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Gendered Division OF Labour

Gendered Division OF Labour
Course

Sociology (NR1203)

136 Documents
Students shared 136 documents in this course
Academic year: 2021/2022
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Sikkim Manipal University

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GENDERED DIVISION OF LABOUR

The division of labour can be defined as the organisation of work into specialised roles, which entails the division of a work process into multiple components, each of which is performed by a distinct individual or group of individuals (Mitchell 1968). The Division of Labor or work process may be classified according to age, sex, class, or race, and it exists in almost every society. The most fundamental division of labour appears to be based on sexual orientation or gender (Haralambos 1980). Gender division of labour refers to how work is organized/allocated between men and women. It can be defined as a social perception of what occupations are 'natural' for a particular sex. Women are subordinate in the family and society due to the way the division of labour operates in contemporary society. It embodies, expresses, and sustains female subordination.

There are numerous theories regarding the origins of male-dominated gender divisions of labour in society. Traditionalists argue that gender division of labour is natural, God-ordained, complementary, and even necessary for the human race's survival. According to them, it originated as a result of biological differences between male and female, and its origins date all the way back to prehistoric cultures. Women's biological weakness is said to have been at the root of the social institutionalisation of men performing more difficult jobs and women performing simpler household chores. However, the diversity of sexual divisions of labour across time and space, cultures, regions, and classes within a single society demonstrates the case for biological determinism (Vina Mazumdar and Kunmud Sharma). Another view is that early civilization was founded on men's subordination of women and that the sexual division of labour preserved a reciprocal state of dependency between the sexes. Marxists argue that women's subordination and sex-based division of labour developed in tandem with the emergence of social differentiation and patriarchy as a result of historical changes in modes of production and associated economic structure. Another argument is that economic development and expansion of trade, followed by functional specialisation and reorganisation of production relations, resulted in new patterns of dependence affecting groups in general and gender relations in particular. According to Ann Oakley, gender roles based on the division of labour are determined culturally rather than biologically. She argues that women's work assignments should not be determined by their biological characteristics.

One thing that all perspectives agree on is that sexual division of labour is sexist toward women, manifesting itself in women's subordination and stereotyping in the family and labour market. This sexual division of labour and the resulting dichotomy between hard and soft jobs has resulted in the subsequent devaluation of women's work and has perpetuated the myth that women do not and cannot perform manual labour. This myth ignores the reality of the majority of women who, in addition to routine domestic chores and productive labour in fields or factories, perform back-breaking tasks such as collecting water and fuel and transporting heavy head loads over long distances. Thus, the institutionalised hierarchy in men's and women's relationships results in an asymmetry of gendered roles and expectations, as well as a gendered division of labour in the family and labour market. As a result, women's household and child care responsibilities are viewed as extensions of their physiology, and women's work is conceptualised as domestic, private, and personal, and thus remains unrecognised and unpaid.

The conventional view of sexual division of labour is that it is based on the distinction between female and male sex. This is based on the assumption that women's primary role is to care for their families, as women have done since time immemorial. And men are assigned the role of providing for the survival needs of the rest of the family. Easter Boserup's (1970) groundbreaking study of women's agricultural roles and the impact of economic development on gender roles called into question this centuries-old perception. According to her, the evolution of human society from subsistence economies to high-tech societies was a gradual shift away from family production toward specialised production utilising improved technologies and scientific methods and an ever-expanding economic and social infrastructure. Along with this transition, women's roles shifted from a comparatively better position as agricultural producers with presumably higher status to an increasingly subordinated position as consumers and non-workers dependent on men for subsistence. Other studies asserted that women played a significant economic role in primitive societies. Not only were they food gatherers, but they were also the first managers of negligible surplus (Kosambi 1970), although this role was later transferred to the patriarch or tribal chief. According to Kosambi, women were the first farmers, potters, and textile producers. Earlier societies based on subsistence economies were more or less egalitarian, with women and men scavenging for food.

The gender equation began to shift as family agriculture and tribal land ownership gave way to a system of peasant agriculture and private land ownership based on the use of animals for cultivation and transportation

to perform household-related tasks that assist and support men folk (Jha 1998). In contemporary society, it is observed that the normative framework has shifted in practise, with women engaging in a variety of activities that are complementary to productive work, even within the household. Indeed, women's participation in productive and income-generating activities is not distinct from that of cooking food and caring for children, nor does it absolve women of their normal household responsibilities.

Thus, research demonstrates that, rather than decreasing, gender disparities or asymmetries in sexual division of labour tend to widen as a society's modernization and economic development progress. Now, let us consider the various aspects of sexual division of labour in the modern economy of specialised production.

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Gendered Division OF Labour

Course: Sociology (NR1203)

136 Documents
Students shared 136 documents in this course

University: Sikkim Manipal University

Was this document helpful?
GENDERED DIVISION OF LABOUR
The division of labour can be defined as the organisation of work into
specialised roles, which entails the division of a work process into multiple
components, each of which is performed by a distinct individual or group of
individuals (Mitchell 1968). The Division of Labor or work process may be
classified according to age, sex, class, or race, and it exists in almost every
society. The most fundamental division of labour appears to be based on sexual
orientation or gender (Haralambos 1980). Gender division of labour refers to
how work is organized/allocated between men and women. It can be defined as
a social perception of what occupations are 'natural' for a particular sex. Women
are subordinate in the family and society due to the way the division of labour
operates in contemporary society. It embodies, expresses, and sustains female
subordination.
There are numerous theories regarding the origins of male-dominated gender
divisions of labour in society. Traditionalists argue that gender division of
labour is natural, God-ordained, complementary, and even necessary for the
human race's survival. According to them, it originated as a result of biological
differences between male and female, and its origins date all the way back to
prehistoric cultures. Women's biological weakness is said to have been at the
root of the social institutionalisation of men performing more difficult jobs and
women performing simpler household chores. However, the diversity of sexual
divisions of labour across time and space, cultures, regions, and classes within a
single society demonstrates the case for biological determinism (Vina
Mazumdar and Kunmud Sharma). Another view is that early civilization was
founded on men's subordination of women and that the sexual division of labour
preserved a reciprocal state of dependency between the sexes. Marxists argue
that women's subordination and sex-based division of labour developed in
tandem with the emergence of social differentiation and patriarchy as a result of
historical changes in modes of production and associated economic structure.
Another argument is that economic development and expansion of trade,
followed by functional specialisation and reorganisation of production relations,
resulted in new patterns of dependence affecting groups in general and gender
relations in particular. According to Ann Oakley, gender roles based on the
division of labour are determined culturally rather than biologically. She argues
that women's work assignments should not be determined by their biological
characteristics.

Students also viewed

Related documents