Social and Psychological Differences

As the previous section outlined, some gender differences are attributable to biology. However, there are a number of gender differences that vary by society and/or culture, indicating they are social constructions. For example, in work group situations in the U.S., men tend to focus on the task at hand whereas women tend to focus more on personal relationships.^[64] Women in the U.S. also tend to express more empathy and emotion than do men in social situations. Both of these differences in behavior vary by culture and are therefore believed to be socially constructed. Two detailed examples of socially constructed gender differences are presented below: workforce differences and education.

Work and Occupations

An often discussed and debated difference between men and women involves work and occupations. Women's participation in the workforce has varied significantly over time. Prior to the development of capitalism and factory-type work, women played a significant role in food production and household maintenance. With the advent of capitalism and labor outside of the home, women continued to play a significant role, though their participation in paid labor outside the home initially diminished. Also, women's participation in the labor force varied (and varies) depending on marital status and social class.

Current U.S. labor force statistics illustrate women's changing role in the labor force. For instance, since 1971, women's participation in the labor force has grown from 32 million (43.4% of the female population 16 and over) to 68 million (59.2% of the female population 16 and over).[65] Women also make, on average, $17,000 less than do men.[66] Women tend to be concentrated in less prestigious and lower paying occupations ^[67] that are traditionally considered women's jobs (also referred to as pink collar jobs).[68] Finally, women are not paid the same wages as men for similar work. This difference is often illustrated as a ratio, as shown in the graph below. Women tend to make between 75% and 91% of what men make for comparable work, though it depends on how the comparison is made. For instance, college educated women between 26 and 45 earned 74.7 cents in hourly pay for every dollar men in the same group made in 2005.^[69] However, if you compare women and men with similar profiles and qualifications, the gap is smaller: women make about 91% of what men make, at least they have since the 1980s.^[70] In the 1970s, similarly qualified women made only 82% as much as their male counterparts.

Ratio of Women's Earnings to Men's Earnings by Earnings Precentile: 1999

The gap between men's and women's wages narrowed during the 1980s and mid 1990s, but that momentum has fallen off and the distance now appears to have stagnated.^[71] The gap in income between genders used to be similar between middle-class and affluent workers, but it is now widest among the most highly paid. A woman making in the 95th percentile in 2006 would earn about $95,000 per year; a man in the 95th earning percentile would make about $115,000, a 28% difference (and that's not including the highest earners, who are predominantly men).^[72] Reasons for disparity in pay are discussed in more detail below.

Education

Another often studied difference between men and women is educational attainment. For a long time, higher education (undergraduate and graduate education) was an exclusively male bastion. Women did eventually gain access to institutions of higher learning, but parity or equality on a number of levels has still not been achieved. One measure of educational attainment where women have made great inroads is in college attendance. In 1960, 37.9% of female high school graduates enrolled in college, compared with 54.0% of male high school graduates. In 2002, more female high school graduates were enrolling in college than males, 68.4% of females vs. 62.1% males.[73] Women have, in fact, made significant progress in this respect. Women now earn more Bachelors and Masters degrees than do men and they earn almost as many PhDs.[74] Women have made significant inroads into some of the traditionally most prestiges professions as well: 40% of medical school graduates are women and women make up large percentages of law school students as well.^[75].

Despite the progress, there are still problems. While women are entering college at higher rates and even earning more degrees, the degrees are in less prestigious areas (e.g., social sciences and humanities compared to physical sciences) and women with degrees still earn less than do men with comparable degrees.^[76] For instance, in medicine, women tend to concentrate in lower paying specialties (e.g., dermatology and family medicine). The the highest paid specialties are dominated by men and will be for decades to come, based on the pipeline of residents: 28% of radiology residents in 2004-5 were women, and only 10% of orthopedic surgery residents were.^[77]