (Swim et al., 1995 ). The Old-Fashioned Sexism Scale includes beliefs that women are not as smart as men, that mothers should take on the burden of child care to a greater extent than men, and that having a woman as a boss would be uncomfortable (Swim et al., 1995 ). Men are more likely than women to endorse the measures of Modern Sexism and Old-Fashioned Sexism (Barreto & Ellemers, 2005 ; Swim et al., 1995 ).

It may seem as though there has been an unnecessary proliferation of scales measuring attitudes toward women. While historical and contemporary sexism scales do correlate with one another, they are measuring somewhat distinct underlying beliefs. For example, the Attitudes Toward Women Scale and the Modern Sexism Scale are distinct but correlated measures (Swim & Cohen, 1997 ). The Old-Fashioned Sexism Scale, however, appears to measure the same underlying beliefs as the Attitudes Toward Women Scale (Swim & Cohen, 1997 ). The Hostile Dimension of the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory moderately correlates with the Attitudes Toward Women Scale, the Modern Sexism Scale, and the Old-Fashioned Sexism Scale (Glick & Fiske, 1997 ). There is a low correlation between the benevolent dimension and these other measures of sexism (Glick & Fiske, 1997 ). As time goes on, attitudes of interest to researchers change, as does how to best capture culturally prevalent attitudes.

Feminist identity, endorsement of feminist beliefs, or support for the feminist movement are other ways to measure politically relevant attitudes toward women. Gender differences are significant, particularly for male respondents who are less likely to identify as feminists, shaping their attitudes toward women in general. Analysis of 1996 General Social Survey (GSS) data reveals that women are more likely than men to identify as a feminist (McCabe, 2005 ; Schnittker, Freese, & Powell, 2003 ). In the 1996 ANES, men were 8 percentage points less likely to support equal rights for women and 11 percentage points less likely to report favorable views toward the women’s movement (Clark & Clark, 2009 ). In the 2004 ANES, men were 4 percentage points less likely to support equal rights (Clark & Clark, 2009 ). The gender gap in feminist identification appears to range between 9 to 40 percentage points depending on available response options (Huddy, Neely, & Lafay, 2000 ). Attitudes around feminism even shape men’s attitudes toward women who self-identify as feminists: according to feeling thermometer ratings in the 1988 American National Election Study (ANES), men rated feminists less favorably than women (Cook & Wilcox, 1991 ). It is important to note that researchers do not always find gender differences in feminist identification or feminist beliefs (Clark & Clark, 2009 ; Rhodebeck, 1996 ).

Gender ideology, the belief in separate spheres for men and women, and gender role attitudes may be rooted in interest-based or exposure-based explanations (Davis & Greenstein, 2009 ). The interest-based explanation is that women benefit from more egalitarian attitudes and are therefore more likely than men to hold egalitarian gender attitudes, and the exposure-based explanation includes that socialization, like being raised by an educated and/or working mother, leads to more egalitarian gender views (Davis & Greenstein, 2009 ). There is support for the interest-based explanation as women are more likely to identify as feminist, endorse feminist beliefs, and feel positively toward the feminist movement (Clark & Clark, 2009 ; Huddy et al., 2000 ; McCabe, 2005 ; Schnittker et al., 2003 ). Additionally, women have less sexist/more egalitarian views than men on the Attitudes Toward Women Scale, the Ambivalence Sexism Inventory, the Modern Sexism Scale, and the Old-Fashioned Sexism Scale (Barreto & Ellemers, 2005 ; Glick & Fiske, 2001 ; Spence & Hahn, 1997 ; Swim et al., 1995 ).

There is also evidence to support the interest-based explanation using other measures of gender role attitudes. Generally, women have more egalitarian gender attitudes than men (Brewster & Padavic, 2000 ). In one study of GSS data from 1974 to 2006 , black females are the most liberal on gender role attitudes, measured as women’s suitability for politics and women’s traditional family responsibilities, than white females, white males, and black males; there is also a main effect of gender, with females more liberal than males (Carter, Corra, & Carter, 2009 ). Among women, working outside the home and higher education levels lead to greater support for equal gender roles, while frequent church attendance predicts more conservative views (Bolzendahl & Myers, 2004 ). Using a two-wave study of married individuals across both waves, support exists for the interest-based explanation, including female employment and the presence of a small child positively related to women’s levels of egalitarianism (Kroska & Elman, 2009 ).

Evidence exists supporting the exposure-based explanation as well. First, exposure via parents or a spouse appears to lead to more egalitarian gender role attitudes. Among men, having a spouse in the labor force and higher education of one’s mother are associated with more liberal views toward gender roles, while church attendance is associated with more conservative views (Bolzendahl & Myers, 2004 ). A two-wave study of married individuals finds support for the exposure-based explanation with a positive relationship between spouse and individual levels of gender role egalitarianism (Kroska & Elman, 2009 ). For men, having an employed mother is positively associated with feminist identity and holding feminist opinions (Rhodebeck, 1996 ).

Second, exposure via higher levels of education or liberal/Democratic identification leads to attitudes that are more egalitarian on gender roles. For men and women higher education levels predict more egalitarian gender attitudes (Brewster & Padavic, 2000 ). Among men, higher levels of education are positively associated with feminist identity and holding feminist opinions (Rhodebeck, 1996 ). In the 1996 GSS, men and women with higher levels of education, liberal ideology, and Democratic partisanship are also more likely to identify as feminist (McCabe, 2005 ). It is possible that egalitarian gender role attitudes lead to liberal/Democratic identification and not vice versa. Additionally, it may be the case that African Americans are more likely exposed to egalitarian gender roles because of a longer history of black women working outside the home. There are racial and gender differences, with whites and men being less liberal (Carter et al., 2009 ). 1

Consequences

Understanding how sexism, feminist identity, and gender role attitudes correlate with or predict other attitudes and outcomes is important in shaping attitudes toward women in the public sphere, particularly in politics. This section also discusses other evidence of politically relevant attitudes toward women, such as women’s suitability for politics.

With respect to policy preferences, less research has focused on these attitudes as predictors of issue positions. Benevolent sexism predicts support for and hostile sexism predicts opposition to affirmative action policies to promote the hiring of women among New Zealanders (Fraser, Osborne, & Sibley, 2015 ). A recent study employing 2006 Cooperative Congressional Election Study data finds that “modern sexism” predicts anti-abortion attitudes, support for the Iraq War, and less support for employment discrimination legislation to protect women; support for traditional women’s roles also predicts opposition to abortion and support for the war in Iraq (Burns, Jardina, Kinder, & Reynolds, 2016 ).

More research has investigated these attitudes as predictors of candidate evaluations (see “Gender Stereotyping in Political Decision Making,” this work). In an experiment, individuals with more egalitarian scores on the Attitudes Toward Women Scale rated female candidates as more effective at solving problems of the disabled, the aged, and the educational system as well as at guaranteeing rights for racial minorities (Rosenwasser, Rogers, Fling, Silvers-Pickens, & Butemeyer, 1987 ). Individuals with less egalitarian scores on the Attitudes Toward Women Scale rated male candidates as more effective at dealing with military issues (Rosenwasser et al., 1987 ). Men possessing hostile sexist attitudes evaluate women in nontraditional roles such as career women more negatively than women in traditional roles (Glick, Diebold, Bailey-Werner, & Zhu, 1997 ). “Hostile sexism” influences competence ratings of female political candidates in an experiment (Carey & Lizotte, 2017 ). Modern sexism and hostile sexism are associated with a greater likelihood of favorability and voting for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election (Blair, 2017 ; Bock, Byrd-Craven, & Burkley, 2017 ; Cassese & Holman, 2016 ; Valentino, Wayne, & Oceno, 2018 ) and voting for Romney among men in the 2012 presidential election (Simas & Bumgardner, 2017 ). In slight contrast, “benevolent sexism” predicted greater support for Clinton after exposure to a Trump attack on Clinton for “playing the woman’s card” (Cassese & Holman, 2016 ).

In the 1996 GSS, feminist identifiers, which are more likely to be women, are more likely to support abortion legality, affirmative action for women, and gender equality in employment as well as in the home (Schnittker et al., 2003 ). For men, feminist identification is associated with positive views toward women in politics, mothers working outside the home, and career-focused women but is not associated with those attitudes for women according to analysis of the 1996 GSS (McCabe, 2005 ). Perceptions of candidate positions on the issue of equal gender roles leads to greater support for Democratic presidential candidates in the 1988 through 2012 presidential elections (Hansen, 2016 ). Feminism appears to have a substantial influence on partisanship particularly among women, with feminist women being very likely to identify as Democrats and anti-feminist women being increasingly likely to identify as Republican (Beinart, 2017 ; Huddy & Willmann, 2017 ).

There is comparative cross-country data showing that individual attitudes toward women correlate with or predict gender inequality at the national level. Sexism at the individual level, measured as a belief that men make better political leaders and business executives than women, is associated with gender inequality at the nation level across 57 different countries including the United States (Brandt, 2011 ). Similar results exist for hostile and benevolent sexism; men’s average level of sexism, both hostile and benevolent, is correlated with gender inequality at the state level in 19 countries (Glick & Fiske, 2001 ). Egalitarian gender role attitudes, compared to traditional gender role attitudes, predicts higher income levels among women in data including individuals from 28 different countries (Stickney & Konrad, 2007 ).

Finally, there is research in political science that looks at support for women in politics but does not include measures of sexism, feminist identity, or gender role attitudes. This research area is vast, and the following discussion is not exhaustive. Some of this research does not find gender differences. According to analysis of GSS data from 1972 , 1974 , and 1978 , there were no consistent gender differences on women’s suitability for politics, while younger people, more educated individuals, and less religious respondents were more likely to view women as suitable for politics (Welch & Sigelman, 1982 ). In 1974 and 1978 GSS data, white women did not significantly differ from white men in their support for a female president (Sigelman & Welch, 1984 ). In the United States, there has been considerable research and polling that finds men are less likely to believe women are suitable for politics, particularly in higher levels of executive office. Men are less likely to report willingness to vote for a woman for president (Dolan, 2004 ; Lawless, 2004 ) and are less likely to report voting for a woman for the House of Representatives (Dolan, 2004 ). Controlling for a number of other demographic and attitudinal variables, men are more likely to believe that men are better suited to handle a military crisis, to punish terrorists, to prevent terrorism, and to bring peace in the Middle East (Lawless, 2004 ). Analysis of 2000 National Annenberg Election Survey data finds that men were less likely than women to be favorable toward a female president (Kenski & Falk, 2004 ). Finally, men were less likely to vote for Hillary Clinton for president (Burden, Crawford, & DeCrescenzo, 2016 ).

Gender Differences in Political Attitudes

As noted in the prior section, gender has an effect on shaping women’s and men’s attitudes on sexism, feminism, and gender roles. Gender also has a strong effect on shaping men’s and women’s attitudes and issue preferences with gender differences in ideology, party identification, vote choice, and public opinion across several issue areas consistently arising. In the following sections is, first, a summary of the literature on how women are more likely to identify as liberal, to identify as Democrat, and to vote for Democratic candidates. Second, there is an overview of gender differences in policy preferences. Third, there is a critical discussion of existing and potential explanations for gender differences in attitudes and policy preferences.

Gender influences political ideology, party identification, and vote choice. The gender gap in ideology is also a modest gap, in which women tend to identify as more liberal than men (Condon & Wichowsky, 2015 ; Norrander & Wilcox, 2008 ). Well-educated and single women are more likely to identify as liberal, and religiosity predicts conservatism for men and women (Norrander & Wilcox, 2008 ). Abortion and gender role attitudes contribute more to women’s ideology, while social welfare issues contribute more to men’s ideology (Norrander & Wilcox, 2008 ). In contrast, other research finds evidence that the gender gap in ideology results from differences in opinion, not differential prioritizing or weighting of issues (Condon & Wichowsky, 2015 ). In other words, men are more ideologically conservative than women because of different policy preferences, not because men and women differ in how they connect issue positions to ideology with positions on social welfare and abortion contributing equally to men’s and women’s ideological constructs (Condon & Wichowsky, 2015 ). Finally, ideological differences exist among partisans. Within the Republican primary electorate, men are more likely to describe themselves as conservative and women are more likely to identify as moderates (Norrander, 2003 ).

Party Identification

Consistent gender differences in party identification exist, with women more likely to identify with the Democratic Party (Huddy, Cassese, & Lizotte, 2008b ). Additionally, there are gender differences in the propensity to identify with a party at all. Men are more likely than women to identify as Independents (Norrander, 1997 ). Women are more likely to identify as weak partisans, while men identify as leaning Independents (Norrander, 1997 , 2003 ). This has consequences for the partisan gap overall. Failing to take into account the leaning Independents makes the gender gap in partisanship appear to be caused by women’s attraction to the Democratic Party; including leaning Independents shows the partisan gap to be equally due to men’s attraction to the Republican Party and women’s attraction to the Democratic Party (Norrander, 1997 ). Other research argues that the evidence suggests the partisan gender gap is mostly the result of white men leaving the Democratic Party (Kaufmann & Petrocik, 1999 ; Norrander, 1999 ). The most recent analysis finds that the gender in partisanship appears to be the result of both men’s and women’s response to the symbolic images of the political parties, including the gender make-up of congressional delegations and partisan realignments, not simply men’s movement away from the Democratic Party as earlier work often claimed (Ondercin, 2017 ).

Vote Choice

According to analysis of cumulative ANES data ( 1980–2004 ), women are consistently more likely to vote for the Democratic presidential nominee over the Republican (Huddy et al., 2008b ). The gender gap in vote choice exists across several demographic groups (Clark & Clark, 2009 ; Huddy et al., 2008b ). For example, in the 1980 presidential election, women were more likely than men to vote for Carter across most income categories, among all education levels, regardless of union membership, among all racial/ethnic groups, regardless of parental status, among all ages, and across all regions (Clark & Clark, 2009 ). Similar findings exist for presidential vote choice for the 1996 , 2000 , and 2004 elections (Clark & Clark, 2009 ) as well as the 2016 election, which featured a woman major-party candidate (Burden, Crawford, & DeCrescenzo, 2016 ). Gender gaps even emerge within parties; women and men within the same party primaries tend to support different candidates on average (Norrander, 2003 ). For example, in the 2000 presidential primaries, female Democrats were more likely to vote for Gore in comparison to male Democrats, who were more likely to vote for Bradley, and female Republicans were more likely to vote for George W. Bush compared to male Republicans, who were more likely to vote for McCain (Norrander, 2003 ). This was also true in the 2016 presidential primaries, with female Democrats more likely to vote for Clinton and male Democrats more likely to vote for Sanders and female Republicans being consistently less likely than male Republicans to vote for Trump (Presidential Gender Watch, 2016 ). In Europe, women also tend to vote for left-leaning political parties (Abendschön & Steinmetz, 2014 ; Annesley & Gains, 2014 ; Emmenegger & Manow, 2014 ; Harteveld & Ivarsflaten, 2016 ; Immerzeel, Coffé, & Van der Lippe, 2015 ). 2

Issue Preferences

There are gender gaps on various policy issues, including the domestic and international use of force, compassion issues such as social welfare spending, equal rights, and government spending more broadly. Women are consistently more liberal on all of these policies, but the size of gender differences vary. Gender differences on the use of force, social welfare, equal rights, the environment, and morality have been the gaps most studied in the literature. Gender gaps in policy preferences are politically consequential. These issue gaps contribute to the gender gap in voting (Chaney, Alvarez, & Nagler, 1998 ; Clark & Clark, 2009 ). Moreover, the gender gap in party identification does not completely account for the gender gap in vote choice (Kaufmann & Petrocik, 1999 ). In recent elections, women have turned out to vote at consistently higher levels than men, increasing the likelihood that these opinion differences could be politically consequential (CAWP, 2015 ). Hence, a gender gap on a single issue, especially a salient issue, could have significant electoral effects.

Use of Force Attitudes

There are robust gender differences on support for the use of force, with women less likely to support the use of force both internationally and domestically. Women are less likely to support defense spending and the use of the military to solve international crises. The gap on defense spending and use of the military was 10 percentage points and 5 percentage points in 1996 and 10 percentage points and 7 percentage points in 2004 (Clark & Clark, 2009 ). Differences on support for war in the abstract, troops in Afghanistan, and military intervention in Libya also appear to exist outside of the United States but considerably vary in size across Europe and Turkey, ranging from 0 to 23 percentage points (Eichenberg & Read, 2016 ). Gender differences on the use of international force do not always materialize outside of the United States. For example, only women in the United States have greater support for peacekeeping forces in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and greater favorability for the United Nations (Eichenberg & Read, 2016 ). Moreover, the gender gap on the use of military force consistently fails to appear in the Middle East (Ben Shitrit, Elad-Strenger, & Hirsch-Hoefler, 2017 ; Tessler, Nachtwey, & Grant, 1999 ). Finally, women are also less likely to support the use of torture to prevent terrorist attacks (Lizotte, 2017a ).

With respect to domestic force issues, women are also more supportive of gun control and less supportive of the death penalty. The gap on gun control was 23 percentage points and the gap on the death penalty was 8 percentage points in the 1996 ANES, and in the 2004 ANES the gaps were 19 percentage points and 9 percentage points, respectively (Clark & Clark, 2009 ). Women are consistently less likely than men to support the death penalty (Stack, 2000 ; Whitehead & Blankenship, 2000 ). Many studies show a robust gender gap on gun control (Filindra & Kaplan, 2016 ; Haider-Markel & Joslyn, 2001 ; Howell & Day, 2000 ), with women being less likely to own a gun and less likely to see owning a gun as a means of self-protection (Kleck, Gertz, & Bratton, 2009 ). There are, however, important differences in terms of party identification and ideology in support for the death penalty and gun control among women—women, who identify as Democrats and liberals, are more likely than Republican and conservative women to oppose the death penalty and to support gun control (Deckman, 2016 ).

Social Welfare Attitudes

Women are generally more supportive of social welfare spending and domestic spending on services. Generally, women are more supportive of a bigger government with a more activist role (Fox & Oxley, 2015 ). Social welfare issues include support for increased government spending on Social Security, the homeless, welfare, food stamps, child care, aid to the poor, and schools as well as government guaranteeing jobs, providing more services, and providing health insurance (Clark & Clark, 1996 , 2008 ; Howell & Day, 2000 ; Kaufmann & Petrocik, 1999 ). Women are also more likely than men to support the Affordable Care Act (Lizotte, 2016a ). Recent analysis finds small and consistent gender differences on government provision of services, government-guaranteed jobs, government-guaranteed standard of living, government provision of health insurance, and increased government spending on public schools, child care, social security, welfare aid to the poor, and food stamps (Fox & Oxley, 2015 ). Not all women are supportive of increased government aid to the poor; in particular, Tea Party women and Republican women are less supportive than women nationally (Deckman, 2012 ).

These gaps differ in size across these varied issue areas and are generally robust to the inclusion of control variables. For example, on government-funded health insurance and government-guaranteed jobs, the gap ranges from 4 to 5 percentage points (Clark & Clark, 1996 ). In contrast, on Social Security spending the gap has been much larger at 14 or 15 percentage points (Clark & Clark, 1996 ). Spending on the poor, welfare, food stamps, and the homeless tends to produce gaps of 4 to 7 percentage points (Kaufmann & Petrocik, 1999 ). The gap on social welfare spending has recently been the second largest opinion gap at around 10 percentage points (Norrander, 2008 ). These gaps remain significant, controlling for educational attainment, marital status, income, children, age, cohort, occupational status, party identification, religious identification, parental status, and race (Howell & Day, 2000 ; Lizotte, 2017b ). Gender differences on income inequality, however, do not exist in many countries outside of the United States and Western Europe (Jaime-Castillo, Fernández, Valiente, & Mayrl, 2016 ).

Minority Rights Attitudes

There is less consistent evidence of gender differences on racial policy or racial attitudes. In the 1996 ANES and in the 2004 ANES, the gender gap on support for government aid to blacks was only 3 percentage points (Clark & Clark, 2009 ). There appears to be a 4 or 5 percentage point gender gap in support for government spending to help blacks (Clark & Clark, 1996 ; Kaufmann & Petrocik, 1999 ). Women are slightly more likely to support affirmative action (Clark & Clark, 2009 ). For support of affirmative action, the gap for jobs is 4 to 6 percentage points, while support for education quotas results in a 9 percentage point difference, both without control variables (Clark & Clark, 1996 ). Much of the research finds that the gender gap no longer exists when control variables and/or party identification are included (Howell & Day, 2000 ; Hughes & Tuch, 2003 ).

Women are more supportive of gay rights than men. Women are more likely to support civil rights for gays (Clark & Clark, 1996 ; Herek, 2002 ). Women are more supportive of consensual sexual relations between same-sex partners being legal, gay adoption rights, the right to serve in the military, and employment protections (Brewer, 2003 ; Clark & Clark, 2009 ; Herek, 2002 ; Stoutenborough, Haider-Markel, & Allen, 2006 ). Women are more likely to support equal rights and to support same-sex marriage controlling for various demographic and religious variables (Haider-Markel & Joslyn, 2008 ). Of course, not all women are supportive of gay rights; Republican women and Tea Party women are less favorable toward gay rights than women as a whole (Deckman, 2012 ).

Environmental Attitudes

Gender differences often emerge on environmental policy preferences. Women are more likely to support environmental protections even if it reduces the number of jobs (Clark & Clark, 2009 ). Conservative women are less likely compared to women nationally to support environmental protections (Deckman, 2012 ). There is also a gender gap on environmental concern (McCright, 2010 ; Mohai, 1992 ). The gap remains significant when demographic variables, ideology, party identification, knowledge about climate change, and parenthood/motherhood are controlled for in the analysis (McCright, 2010 ; Mohai, 1992 ). This gap is not as big as the gaps on the use of force or some of the social welfare gaps. Women are more likely by 5 percentage points to believe global warming is occurring and are more likely by 8 percentage points to believe that humans are causing it (McCright, 2010 ). Women also express by 6 percentage points greater worry about global warming and are more likely by 9 percentage points to believe that it will threaten their way of life (McCright, 2010 ). Additionally, women are more likely to agree that climate change will cause coastal flooding, drought, and loss of animal and plant species (Blocker & Eckberg, 1997 ).

Religiosity and Morality Attitudes

There are gender differences in religiosity, religious fundamentalism, commitment to religion, and frequency of religious behaviors, with women being more religious than men (Cook & Wilcox, 1991 ; Tolleson-Rinehart & Perkins, 1989 ). Republican women and Tea Party women are more religious than women as a whole (Deckman, 2012 ). This could translate into policy preferences. Women are more supportive of school prayer, more opposed to the legalization of marijuana, and more supportive of legal access restrictions on pornography (Eagly, Diekman, Johannesen-Schmidt, & Koenig, 2004 ). Religious belief does not always influence women to be more conservative on moral issues (e.g., the gender gap on gay rights). Gender differences in religiosity and traditional morality may be due to gender role socialization that promotes traits such as passivity and obedience in women (Thompson, 1991 ) or that prepares women for the role of motherhood in which they have the primary responsibility for the moral development of children (Eagly et al., 2004 ).

Gender differences on reproductive issues, which are often framed as morality issues, tend to be small and inconsistent in comparison to other gender gaps. Gender differences do not always emerge on abortion legality—it appears to depend on how abortion attitudes are modeled. In particular, if religious and religiosity indicators are included, women are more likely to support legality under all circumstances (Lizotte, 2015 ). Women are more likely to believe that abortion is morally wrong (Scott, 1989 ). No gender differences exist on the influence of abortion attitudes on party identification or vote choice (Lizotte, 2016b ). Relatedly, women were more likely to support the birth control mandate included in the Affordable Care Act, but men and women were both likely to have their support influence their 2012 presidential vote choice (Deckman & McTague, 2014 ).

Explanations

There are several explanations for gender differences in political attitudes and behavior, with varying levels of evidence to support each one. Examining the different theories put forth in the literature is integral to understanding how and why gender influences political attitudes. The following theories exist in the literature: Feminist Identity, Economic Circumstances, Social Role Theory and Motherhood, Risk and Threat Perceptions, Personality, and Values. There are varying degrees of support for each of these explanations. These explanations are not mutually exclusive, and it may be that more than one explanation simultaneously contributes to each gap, or that different explanations explain different gaps.

Feminist Identity

First, there is the feminist identity or feminist consciousness explanation. There are several different types of feminism, but commonalities exist across the different forms. Specifically, most types of feminism include the following: a belief in sex/gender equality; the belief that historical gender equality is socially constructed and not natural or intended by God; and the recognition of shared experience among women, which ought to inspire a longing for change (Cott, 1987 ). Evidence exists that feminist identity contributes to gender differences on defense spending, environmental attitudes, social welfare spending, and anti-war attitudes (Conover, 1988 ; Conover & Sapiro, 1993 ; Cook & Wilcox, 1991 ; Feinstein, 2017 ; Somma & Tolleson-Rinehart, 1997 ). Early work investigating this explanation finds a link between feminist consciousness and gender gaps on unemployment spending, child care spending, equal opportunity for African Americans, and foreign policy positions (Conover, 1988 ). Much of this research argues that feminist identity likely has an indirect influence on political attitudes and behavior. This research finds that feminist identity correlates with lower endorsement of traditionalism, individualism, and symbolic racism as well as greater endorsement of egalitarianism (Conover, 1988 ; Cook & Wilcox, 1991 ).

Economic Circumstances

Second, there are two economic explanations in the literature: economically independent women or economically vulnerable women are causing gender differences. Economically independent women are more likely than men to work in the public sector, such as in public schools and as health providers, and consequently would be more likely to support the Democratic Party, which is perceived as wanting to maintain or increase funding for that sector (Huddy et al., 2008b ). There is mixed evidence for this explanation. In 1980–2004 ANES data, professional and high-income women are not significantly more likely to vote or identify as Democrats (Huddy et al., 2008b ). Increases in women’s workforce participation explains the gender gap in presidential vote choice in the ANES 1952–1992 data (Manza & Brooks, 1998 ). Educated women as well as women and men working in the public sector are more likely to support social welfare spending, the men even more than the women (Howell & Day, 2000 ).

Economically vulnerable women may support the Democratic Party and greater government spending on social welfare programs because of the potential for them to benefit from such policies and spending. Additionally, economically vulnerable women may oppose defense spending and military interventions because it could lead to less funding of the welfare state. There is moderate evidence for this explanation in that income level is a predictor but does not fully account for gender differences in the following research. In some years but not all of the ANES 1980–2004 , low-income women are more likely to identify as and vote for Democrats (Huddy et al., 2008b ). Time-series analysis shows an association at the aggregate level between the size of the partisan gap and the proportion of economically vulnerable (Box-Steffensmeier, De Boef, & Lin, 2004 ). Low income explains some but not all of the gender differences in wanting more government services and spending (Clark & Clark, 2009 ) and in support for the Affordable Care Act (Lizotte, 2016a ). Finally, low-income individuals are less supportive of military interventions (Nincic & Nincic, 2002 ), but equalizing men’s and women’s income would only reduce the gender gap by about 9% (Feinstein, 2017 ).

Social Role Theory and Motherhood

Third, there is the Social Role Theory explanation, which posits that gender gaps result from gender role socialization (Diekman & Schneider, 2010 ; Eagly et al., 2004 ). Social Role Theory argues for an interaction between the physical characteristics and the features of the local environment leading to a particular male–female division of labor in a given society. Consequently, this division of labor brings about certain gender roles and gender socialization of agentic traits among males and communal traits among females (Eagly & Wood, 2012 ). Communal traits include anti-conflict and nurturance, and agentic traits include aggression and assertiveness. Therefore, women’s anti-force and pro-equality attitudes fit with these gendered socialized traits (Eagly et al., 2004 ). It is somewhat difficult to test this explanation because of the assumption that the vast majority of individuals will receive the same gendered socialization within a given society. Motherhood, however, predicts greater support for aid to the poor, government healthcare, child care spending, public school spending, preference for greater government services, and food stamp spending (Elder & Greene, 2007 ; Greenlee, 2014 ; Howell & Day, 2000 ; Lizotte, 2017b ). These findings show that motherhood contributes to these gaps but does not fully explain the gender differences. Motherhood also predicts opposition to the legalization of marijuana (Deckman, 2016 ; Greenlee, 2014 ); in a piece employing 2013 Pew Research Center data, however, motherhood actually does not predict attitudes toward the legalization of marijuana (Elder & Greene, 2019 ). There is no evidence that mothers are causing gender differences on security and foreign policy (Carroll, 2008 ; Elder & Greene, 2007 ).

Relatedly, gender identity, which may vary as a result of differences in gendered socialization, and the salience of gender identity produce even stronger gender differences in public opinion. In a Canadian sample, greater gender identity salience predicts increased support for social programs, welfare spending, marriage equality, and women in the legislature (Bittner & Goodyear-Grant, 2017a ). Similarly, in an Australian twin study sample, gender identity had a greater influence on vote choice than sex (Hatemi, McDermott, Bailey, & Martin, 2012 ). Sex, however, approximates gender identity well for most people except about a quarter (Bittner & Goodyear-Grant, 2017b ).

Risk and Threat Perceptions

Fourth, gender differences in risk and threat perceptions are a promising, potential explanation for the gender gap in force and environmental attitudes. There is a lot of evidence that women and men differ in risk perceptions. Although men and women often perceive the same things as risky, women perceive greater risk than men with regard to the same risky event or behavior (Gustafsod, 1998 ). Women perceive greater risks than do men in four out of five domains and are less likely than men to report engaging in risky behaviors (Weber, Blais, & Betz, 2002 ). The extant literature provides much evidence of gender differences in risk aversion. Women tend to be more risk averse or avoidant of risky behavior (Byrnes, Miller, & Schafer, 1999 ); this difference even appears to exist between male and female children (Ginsburg & Miller, 1982 ). Women are more likely to feel anxious in response to terrorism and, therefore, be more risk averse about retaliatory measures (Huddy, Feldman, & Cassese, 2009 ). Increased threat perceptions of future terrorist attacks lead men to be more likely to support the use of torture, while perceived threat does not increase women’s support for torture (Lizotte, 2017a ). In non–gender focused work, threat perceptions and risk orientations influence policy views and vote choice (Huddy, Feldman, Taber, & Lahav, 2005 ; Huddy, Feldman, & Weber, 2007 ; Kam & Simas, 2010 , 2012 ).

Relatedly in the biopsychology literature, Taylor and colleagues ( 2000 ) provide a compelling theory based on prior research that women are less likely than men to respond to stress in terms of “fight or flight.” They argue that women’s response to stress is better characterized as “tend and befriend.” Evolutionarily, women have been the primary caregivers of offspring. Taylor et al. ( 2000 ) argue that to prevent harm to themselves and offspring, women may have evolved to tend, which they define as keeping offspring quiet in order to hide from threat, and befriend, which they describe as building networks and making effective use of social groups to provide aid and protection during stressful or threatening times. The idea that women do not exhibit the “fight-or-flight” response could explain why they respond differently than men to threat such as force-related issues.

Personality Traits

Fifth, personality traits is for the most part an untested theory for gender differences in political attitudes. The Big Five Personality Traits, including neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness, constitute a widely accepted measure (Goldberg, 1993 ). Studies of the Big Five Personality Traits have found significant, though small, average gender differences in self-reported traits. Meta-analysis found gender differences across cultures on subcomponents of neuroticism, agreeableness, extraversion, and openness to experience (Costa, Terracciano, & McCrae, 2001 ). Specifically, women score higher on anxiety, a subcomponent of neuroticism; higher on altruism, a subcomponent of agreeableness; lower on assertiveness/dominance, a subcomponent of extraversion; and higher on the feelings subcomponent of openness to experience (Costa et al., 2001 ). These differences in personality could explain many gaps in political decision making. Ideological differences among men and women appear to exist partially because of women being more open to experience, more agreeable, and more emotionally stable than men (Morton, Tyran, & Wengström, 2016 ). Agreeableness appears to have differing consequences for men and women’s partisanship, with increased agreeableness among men being associated with Democratic Party identification and among women with Republican Party identification (Wang, 2017 ). More research on personality and political attitudes could be informative. For example, anxiety and assertiveness differences may explain women’s lower support for military interventions and their greater concerns about climate change. There is a link between altruism and women’s concern about the environment (Dietz, Kalof, & Stern, 2002 ). Altruism may also explain women’s higher levels of support for social welfare spending and equal rights for African Americans and the LGBTQ+ community.

Sixth, value differences offer another explanation for gender gaps in political attitudes. Values are more abstract than attitudes, making them applicable across different attitude objects, and are evaluative expressions of desired behaviors and goals for individuals and society (Feldman, 2003 ). Prior work provides evidence that values such as egalitarianism, humanitarianism, and militarism influence political attitudes (Peffley & Hurwitz, 1985 ; Schwartz, Caprara, & Vecchione, 2010 ). Schwartz ( 1992 ) developed the study of values through the examination of 10 value types, each of which is a set of values that are closely linked conceptually. According to Schwartz, values such as social justice, equality, tolerance, and peace belong to one of 10 key value types known as universalism. The other 9 types are benevolence, tradition, conformity, security, power, achievement, hedonism, stimulation, and self-direction.

There are modest gender differences in value endorsements (Feldman & Steenbergen, 2001 ; Howell & Day, 2000 ; Schwartz & Rubel, 2005 ). For example, gender differences exist on benevolence, which measures individuals’ concern for the welfare of others; on power, which encompasses a desire for control of others; and all of the other types (Schwartz & Rubel, 2005 ). Benevolence and universalism could explain gender differences on aid to the poor and environmental protections, while power and security could explain differences in support for the use of force. Women also score higher on measures of egalitarianism (Feldman & Steenbergen, 2001 ; Howell & Day, 2000 ). Value differences reduce the gap on social welfare attitudes, gun control attitudes, and support for the Affordable Care Act (Howell & Day, 2000 ; Lizotte, 2016a ).

Future Directions and Conclusions

Gender is an important factor in understanding attitudes toward women, including sexism and feminist identity, and gender differences in political decision making, such as gender differences in ideology, party identification, vote choice, and issue positions. Future work is needed to better understand the sources and effects of attitudes toward women and to further comprehend the origins and consequences of gender differences in political decision making.

There is little known about the political leanings of those with sexist attitudes or traditional gender role attitudes. For example, are those endorsing hostile sexism more likely to identify as Republican compared to those endorsing benevolent sexism? Do women who score higher on sexism measures identify as Republican? Presumably, the answer to both of these questions is yes because of the overlap between the GOP and conservative ideology. Anti-feminist women are more likely to identify as Republican (Huddy & Willmann, 2017 ). There is some evidence that in 2016 and in 2012 , among men, sexism predicts support for Republican presidential candidates (Blair, 2017 ; Bock et al., 2017 ; Cassese & Holman, 2016 ; Simas & Bumgardner, 2017 ; Valentino et al., 2018 ). In addition, men, whites, and Republicans have higher scores on measures of sexism compared to women, non-whites, and Democrats (Simas & Bumgardner, 2017 ). More research in this area should further explore the electoral consequences of sexism and feminist identity. It would also be of value to understand how these attitudes relate to policy preferences. One recent piece finds that support for traditional roles for women is associated with opposition to abortion legality and support for the War in Iraq; modern sexism also predicts opposition to abortion, opposition to job discrimination protections for women, and support for the Iraq War (Burns et al., 2016 ). The Attitudes Toward Women Scale and other sexism measures could also predict positions on a wide range of policies such as child care spending, insurance coverage of birth control, equal pay, sexual harassment, and Title IX. Additionally, it is unclear what the implications of these types of attitudes are for voter decisions, in particular for female candidates. There is some recent work finding that modern sexism and hostile sexism predict greater favorability of and a greater likelihood of voting for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election (Blair, 2017 ; Bock et al., 2017 ; Cassese & Holman, 2016 ; Valentino et al., 2018 ). More of the work on voter evaluations of female candidates should strive to measure attitudes toward women. In fact, similar items have been included in the 2016 ANES and presumably will provide insight into presidential and congressional vote choice.

With respect to how gender influences political attitudes, there are a number of unanswered questions. First, there is very little research looking at the gender gap in public opinion among African Americans (for exceptions, see Lien, 1998 ; Welch & Sigelman, 1989 ). There is a great deal of research that looks at gender differences in public opinion and controls for race. There is emerging evidence that black women are more likely to turn out to vote than black men, as well as the fact that according to exit polls, black men were more likely than black women to vote for Trump in 2016 (Dittmar & Carr, 2016 ). This suggests that there may be gender differences in policy preferences among African Americans. There is also work showing gender differences among Latinos in public opinion and ideology (Bejarano, 2014 ; Bejarano, Manzano, & Montoya, 2011 ). Lack of existing data is likely one of the most prominent reasons for the lack of research. It would be of interest to better understand how gender intersects with race/ethnicity when it comes to policy preferences.

Second, it is clear that gender differences in political attitudes are not the result of biological factors. The essentialist notion that all women are born more caring or conflict-avoidant is not borne out in the modestly to moderately sized gaps that exist in public opinion. This approach should simply be put to rest. Relatedly, via gendered socialization and/or because of lived experiences, men and women on average differ slightly in their positions on a number of issues. It would be quite beneficial to further investigate to what extent gendered socialization versus lived experiences explains these gaps. Perhaps including measures of each one in future survey collections could provide insight. For example, are women, who support greater government aid to the needy, more likely to have been raised to care and nurture others through playing with dolls? Or are women, who are opposed to military interventions, past victims or observers of violence, making them reluctant to use violent means to solve conflict?

Third, further research is needed to understand the usefulness of the personality and values explanations discussed here. It may be the case that gender differences in altruism lead to greater support for government aid to the poor. Or, that differences in the power value type account for the gap in gun control attitudes. The 2012 ANES data include a short personality inventory. The inclusion of values beyond egalitarianism in nationally representative data sets would make it possible to better investigate the values explanations. Finally, for both of these explanations (but also for the others discussed throughout), more work is needed to understand how multiple explanations may simultaneously contribute. For example, altruism as a personality trait may lead to greater endorsement of humanitarianism, which then contributes to the gender gap on aid to the poor.

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1. Although sexism and gender role attitudes scales focus mainly on women as the central subject, there are also a few different scales measuring attitudes toward men, including two different Attitudes Toward Men scales (Downs & Engleson, 1982 ; Iazzo, 1983 ) and the Ambivalence Toward Men Inventory (Glick & Fiske, 1999 ). One of the Attitudes Toward Men scales measures attitudes such as men’s enjoyment of power, men’s greater confidence, and men’s household chores (Downs & Engleson, 1982 ). The other scale measures men’s supposed preoccupation with their sexual desire for women and men’s prioritizing of their career over their family (Iazzo, 1983 ). The Ambivalence Toward Men Scale includes a hostile dimension, measuring the belief that men attempt to have power over women and men try to dupe women into sexual relations, and a benevolent dimension, measuring the belief that men provide financial security, men are more stable in emergencies, and men deserve special care from women at home (Glick & Fiske, 1999 ).

2. There are gender differences in political engagement not discussed in depth here with women more likely than men to vote (CAWP, 2015 ) but less likely to participate in other ways (Burns, Schlozman, & Verba, 1997 ).

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Essay on Role of Women in Society | Role of Women in Society Essay for Students and Children in English

March 13, 2023 by Prasanna

Essay on Role of Women in Society: Women are equally important in society as men are. They are the backbone for a progressing nation. Demographically, half a population of the country constitutes women, and they deserve equal importance and rights in society.

From keeping the home safe and clean to portraying excellent outcomes in the workplace, a woman can do it all. Their capabilities must not be underestimated based on their gender, and they should be given equal opportunity to display their talents. It is essential for us to know the status of women in our society, and therefore, we have compiled some extended, short, and ten lines essay on the role of women in society.

You can read more  Essay Writing  about articles, events, people, sports, technology many more.

Long and Short Essays on Role of Women in Society for Students and Kids in English

Given below is a Role of Women in Society essay of 400-500 words and is suitable for the students of standards 7, 8, 9, and 10 and a short piece of nearly 100-150 words for the students of standard 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.

Long Essay on Role of Women in Society 500 words in English

In the middle age, people had only one notion about the woman; that is, they were born to control the household chores and manage the children. But in today’s world, women empowerment has taken place which has opened new doors for the women to thrive and shine.

In the rural regions, the girls have started going to school, which is positively affecting the literacy rate in India and is taking the country in the forward direction. Campaigns are held all over the country to spread awareness about woman literacy.

In addition to literacy, personal health and hygiene are other issues that woman staying in the rural region have very less idea about. Women hold awareness programmes and free sanitary napkins are distributed amongst them. Such a programme is organised to remove a general taboo about the menstrual cycle.

Besides managing household works, women are also engaging themselves in the service sector like banks, hospitals, airlines, schools and every other possible work field as well as they have started showing interest in setting up their own business. Not to mention, they are providing excellent outcomes in their respective areas. In the world of sports, women have set up milestones for men to achieve.

Personalities like PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal are idols. We must not limit or try to limit the role of women in society to be a homemaker or a mother because they are capable of doing so much more. The women who are homemakers are an essential member of the family who is responsible for managing the home, cooking, cleaning, doing the dishes, taking care of the elders and the kids.

Still, the saddest part is at times their efforts are overlooked, and they are never praised for the things they do. People assume these works as their duties and consider them to be a free servant. This outlook needs to change, and people should understand that she might even need some help in doing the works and she is not free labour, whatever she does is out of love and love only.

To conclude, women should be encouraged to do something out of the household works, and if they already want to work in offices to earn for themselves, no one should stop them. They are an individual identity who have full freedom of doing anything that they think is the best for them.

Short Essay on Role of Women in Society 150 words in English

In the modern world, women are progressing. The social and economic status of the women have soared to height, and they are no longer confined within the boundaries of the four walls. They are playing the roles of a working woman, an efficient homemaker, and a proud mother and daughter.

Earlier women were only associated with taking care of the household and babies. But nowadays, they are engaging in work fields to explore their inner talents and also to become independent and earn for themselves. They are one of the main reason behind the progress of the nation who makes our daily lives easy and the country proud.

10 Lines on Essay on Role of Women in Society in English

• A woman should be given equal opportunities economically and socially.
• They must be respected and never underestimated on the ground that they are women.
• Schooling should be made available for the girls in the rural area.
• Awareness must be spread on the topic of sanitary health and hygiene.
• Their choice and perspective must be looked upon on as they are great leaders.
• During the middle ages, the women’s position in the society became inferior as compared to men, and the condition of the women deteriorated.
• The women should be given freedom in whatever she does and should not be confined within four walls of the house.
• Women should be headstrong and believe in them. They must voice their option without any fear.
• People should start believing that motherhood is an option and the decision solely depends on a woman.
• We should remember the contribution of woman leaders and have a positive attitude towards woman controlling the government.

FAQ’s on Essay on Role of Women in Society

Question 1. Is there any importance of women’s perspective?

Answer: A woman does not only bring competition into the work field but also help in the collaboration of ideas and execute teamwork correctly. They help in bringing a perspective that values an open economy, modern, and social system.

Question 2. Name a few roles a woman plays in society and the family?

Answer: Some of the roles played by a woman in daily lives are as follows: a supportive daughter, wife, mother, an extraordinary co-worker who can manage a team very well, and many more. A woman has a versatile nature and is capable of doing everything a man can.

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Are you ready for change? Gender equality attitudes study 2019

Publication year: 2020.

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Discriminatory social norms lead to a wide range of persistent human rights violations and the systematic denial of women’s equal access to political participation, employment, education, and justice, while also gravely undermining women’s protection from all forms of discrimination and violence.

This study serves as an evidence-based instrument that demonstrates how leveraging attitudinal change can be used as a critical tactic towards advancing gender equality. The findings have the potential to inform policymakers, advertisers, private sector leaders, civil society, and decision-makers on challenging discriminatory attitudes and gender roles that perpetuate gender inequality and women’s subordinate status in society.

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Early Nineteenth Century Attitudes Toward Women and Their Roles as Represented By Literature Popular in Worcester, Massachusetts

by Elaine Fortin

Type Papers and Articles: OSV Research Paper

This paper will deal with the attitudes of the early nineteenth century toward women and their roles. The paper will examine these attitudes by utilizing primary sources such as newspapers and advice and housekeeping books and by comparing them to books written today on the topic of nineteenth century women. Many examples taken from period newspapers represent the opinion of historian Barbara Welter that attitudes of women were based on their possession of certain well?defined virtues. This paper will concentrate on the vitues of piety, purity, submissiveness and domesticity. This paper will also address the question of female education, as an issue of the period was whether a formal or practical education would accent these virtues and better prepare women for their stations in life. The attitudes represented are those of the working class. The locations concentrated on are small or medium sized towns such as Athol, Barre, Fitchburg, Millbury and Southbridge that are influenced by the city of Worcester. The sources represented are those available to the common man. They tend to exclude the feelings of the upper and lower classes.

Newspapers were written for the purpose of informing the community of world and national events. The varied topics suggests they catered to a diversified audience. Newspapers included stories about people in history, anecdotes which represented moral attitudes, sentimental poems and advertisements. The classifieds indicate that the audience was made up of both men and women. There were advertisements for boy apprentices and tailoresses, and manufacturers advertised everything from harnesses to bonnets. To afford these, the audience need not have had a large income nor have held a powerful position in the community. The advertisements represented items in which the average citizens might have an interest.

Magazines were published less frequently than newspapers and, therefore, one issue of a magazine printed quarterly would include the same amount of information found in twelve newspapers. Unlike the newspapers, which were distributed at the local level, magazines had a larger audience. This audience was national and represented people from different backgrounds and different experiences. Though topics discussed were the same as those in newspapers, magazines included articles from different points of view.

Books were written for a more selective audience. The books used in this paper were housekeeping and advice books. Interestingly enough, much advice was written on the topic of housekeeping. These books were expected to be read by women. One of the major topics of discussion was the most efficient utilization of a husband's income. If the books were for men as well, they would not have excluded the husband from advice on managing something of his wife's.

Novels were written as a form of entertainment for women. They were often sentimental, a characteristic attributed in the nineteenth century to women. In a single novel, the topics discussed were fewer than in other forms of literature. Novels presented a very limited view of the society in which they were written. The novel Live and Let Live, for example, discussed intemperance, piety, and the proper treatment of servants. It studied the lives of the lower and upper classes and did not deal with the middle classes who neither depended solely on their daughter's income, nor maintained servants enough to abuse. A novel's audience was smaller and more selective. It involved a conscious decision to purchase and read a single novel unlike receiving the weekly newspaper or the quarterly magazine. Diaries and journals were written with no audience in mind. They were personal records of progress in school, of harvests, of religious salvation and of individual thoughts. They represent personalized accounts of events. The same events might appear in a newspaper but they are far removed from the person who experienced them. Letters differed in that they intended to be read, but they were composed with a particular individual in mind. The topics and approaches may be specific and limited. For example, information about life, which would be obvious to persons living in the early nineteenth century, might be intentionally omitted for that reason. This is also the case in diaries and journals, which is why they are not concentrated on in this paper. Other sources have proven much too useful to condense them and include sources which provide only sketches of information. The opinions in this paper have developed from reading all these sources. These opinions are maintained because of the frequency with which the same attitudes were expressed by people of the period.

Carried into the specialized and industrialized communities of the nineteenth century, the eighteenth century agrarian view of women participating in the work close to the home while their husbands went into the fields, dominated. Traditionally, it was believed that women were essentially different in character from men. This was a convenient necessity because, it was maintained, they were here on earth for a different purpose than a man. Women were homemakers. They nourished their families and kept them safe from the cruel world. Husbands depended on their wives to maintain solace in their homes. In an article written for Freedom's Sentinel, the characteristics of the feminine mind were described as tenderness and simplicity, characteristics which made home life more amiable to the man who had to deal with the corrupt, complex world. Men were encouraged to trust a woman as a confident and a friend. Women expressed disappointment if they were not able to serve their husbands as mental, as well as physical, companions. "For if the character of women were thoroughly understood, they would be found too good to be hated and yet not good enough to be idolized."1 It was determined that the more virtuous women maintained a more stable home life.

"What virtues do you wish more of?"

Patience, Love, Silence, Obedience, Generosity, Perseverance, Industry, Respect, Self?denial.

"What vices less of?"

Idleness, Wilfulness, Vanity, Impatience, Imprudence, Pride, Selfishness, Activity, Love of cats.2

Piety was a valued asset in a woman. Piety brought her social advantages in the form of active participation in the community as a member of a church?affiliated charitable society. Such a useful, Christian position commanded the respect and praise of the community. Particpation in religion encouraged women's self?esteem.

The trend in the belief of feminine inferiority was halted as women effectively managed organizations not directly related to the family. To alleviate the fears of men that their wives were concentrating on issues unrelated to the family, piety did not keep a wife from her proper sphere. Meetings could be held in the home. Young children could be brought along the same way they would be when visiting friends. The lady of the house would demonstrate her domestic skills by cleaning the house before her guests arrived and by making sure they had something to accompany the tea which could be served during a meeting.

It was believed that a woman's gentler nature better suited her to piety and charity. The number of women that ministers found among their congregations was great. The obituary in June, 1835, of Mrs. Debby Thompson, the wife of the minister, cited the benefits of religion to women. The virtuous character of the deceased gave example of how religion could bring pleasure to the mind and be the controlling power over the conduct of life. Furthermore, other women could take example from Mrs. Thompson who did not regard the duties of domestic life as beneath the Christian notice of character and professed it was not inconsistent with her obligations to God and the Savior.

Women may have found peace from the corruption of the world through religion. It also provided an outlet for the personal trials which women were forced to confront from day to day. Men could use their job to take their mind off of trouble at home, but women's job was at home. The death of a child was one example of a woman's involvement with religion. Religion instructed to love God before all others. The mother was often torn between the belief that her piety had provided salvation for her child and the thought that a moment of impiety on her part may have invoked God's wrath.

Piety was not always good for all women. It had its dangers and disadvantages. "Mental derangement caused by religious excitement" was given as the cause of suicides among women.3 And men were not to be excluded from piety. An article in the National Aegis, from the Boston Centinel, examined how religion tended to form a manly character.

Women were expected to be pure and magazines provided sufficient fear of the dangers of impurity. But, only women were coached directly on remaining pure. Men were advised what to do to get back on the track once they had strayed. They were first advised about the importance of their desires and satisfaction. The fact that it was basic to educate a woman on keeping her husband's heart as pure as possible indicates that women expected a high rate of activity on the part of the man. A man of the period was expected to respect purity. If he made any overtures and a woman stopped him from violating her purity, he was expected to be grateful to her. The implication was that he would think much more of a woman who saved him from himself than he would of a woman who allowed him to ruin her purity. A woman's wisdom in these matters of delicacy was her means of influence over the nature of man.

Women, through religion and purity were helping others. Being self?sacrificing by nature, they could only damage their own character by asking more of themselves. Women were taught that to be true, they were required to submerge their own talents to work for their husbands. It was totally acceptable for a wife to complement her husband by paying lip service to him. One husband praised his wife for her "quick, womanly perception," when all she had done was agree with him.4

Women, it was supposed, had no reason not to be submissive, as their men would only give them the best. The Fitchburg Gazette of July 22, 1828, reported a tale of "Cruelty and Suicide" in which a young lady, long subject to the beatings of her father, in anticipation of another, committed suicide.

"But the treatment which she received at the hand of her father, we rejoice to believe, is as uncommon as it is outrageous." The tone implies that the young lady had fictionalized most of the danger, men rewarded submissive women. Submissive wives, who followed the, advice not to retort an abusive husband, received praise and were supposedly rewarded with a happy home and a faithful husband. Assertive women were bound to be punished for violating the natural order of the universe. The December 18, 1827 issue of the same paper ran a story called "The Mitten" in which a woman's vanity had precipitated her to respond negatively to a humble gentleman's advances. Later, he came into some money and the young lady was reduced to the station of governess of his children. Women were caught in the middle of a society where men complained that companionship was difficult with women because they had to treat them as little children, at the same time women were encouraged to act that way. Women were told that men only asked their opinions out of politeness and not out of a genuine interest in their conclusions. And their concern for the feelings of their husbands increased women's desire to submit.

"The World Corrupts, Home Should Refine," according to Mrs. William Parkes, author of Domestic Duties. This basic notion gave rise to the importance of the virtue of domesticity. This was the ability of women to make their homes refuges from the problems of the world. The focus of domesticity was on the wife and mother of the household. The only way to become a wife and mother was through marriage. Marriage was, therefore, the proper state in which to exercise domesticity.

Advisors warned women against marrying for the wrong reasons. They favored a sensible over a romantic choice. They felt the romantic choice would not satisfy the ideas of a young woman. This would lead to her unhappiness and her home would suffer as a result. If a woman chose a sensible partner, then her awareness of the responsibilities of marriage would not be clouded by romance and she would be better able to perform her duties as a wife.5

The wife's role was to complement her husband, reflecting credit on him and herself. A man took a wife to look after his affairs, and to prepare his children for their proper stations in life. It was a wife's duty to care for her husband's interests.6 To these ends, she was to be mistress of the family and run it well enough so that her husband would only enjoy it and could focus his attention on the matters of the world.7 As long as the household could be managed within the bounds of the husband's income by a woman who practiced and taught piety, purity and submissiveness, then "all [was] as it should be."8 Books devoted to housekeeping and cooking, made it perfectly clear that a woman's domain was her home and she was expected to have total charge of all within. If she was unfamiliar with family management, she was urged to consult the authorities.9

Men had pretty particular ideas about the qualifications of their wives. They had been trained since ancient times to look for specific examples of perfection. The January 10, 1832 issue of the Fitchburg Gazette included this poem to give prospective husbands an example of the prerequisites they might want to require:

"I'd have her reason, all her passions away??? "Easy in company—in private gay??? "Coy to a fop—to the deserving free??? "Still constant to herself, and true to me; "I'd have the expression of her thoughts be such "She should not seem reserv'd, not talk too much. "Her conduct regular—her mirth refined??? "Civil to strangers—to her neighbors kind."

If the spouse was not quite what was in mind prior to marriage, there was direction given to men on how to make a perfect wife after marriage.

Articles were just as specific about what a woman should look for in her husband. She was urged to avoid men who used profanity as these might corrupt the children. She was asked to avoid men who frequented taverns or were known as gamblers. Later, wives were advised on how to make men love marriage, and consequently, be good husbands. The Plebian and Millbury Workingman's Advocate ran an article entitled "Female Accomplishments" which emphasized that when a man married, he wanted a companion, not an artist. She should be someone to comfort and counsel, someone who is able to reason and reflect. This would insure that she could think on her own and would not have to bother her husband with petty problems. She should have the capacity to feel, judge, discourse and discriminate. She should be able to assist her husband in his affairs, lighten his cares, soothe his sorrows, strengthen his principles and educate his children.

The early life, it was believed, was the determining factor in the character of a child. Most of the child's early life was spent with its mother. It was important that she set a proper example. As mothers, women were endowed with the specialized task of raising a generation of Christian statesmen.10 Entrusted with such an important mission, public opinion tended to favor full?time mothering. Women in Montpelier, Vermont were reprimanded in the Fitchburg Gazette. The paper expressed curiosity as to how patriotic mothers managed "to get rid of their responsibility for a day of sentiment and song," in celebration of Independence Day in July, 1831. The paper presumed the women were negligent in their responsibilities as mothers. It was their patriotic duty to be with their children. The paper did not express preference to keeping the mothers at home or including the children in the celebration. In contrast, there was an article in which the author expressed annoyance that so many parents should bring their children to church. He found them distracting. Again, no solutions were suggested.11

Women were commended for their devotion to their families. A lawyer wrote in the Barre Gazette, in regard to women comforting their loved ones appearing in court, that shame, sorrow, degradation, contempt were all forgotten in the strength of a woman's love. This love extended beyond the living. Many could sympathize with the widow of DeWitt Clinton who "since the deep bereavement which has occurred to her, has sunk beneath the weight of her affliction, and has been in a situation of total mental alienation, insisting that he is not dead, but only sleeping, and imploring those around her to awaken him."12

The importance of domesticity incited a great debate over the issue of female education. For the most part, it was decided that females should receive some education, but many disagreed about the subjects to be included. Many believed a "finished" education took away from the practical knowledge required for housewives. Men feared that an emphasis on academics would take away from her domesticity and the home life would suffer. Many believed that the natural order of things was with women cooking and performing other household tasks. Fearing the possible upset of this order, men created a defense mechanism to keep women from venturing from the domestic sphere.

They became openly hostile agaist women's education. Hostility toward women's education was thwarted by convincing men that an educated wife could only be an asset to him. Marriage could be jeapodized by a wife who could not keep house.13 One who had been properly trained, would not keep her husband from his business because she could not manage a house. Women were encouraged to go to school in hopes of getting a good husband.14

Foreigners commented on American women as being well?read, good company as they were educated with the duties they would have to their husbands in mind.15 Roman women, they compared, were not so nearly allied with barbarianism, as to only know motherhood and wifery.16 Used as arguments in favor of female education, these statements suggest that few expected women to be solely wives and mothers and expected them to cultivate their own talents if their situation allowed. An article entitled "Female Education," from the North American Review, reported that evils happened in the uncultivated mind. This would explain the condition of Grecian females who owed their degradation to faulty education and seclusion from society.17

Many sources emphasized the need for female propriety???behavior.18 One interested party stated, "little things, are everything with females. As you have no opportunity to display an extraordinary intellect in public, provided heaven has endowed you with one, as sphere of action is limited to domestic fireside, and an estimate is formed of your character from the commonest appearances. Elegance and grace and polite conversation among friends as well as in front of strangers....If it were in my power to endow my daughter with only one of two faculties???taste or genius???I would for a female select good taste."19 Newspapers encouraged the practical education of women, citing the difficulty with which a child raised by an ignorant mother had adjusting.20 They also included advertisements for less practical and more academic subjects, but these were few and far between. In October, 1831, Miss E. Gardner began advertising for the Fitchburg Academy which would instruct young ladies in reading, writing, arithmetic, grammar, geography, history, natural philosophy drawing, painting, French and plain and ornamental needlework, if desired. Some found shortcomings in an academic education. Women were dangerously adicted to novels according to literature of the period. They would not have gotten this way if their education had not exposed them to the novels. Reading became a very dangerous pasttime in the case of "a young lady, a passenger in a Canal Boat between Schenectady and Amsterdam, New York, was instantly killed while the boat was passing under a low bridge, her head being dreadfully crushed between the timbers of the bridge, and a trunk on which she was leaning. She was intently engaged in reading a book at the time of the accident."21 An argument against the education of females might have found its way into this example.

It was the issue of education and the natural order of the universe which most brought out the question of feminine inferiority. Public opinion supported the notion that virtue, innocence and submissiveness were the positive attributes of womanhood. These virtues symbolized the order of nature which enlightened thinkers agreed reflected the structure of the mind. Taught in a tradition which, for their sex, emphasized sentimentality, women deliberately avoided reason. Those who argued against women's education shared the assumption that the feminine mind had only limited capabilities. People continued to evaluate the feminine intellect and its accomplishments by how directly they manifested the established female virtues.22

The examples in the sources followed a trend. There were certain written and understood laws governing the behavior of women. These were very strict and limiting on the women. And then there were the real actions. There were the husbands who asked their wives' opinion even though some members of society thought it shortsighted and useless. And there were the wives who wanted the mental, as well as physical, relationship with their husbands that society said they were not qualified to receive.

Attitudes were harshly defined, but the roles performed were based on the practicality of performing them. For example, women were forced to remain at home because their husbands were expected to go out into the world, and someone had to manage the house and care for the children. If attitudes had allowed women to work outside the home, their roles may have been different, but they would still have been based on the practicality of their actions.

These conclusions, and any represented in the text, have been the result of comparisons and interpretations of the different sources involved. Some attitudes, for example, recurred in different sources and agreed with what has been written about the period. It is these opinions which this paper represents.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

"American Women," from NY Mirror, Fitchburg Gazette, Fitchburg, MA, December 11, 1832.

"A Victim of Fanacticism," Freedom's Sentinel, Athol, MA, January 8, 1828.

"A Wife," Fitchburg Gazette, Fitchburg, MA, January 10, 1832.

Barre Gazette, Barre, MA, June 5, 1835. Conrad, Susan P., Perish the Thought, Oxford University Press, NY, 1976.

Cott, Nancy, The Bonds of Womanhood.

"Cruelty and Suicide," Fitchburg Gazette, Fitchburg, MA, July 22, 1828.

"Economy in a Family," National Aegis, Worcester, MA, July 21, 1830 (appeared as "Family Economy," Barre Gazette, Barre, MA, February 12, 1836).

The Experienced American Housekeeper, Johnstone and Van Norden, NY, 1823.

"Female Education," from North American Review, Freedom's Sentinel, Athol, MA, October 14, 1828.

Fitchburg Gazette, Fitchburg, MA, July 19, August 2, September 13, 1831.

Freedom's Sentinel, Athol, MA, March 4, 1828.

"Grecian Females," from Hughes' Travels in Greece, National Aegis, Worcester, MA, November 24, 1830.

Henderson, W.A., Modern Domestic Cookery, Isaac Tompkins, Boston, 1847.

Ladies Magazine, L.A. Godey, Philadelphia, 1831, 1832.

Lerner, Gerda, The Female Experience, The Bobbs?Merrill Company, Inc., Indianapolis, 1977.

"Letters From a Father to His Daughter," from the Portland (ME) Advertiser, National Aegis, Worcester, MA, November 17, 1830.

"The Mitten," Fitchburg Gazette, Fitchburg, MA, December 18, 1827.

National Aegis, Worcester, MA, June 16, 1830.

"Obituary," Barre Gazette, Barre, MA, June 5, 1835.

Parkes, Mrs. William, Domestic Duties, J. and J. Harper, NY, 1829.

"Religion Tending to Form a Manly Character," from the Boston Centinel, National Aegis, Worcester, MA, December 29, 1830.

"The Roman Women," Freedom's Sentinel, Athol, Ma, February 12, 1828.

"School for Young Ladies," Fitchburg Gazette, Fitchburg, MA, October 18, 1831.

"Suicide," from the Pittsfield Sun, Fitchburg Gazette, Fitchburg, MA, July 19, 1831.

Village Courier, Southbridge, MA.

Welter, Barbara, Dimity Convictions: The American Woman in the 19th Century, Ohio University Press, Athens, 1976. "Woman," Barre Gazette, Barre, MA, April 15, 1836.

"Woman," written for Freedom's Sentinel, Athol, MA, June 24, 1828.

"Young Children at Church," Fitchburg Gazette, Fitchburg, MA, October 25, 1831.

1. National Aegis, Worcester, MA, June 16, 1830.

2. Alcott, Louisa May., "Training the Girl to Patience," The Female Experience, Gerda Lerner, The Bobbs?Merrill Company, Inc., Indianapolis, 1977.

3. "Suicide," from the Pittsfield Sun, Fitchburg Gazette, Fitchburg, MA, July 19, 1831.

4. Welter, Barbara, Dimity Convictions; The American Woman in the 19th Century, Ohio University Press, Athens, 1976.

6. "Economy in a Family," National Aegis, Worcester, MA, July 21, 1830 (appeared as "Family Economy," Barre Gazette, Barre, MA, February 12, 1836).

7. The Experienced American Housekeeper, Johnstone and Van Norden, NY, 1823.

8. Henderson, W.A., Modern Domestic Cookery, Isaac Tompkins, Boston, 1847.

9. The Experienced American Housekeeper.

10. Welter.

11. "Young Children at Church," Fitchburg Gazette, Fitchburg, MA, October 25, 1831.

12. Freedom's Sentinel, Athol, MA, March 4, 1828.

13. Welter.

14. Cott, Nancy, The Bonds of Womanhood.

15. "American Women," from NY Mirror, Fitchburg Gazette, Fitchburg, MA, December 11, 1832.

16. "The Roman Women," Freedom's Sentinel, Athol, MA, February 12, 1828.

17. "Grecian Females," from Hughes' Travels in Greece, National Aegis, Worcester, MA, November 24, 1830.

18. Fitchburg Gazette, Fitchburg, MA, September 13, 1831.

19. "Letters From a Father to His Daughter," from the Portland (ME) Advertiser, National Aegis, Worcester, MA, November 17, 1830.

20. Fitchburg Gazette, Fitchburg, MA, August 2, 1831.

21. Barre Gazette, Barre, MA, June 5, 1835.

22. Conrad, Susan P., Perish the Thought, Oxford University Press, NY, 1976.

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The ‘Tale of Filippa’ illustrates new attitudes towards women in Italian society. For example, women became more empowered than before. They are the center of attraction, with calls from all sections of society to promote gender equality. Women now have control of situations in their life, and they make independent sexual choices.

Evolution Of Attitudes Towards Women in Italy

Women are seen as unpredictable in modern society. They may be interested or not interested in something. They may love to take, or love to give. They can be self-centered as well as generous. They do not have a perfected way of thinking or behaving. Women can be a source of suffering or happiness. They can easily accept situations as Monna Giovanna and Filippa did. However, it may sometimes be difficult to accept reality. A woman may behave differently in the same circumstances. She can also behave the same in different circumstances. Men, therefore, have to use their instincts to understand them. They have to accept women for what they are.

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In Italian society, women are seen to be influenced by their own choices. They have changed from being influenced by male dominance. This was the tradition many years ago, as evident from the ‘Tale of Filippa’. They make love as a playful experience, trying to get the best from their relationship. Boccaccio illustrates that love either ends with a permanent tie called marriage or with tragedy. This may not necessarily be true. However, since women can easily become interested or uninterested in their love affairs, such relationships may have or lack direction. Women are viewed as taking everything as either a delightful or serious experience. Therefore, they may just pursue happiness and enjoyment, or they may look for a focused relationship. However, women can pursue both and will sometimes give mixed reactions to what they want (Heffernan).

Boccaccio’s illustration of women’s tendency to love many men reflects a certain type of attitude towards women in Italian society. Their characteristic of being rather changeable affirms this assumption. They tend to be adventurous. Boccaccio’s illustration of immorality as being a consequence of freedom of choice can be related to such assumptions even today. In Italian society, women do not betray their husbands because there is a change of heart and mind. Rather, they reject a conventional bond that is not meaningful to them. This meaning is related to matters of the heart and, thereby, of their senses. Marriage is also born out of free choice, and it is the logical crowning of love. However, it could lead to disaster if it is imposed upon individuals. Marriage could be ended if there is no reciprocity in it. Women are generally accepted to return favors. They are also expected to grant favors. They can adjust quickly. For example, the way Emilia casually settled for a festive wedding with Palemon reveals an overcapacity in adjustment circumstances. This is as opposed to what it was compared to in earlier thinking: chronic and criminal immorality.

In Italian society, women are believed to indulge in bold adventures so that they can be happy. They, therefore, risk much and get much in return. For those who are nervous, love is not their business. They usually have absolute ideals for institutions such as marriage. Women are not treated hypocritically in Italian society. For example, in the ‘Tale of Filippa’, Madonna Filipa knows what she wants and she always tries to achieve her set goal (Franco).

Boccaccio’s Decameron illustrates attitudes towards women in Italian society. Women have been empowered, and they make independent choices. They are no longer influenced by male dominance. They are unpredictable and may sometimes have problems facing reality. They pursue enjoyment and happiness in everything they do. In addition, women are viewed as adventurous and not hypocritical. They know what they want and they take pains to achieve it.

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Attitudes Toward Women and the Influence of Gender on Political Decision Making  

Historically, gendered attitudes toward women effectively excluded women from political participation, silencing women’s policy preferences and public opinion, and preventing them from contributing to political institutions. American women supporting the abolition of slavery attended the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London in ... ...

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Tracking attitudes on gender equality

Is there bias against equality? Are we seeing a backlash across countries?

Carolina Rivera

Policy & research analyst.

Gender inequalities are rooted in traditional discriminatory social norms and power imbalances that are perpetuated throughout the life cycle and passed from one generation to another. These norms restrict women’s behaviour and the prospects of reaching their full potential at home, at work and in civic life. According to the recent Gender Social Norms Index from the Human Development Report Office of UNDP, nine out of ten people around the globe are biased against gender equality. And attitudes towards equality are becoming less supportive in some countries over time.

While there has been some progress on gender equality in basic areas that support women’s rights, such as enrolment in primary education, participation in the economy or the ability to vote, women have taken to the streets in recent years to voice their continuing social discontent. The #MeToo movement has revealed abuse all around the world, while the #IWillGoOut movement has demanded equal rights for women in public spaces in India. In Latin America, the #NiUnaMenos movement has shed light on femicide and violence against women from Argentina to Mexico. Women’s voices are shouting in unison to demand gender equality.

Inspired by these demands, UNDP has created a new measure to go beyond traditional gender statistics and uncover a new generation of challenges to gender equality. The GSNI aims to measure the biases that people – both men and women – have in relation to areas that affect gender equality and women’s empowerment. The GSNI is a major step towards providing a sense of the biases and backlash against gender equality that still exist in all societies today. It is a powerful advocacy tool, shedding light on the need to address discriminatory social norms and power imbalances, tackle gender inequalities, and to ensure these gains are sustained in the long term.

To build the GSNI, UNDP used data from the World Values Survey wave 5 (2005–2009) and wave 6 (2010–2014). Subsequent waves are planned every five years, while data collection for wave 7 is in progress. UNDP plans to continue updating the GSNI, although this will depend on the continuity of the questions used by the index.

The 2020 GSNI shows widespread biases in gender social norms, both in men and women, for 75 countries. It also includes trends over time for 31 countries. It reveals that some 91% of men – and 86% of women – showed some form of clear bias against gender equality in the areas of politics, economics, education, and physical integrity (freedom from violence and reproductive autonomy). In other words, only 14% of women and 9% of men do not display any gender bias.

The index also shows greater bias against gender equality in the areas that present the strongest challenges to current power relations (Figure 1). In politics, for example, as it can be observed in the left panel, women and met vote in elections at similar rates (basic), but as we go up the ladder towards positions with higher responsibility and empowerment (enhanced) the gender gap is wider. The evidence is consistent with the bias: 50% of men and women think that men make better political leaders, only 10 out of 193 heads of government are women, and less than a quarter of parliamentary seats worldwide are held by women.

Figure 1.The greater the empowerment, the wider the gender gap

An even more alarming finding is that, despite decades of progress in advancing women’s rights, bias against gender equality is increasing in some countries, with evidence of a backlash in attitudes among both men and women. The share of both women and men worldwide who hold moderate to intense gender biases grew between 2005 to 2009 and 2010 to 2014 by 3% for women and 1% for men. Beyond these averages, we can also see statistically significant changes within countries, where Sweden and India show the greatest deterioration in attitudes while countries like Chile and Australia display improvements.

This evidence tallies with more traditional statistics of gender equality and women’s empowerment, as might be expected. In countries with higher biases, for example, overall inequality is higher. Similarly, women in countries with higher biases spend a higher proportion of their time on unpaid domestic chores and care work. When women bear a heavy burden of such unpaid work, the impact is felt in the labour-force participation that could promote their financial independence and resilience to shocks, and reflects power imbalances at household level.

Many women face tragic choices as they struggle to balance care-work responsibilities with paid work, and sometimes choose jobs well below their skill level. Others, depending on the intensity of deeply rooted behaviours and attitudes in their households, never even have the option to choose to participate in the labour market. Such examples expose the influence of traditional gender norms on gender equality and power balances.

It is critical to generate new measures and statistics, such as the GSNI, that make biases and attitudes towards gender equality visible to better inform norm aware policies, to target social norms directly and change unequal power relationships. Tackling biases could be a game changer in the journey towards gender equality, because this isn’t just a gender gap, it’s a power gap.

This article originally appeared in ALiGN .

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About a quarter of Indians (23%) say there is “a lot of discrimination” against women in their country. And 16% of Indian women reported that they personally had faced discrimination because of their gender in the 12 months before the 2019-2020 survey.

In addition, three-quarters of adults see violence against women as a very big problem in Indian society. To improve women’s safety, about half of Indian adults (51%) say it is more important to teach boys to “respect all women” than to teach girls to “behave appropriately.” But roughly a quarter of Indians (26%) take the opposite position, effectively placing the onus for violence against women on women themselves.

On the whole, however, Indians seem to share an egalitarian vision of women’s place in society. Eight-in-ten people surveyed – including 81% of Hindus and 76% of Muslims – say it is very important for women to have the same rights as men. Indians also broadly accept women as political leaders, with a majority saying that women and men make equally good political leaders (55%) or that women generally make better leaders than men do (14%).

Yet these views exist alongside a preference for traditional economic roles. Indians generally agree that when there are few jobs available, men should have more rights to a job than women (80%), including 56% who completely agree with this statement. Majorities of both men and women share this view, though men are somewhat more inclined to take this position.

Most Indian women do not perceive widespread discrimination against women in India

Roughly a quarter of Indians (23%) say there is “a lot of discrimination” against women in India today. (Respondents were given two options; they could either say there is a lot of discrimination against women, or there is not a lot of discrimination.) Christians are the religious community most likely to perceive widespread discrimination against women in India (30%).

Indian women are only slightly more likely than Indian men to say there is a lot of discrimination against women in the country (24% vs. 22%, respectively). In general, views on gender discrimination do not differ much – if at all – between respondents of different ages or education levels.

While most Indians do not perceive a lot of gender discrimination in their country, Indians are modestly more likely to say there is a lot of discrimination against women than to say the same about discrimination against religious groups or lower castes .

Indians in different regions have very different perceptions of how much discrimination women face. In general, respondents in the South are more likely than those in the Hindi Belt  to feel there is a lot of discrimination against women in India today. For example, in the Southern states of Telangana and Tamil Nadu, more than a third of adults say there is a lot of discrimination against women (44% and 39%, respectively). By contrast, in the Hindi Belt states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, only 6% of respondents say this is the case. As Pew Research Center previously has reported, South Indians also are more likely than Indians in the Hindi Belt to perceive a lot of discrimination against Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

The Northeastern state of Assam stands out, with 52% of respondents reporting widespread gender discrimination. This mirrors the broader pattern of respondents in the Northeast being among the most likely to say there is a lot of discrimination in India against people from various religious groups and from lower castes . But in general, the majority of Indians in most states and union territories say there is not a lot of discrimination against women.

Most Indian women say they have not recently experienced gender discrimination

Fewer than one-in-five Indian women (16%) said they had personally felt discriminated against in the 12 months before the 2019-2020 survey because of their gender. And women were only slightly more likely than men to say they had experienced gender discrimination in the past year (16% vs. 14%, respectively).

Christians – despite being the most likely religious group to say there is a lot of discrimination against women in India – had the lowest rate of women personally reporting discrimination because of their gender (9%).

Across India, women in different age groups and with different levels of education reported experiences with gender discrimination at roughly similar rates. However, women who had faced recent financial difficulties (those who said they had not been able to afford food, housing or medical care for themselves or their families in the last year) were twice as likely as those who had not recently faced such financial difficulties to report that they personally had experienced gender discrimination in the past year (22% vs. 11%).

Survey respondents’ personal experiences with gender discrimination also varied across the country. On the upper bound, women in Jammu and Kashmir and in Assam reported the highest levels of personal gender discrimination in the past year (35% and 32%, respectively), while women from Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh were among the least likely to say they personally had faced discrimination because of their gender (7% and 6%, respectively).

Indians favor teaching boys respect as a way to improve women’s safety

Amidst India’s ongoing problem with violence against women , the survey asked respondents whether, to improve the safety of women in their community, it is more important to teach boys to respect all women or to teach girls to behave appropriately.

About half of Indians (51%) say it is more important to teach boys to respect all women, while roughly a quarter (26%) say it is more important to teach girls to behave appropriately. Others offer a variety of additional responses, such as that teaching both things is important or that it depends on the situation (13%); that improving law and order or policing is the most important way to protect women’s safety (7%); or that women are already safe (2%). A very small share (2%) did not offer a response to the question.

Women are somewhat more likely than men to say that teaching boys to respect all women is the most important way to improve women’s safety (53% vs. 48%).

Within all of India’s major religious communities, the most common response is “to teach boys to respect all women.” However, while Christians and Sikhs are somewhat less likely than other groups to say this, they are more likely than people in other religious groups to say that both kinds of teaching are important or that the right approach depends on the situation.

While opinion does not vary substantially among Indians of different ages or educational backgrounds, a sizeable gap does emerge around religious commitment. Indians who say religion is very important in their lives are more likely than others to say that teaching boys to respect all women is crucial to improving the safety of women (52% vs. 43%).

Opinions on the best way to improve women’s safety vary considerably across India. For instance, 63% of Rajasthan residents say it is more important to teach boys to respect all women, compared with 40% of people in West Bengal.

In the South, people in neighboring states have differing views. Only about a third of Tamil Nadu residents would prioritize teaching boys to respect all women (34%), compared with over half of Andhra Pradesh locals (56%).

Most Indians say it is very important that women have same rights as men

Most Indian adults (80%) say that, in general, it is very important for women to have the same rights as men, with solid majorities of all major religious groups sharing this view. Buddhists are especially likely to say gender equality is very important (91%), while Muslims and Christians are somewhat less likely than members of India’s other major religious communities to express this sentiment (76% and 70%, respectively).

Nationally, women, younger Indians (ages 18 to 34), and college graduates are slightly more likely than others to say it is very important for women to have the same rights as men.

Overall, Indians with high levels of religious commitment – i.e., those who say religion is very important in their lives – are more likely than other Indians to believe that gender equality is very important (83% vs. 65%). And those with a favorable view of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are modestly more likely than others to endorse equal rights for women (83% vs. 76%).

Broadly, Indians in the South are somewhat less likely than those elsewhere to say it is very important for women to have the same rights as men. For example, while 80% of Indian adults overall think gender equality is very important, smaller shares in Kerala (72%), Telangana (71%) and Andhra Pradesh (66%) take this position. Still, large majorities across Indian states and union territories share this sentiment.

Most Indians believe women to be equally good political leaders as men

India has a long history of women holding political power, from the 1966 election of Indira Gandhi, one of the world’s first woman prime ministers , to other well-known figures, such as Jayalalitha , Mamata Banerjee and Sushma Swaraj .

The survey results reflect this comfort with women in politics. Overall, a small majority of respondents express the opinion that, in general, women and men make equally good political leaders (55%). Some Indians (14%) even say women tend to make better political leaders than men. Only a quarter of Indians say that men generally make better political leaders than women.

Modest differences by gender exist. Men are more likely than women to believe men are superior politicians (29% vs. 21%, respectively), while women are slightly more likely to favor the abilities of women leaders (16% vs. 13%).

Younger Indian adults (ages 18 to 34) and college graduates are somewhat more likely than their elders and those with less formal education to say women and men make equally good political leaders.

Views on gender and political leadership differ substantially across Indian states. In a handful of states, about a third or more of the population says that men generally make better political leaders than women, including a slim majority in Himachal Pradesh (54%).

By contrast, only about one-in-eight adults in the East Indian state of Odisha (12%) say men make better political leaders. In Odisha and several other states, solid majorities say women and men make equally good political leaders.

In a few states – including the three Southern states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu – roughly one-in-five or more people surveyed say women generally make better political leaders than men.

Most men and women think men should be given hiring preference when there are few jobs

While a majority of Indians express openness to women political leaders and endorse equal rights for women, the vast majority of the population (80%) agrees with the idea that “when there are few jobs, men should have more rights to a job than women,” including 56% who completely agree with that statement. Most Indian women as well as men express total agreement with this statement, though men are somewhat more likely to do so (59% of men vs. 54% of women).

Although the survey was conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic , this question may have become even more relevant because women in India have disproportionately suffered from long-term job losses amidst the pandemic’s economic fallout.

Opinion varies by religious group. Nearly two-thirds of Muslims (64%) completely agree that men should get preference for jobs over women, compared with roughly a third of Christians (34%) who take the same view.

Highly religious Indians are especially likely to fully agree that limited jobs should go to men: Six-in-ten Indians who consider religion very important in their lives say this, compared with about four-in-ten Indians for whom religion is less important (38%).

College graduates are somewhat less inclined than others to completely agree that men should have more rights to a job when employment opportunities are scarce (49% vs. 57%).

People in some Southern states are among the least likely to completely agree that men should have more rights to limited jobs than women. Fewer than half of respondents in Karnataka (45%), Andhra Pradesh (41%), Telangana (41%) and Kerala (28%) hold this view.

At the same time, a majority of residents in the Southern state of Tamil Nadu (60%) fully agree that when there are few jobs, men should be given preference in hiring. This view also is prevalent in most Hindi Belt states, such as Uttar Pradesh (69%), Haryana (67%) and Madhya Pradesh (66%). And in Himachal Pradesh, nine-in-ten respondents express total agreement with this notion.

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Primary Source on Women’s Voting Rights Essay

• To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
• As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
• As a template for you assignment

Introduction

Like any massive social confrontation, the struggle for the right to vote for women had opponents and proponents. Most often, such movement as suffrage has its leaders that encourage the people and express the general opinion. However, even famous people and politicians who advocated democratic rights in society expressed their negative opinion against the suffrage movement. The article “Discriminating Against Mother,” published in the Tulsa Daily World in 1918, presents comments from politicians and churchmen, which reflect the attitude of a large part of society towards women’s suffrage.

The article does not have a specific author as it is a collection of quotes from famous personalities of that time. However, the editor of this page has the role of a coordinator who sets the message’s overall mood. For example, in addition to the direct quotes, the newspaper contains questions in large font and offensive answers to them in smaller font, which are, in fact, a form of conveying opinion. For instance, “Who Profits Under Women Suffrage? – Not the Mother, nor the state, but those corrupt political influences which manipulate the controlled vote” (Tulsa Daily World 1918). In this way, the editor wants to influence readers and convince them of the harmfulness of suffrage. Moreover, the phrase “Protect the Family and Vote ‘NO’ on the Women Suffrage Amendment” occupies a significant portion of the page. () This phrase confirms the theme of the article, which is propaganda against allowing women to vote.

One can see only the article’s general point of view, since it does not have a specific author. However, it is clear and pronounced because all quotes from famous people and mentioned facts are directed against suffrage and its female representatives. For example, Bishop H. Vincent said about suffrage, “The instinct of motherhood is against it. The basic conviction of our best manhood is against it” (Tulsa Daily World 1918). Other famous people express similar ideas, such as Jefferson, Taft, Ruth, Cardinal Gibbons, and Rebbe Silverman (Tulsa Daily World 1918). The primary audience is white men, since only they had the right to vote and could decide women’s fate in a matter of voting rights.

The combination of statements that degrade the image of suffragettes and suffrage and quotes of leaders’ opinions is a way for the editor to influence the audience. This article is anti-suffrage propaganda, and authoritative statement must support false claims. Another way to get attention is the usage of large types for questions and the main message that grabs the reader’s attention. Thus, the newspaper’s appearance and its content are the editor’s ways of getting the reader.

This primary source reflects the features of the historical period of women’s struggle for their rights. For years, women have pushed for state and national consideration of the amendment to give them the right to vote. Even though in 1918, many men took the side of women, since some states’ government allowed women to vote, there was still strong resistance to the movement (Schuessler 2019). For this reason, one may note that a given source characterizes the time at which it was created. However, I disagree with the ideas that this article carries as it does not subject the suffrage movement to constructive criticism but mainly to biased opinions. For example, a statement that giving women the right to vote can harm government policy or that mothers do not have time to because they are too busy with children (Tulsa Daily World 1918). These facts are lies or manipulations of facts that are obvious to modern humans, but they may have had an impact in the past.

Therefore, this source is trustworthy as it reflects historical trends; however, the ideas stated in it are biased and not truthful. The article quotes the words of famous people, which are true, or at least coincide with their authors’ views. For example, Thomas Jefferson, one of the founders of the Constitution, believed that the duty of women is to take care of children, so they do not need political rights, which is generally reflected in the text of the Constitution (Hulen n.d.). For this reason, I believe that the source can be trusted. However, this fact does not eliminate the article’s bias, in which women’s suffrage is defined as harm to society, government policies, and women themselves. Therefore, I think that this article is not truthful, although its creators could have thought otherwise, since they were guided by a preconceived opinion against women’s suffrage.

In conclusion, the anti-suffrage article “Discriminating Against Mother,” published in the Tulsa Daily World , is an example of a reliable source. However, although quotes and ideas correspond to the reality of that time, they only reflect a part of reality that cannot be studied without a historical context. This article demonstrates the preconceived notions of women’s suffrage opponents and the false arguments they used against it. However, one can see that the given source is appropriate and logical for the climax of the suffrage movement, which had both supporters and opponents. Therefore, this article is biased but suitable for examining the history of women’s struggles for voting rights.

Hulen, Tara. n.d. “Thomas Jefferson’s Gender Revolution.” UAB Magazine. Web.

Schuessler, Jennifer. 2019. “The Complex History of the Women’s Suffrage Movement.” The New York Times, 2019. Web.

Tulsa Daily World . 1918. “Discriminating Against Mother” 1918. Web.

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IvyPanda. (2022, February 25). Primary Source on Women’s Voting Rights. https://ivypanda.com/essays/primary-source-on-womens-voting-rights/

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IvyPanda . (2022) 'Primary Source on Women’s Voting Rights'. 25 February.

IvyPanda . 2022. "Primary Source on Women’s Voting Rights." February 25, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/primary-source-on-womens-voting-rights/.

1. IvyPanda . "Primary Source on Women’s Voting Rights." February 25, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/primary-source-on-womens-voting-rights/.

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Example Of Attitudes Towards Women Essay

Type of paper: Essay

Topic: Women , Society , Family , Democracy , Literature , Love , Belief , Wife

Words: 1100

Published: 02/01/2020

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Introduction

It is a known fact that throughout the history of humanity, members of the female gender have been facing an uphill battle fighting for equality in a world that has largely been dominated by men. Cases of women discrimination and abuse were very rampant in the olden days and it is only until recently that the society has started to give attention to the equality aspect. However, the equality has not been fully achieved and the assertion that the male race is the superior race continues to thrive. The articles by Judy Brady and Maxine Hong Kingston are testaments of the negative attitude that the society has against women. In addition, the two articles highlight the enormous load of unrealistic expectations that are placed on women every day. Brady’s article, I Want a Wife is a reflection of a person who wants to a new wife and is thinking of the specific qualities and character traits that the potential bride is expected to possess. The article opens in a sarcastic tone where she states that although she is both a wife and a mother, the two aspects are not altogether entirely related. She talks of her male friend who recently went through and is currently looking for a new wife. As she reflects on the role of women in the society, she comes to terms with the load of expectations that the society has on women. It emerges that men expects women to be jacks of all trades and possess a humongous load of qualities that will in fact be only beneficial to men. There is an expectation of a woman to be financially endowed and she is supposed to use these finances to cater for the man’s needs including his further education. At the same time the woman is expected to be a homemaker. This means that she should take care of all household chores and duties including the children, keeping the house tidy, washing clothes and utensils and so on. In addition, she is also expected to hold a job although she should be ready to sacrifice some aspects of her job and prioritize on family matters. The one thing that emanates from all this is that the woman is simply viewed as an object that can easily be played with by members of the male gender. The wife is expected to take care of her man even when she herself is currently engaged in other duties. For example, when her man falls sick, she is expected to stop whatever she is doing and take care of her man by sympathizing g with him about his condition. Brady further states that the woman is essentially expected to be the glue that holds the man and his social life together. For example, when the man makes new friends and invites them over for a meal, it is indeed the woman who is expected to fully entertain the guests and make them feel at home. The woman is in addition supposed to give some personal time to the man whenever he needs it. In addition to all these roles, the woman is also expected to satisfy her man’s physical needs including sexual ones. This means that she should be ready to make love whenever the man desires it and should also ask also not for sex when the man is disinterested. Moreover, the role of birth control lie primarily with the woman .Another interesting thing is that the woman is supposed to understand that the sexual desires of a man may prompt him to engage in sexual activities outside his marriage. The woman is expected to take all this in good faith.The author of the article states that the woman should be ready to pack her bags and move on when the man eventually a better replacement. The sentiments expressed by Maxine Hong Kingston in No Name Woman are complementary to those in I Want a Wife those of by Judy Brady. The discriminatory attitude directed towards women by the society is given emphasis in this article. The author uses a narrative form to show the audacious and heinous acts that are directed towards women simply because they are considered to be inferior to the male gender. Women are expected to completely abide by men’s stipulations. The author uses an example of an aunt back in her native land in China. In this specific culture, the role of women bears a very strong resemblance to that of slaves. Just like the in the article by Brady, the women are not essentially supposed to have any kind of personal opinion, wants or thoughts. The societies views a woman’s life goal as to get married to a man that is prosperous and then serve him for the rest of her life. Since the women are viewed as objects, they go to great lengths to turn into the perfect objects in deed. They endeavor to look perfect with the hope that they will attract a very wealthy male. The woman is expected to maintain the love of her husband by working constantly striving to improve their self image, for example every woman was supposed to pull up her hair tightly using a bus. Another aspect is that the women were supposed to walk in an erect manner with straight knees. Committing adultery or having a child outside wedlock are acts that are completely unforgivable. Engagement in such acts results in severe consequences from the society. The author was told a story by her mother about an aunt who violated these established society norms and thus suffered severe consequences, the ultimate one being death. This can be compared to the views of the author in I Want a Wife where the men are allowed to seek sexual favors outside their marriage framework while such actions in women are completely outlawed. The women are also considered weak and are therefore exposed to certain types of jobs that are considered to be masculine. They receive the treatment of a slave at home while their husbands are at work in companies or industries. Their opinion is absolutely not taken into account when it comes to family decisions even when a situation or a crisis that requires a meeting of minds arises.

Works Cited

Brady, Judy. I want A Wife. Harper Collins Customers Books.1993 Write Work contributors. "“No Name Woman” Maxine Kingston's memoir, The Woman Warrior describes" WriteWork.com. WriteWork.com, 01 February, 2008. Web. 17 Apr. 2013

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