Question 1

According to the text, which of the following is considered an employment ghetto for women?

Accepted Answer

Part-time work is often considered an employment ghetto for women because it typically offers lower pay, fewer benefits, and limited opportunities for advancement compared to full-time positions.

Question 2

Zelda is a doctor, but she is often mistaken for a nurse by patients in the hospital. This makes her angry, because such an assumption not only ignores her education, but also ties her to feminist problems still being fought against today. Which of the following is the assumption tied to?

Accepted Answer

The assumption is that women's professions are still sex typed, where certain professions are deemed more suitable for women than men. This assumption overlooks the fact that women are capable of excelling in any profession they choose, regardless of gender stereotypes.

Question 3

Justin has recently graduated with a PhD in sociology and has spent the past several months looking for an academic position. He has managed to secure teaching employment in sociology classes on three different university campuses. According to the text, what is Justin's employment situation called?

Accepted Answer

Justin's employment situation is considered non-standard because he is not employed in a permanent, full-time position with one university. Rather, he is working part-time at three different campuses, which is less secure and less stable than a standard academic position.

Question 4

In addition to looking after her two young children and working full time, every evening Olimpia has to stop by her father's apartment to make him dinner, clean, and make sure he takes his medication. What group in our society is Olimpia part of?

Accepted Answer

Olimpia is part of the sandwich generation, which refers to individuals who are caring for both their children and their aging parents simultaneously.

Question 5

According to the text, which of the following is NOT true in regards to nonstandard work?

Accepted Answer

The text does not state that nonstandard jobs generally provide greater pay, benefits, and job security. In fact, it suggests the opposite; that nonstandard workers often experience low pay, limited benefits, and job insecurity.

Question 6

Danielle and her twin brother both graduated the same year. One got a job as a secretary and the other as a mechanic. The entire family assumed that Danielle was the secretary and her brother was the mechanic. What is the sociological term for the assumptions made in this situation?

Accepted Answer

The term for the assumptions made in this situation is sex typing, which is the assignment of tasks based on gender roles and stereotypes. In this case, the assumption was made that Danielle would be in a traditionally female occupation, such as a secretary, while her brother would be in a traditionally male occupation, such as a mechanic.

Question 7

A young mother works all day as a schoolteacher, and comes home to assume the bulk of chores related to child care and housework, with occasional help from her husband. What term is used by sociologists to describe this woman's workday?

Accepted Answer

The term "double day" is used to describe the phenomenon where individuals, often women, work a paid job and then come home to perform unpaid domestic labor.

Question 8

A competent female lawyer is passed over for a promotion that is given to an underperforming male. She notices that most of the law firm's senior partners are male, despite the fact that 30 percent of the firm's lawyers are women. What term do sociologists use to describe this circumstance?

Accepted Answer

The glass ceiling effect describes the invisible barriers that prevent qualified individuals, particularly women and minorities, from advancing within an organization despite their qualifications and achievements. It is characterized by a lack of diversity in the upper ranks of an organization, such as the senior partners at this law firm being mostly male despite the fact that 30 percent of the lawyers are women. The other choices, "only boys allowed," "men only syndrome," and "old boys' network," are not sociological terms used to describe this circumstance.

Question 9

What does standard work include?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What does standard work include?
...

Question 10

Which term describes the invisible barriers women face to attaining high-level organizational roles?

Accepted Answer

The term that describes the invisible barriers women face to attaining high-level organizational roles is the glass-ceiling effect, which refers to the discriminatory practices that prevent women from advancing in their careers beyond a certain level, despite their qualifications and achievements. Option A, mommy-track syndrome, refers to the discrimination and marginalization of working mothers in the workplace. Option B, invisible sexism, is a broader term that refers to the subtle, often unconscious biases that affect women's opportunities and experiences at work. Option C, skill-evaluation bias, refers to the tendency to undervalue or overlook women's skills and abilities in male-dominated professions. However, none of these terms specifically describe the barriers women face in achieving higher-level organizational roles.

Question 11

Which of the following do most sociologists believe is reflected in the gender gap in earnings?

Accepted Answer

Most sociologists believe that the gender gap in earnings reflects the existence of discrimination and the devaluation of work performed by women. Women are often paid less than men for performing the same jobs or for jobs that require the same level of skills and education. This is a result of social norms and gender stereotypes that undervalue women's work and contribute to discrimination in the workplace. Self-selection, lack of initiative, or lower productivity levels by women have not been found to be significant factors in explaining the gender gap in earnings.

Question 12

According to the text, which of the following accounts for why women earn less than men?

Accepted Answer

The text states that "skills in jobs where women predominate are often undervalued." This suggests that gender-based discrimination is a key factor in the gender pay gap. The other choices (B, C, and D) are not supported by the text.

Question 13

A father is advising his teenaged daughter as to which kind of career path to seek, with the following "appropriate" recommendations: nurse, teacher, social worker. What is this father doing by framing these as appropriate occupations for his daughter?

Accepted Answer

The answer of A father is advising his teenaged daughter...

Question 14

Sarah Mitchell has worked for the ABC Corporation for more than 20 years. She has continuously received glowing work reviews and for the past 10 years has been the manager of the accounting department. When a new VP of finance was selected last week, ABC executives announced that John Martin, a 12-year employee from the public relations department, was given the position. In view of this, what was Sally Jones a victim of?

Accepted Answer

Sarah Mitchell was a victim of the glass ceiling, which refers to the invisible barriers that prevent qualified individuals from advancing to higher-level positions in their careers based on factors such as gender or ethnicity. Despite her excellent work performance, she was overlooked for a promotion in favor of a less qualified male colleague.

Question 15

What is the alternate term for sex labelling?

Accepted Answer

Sex typing is the alternate term for sex labelling. It refers to the process in which an individual is identified and classified as male or female based on biological characteristics such as genitalia or chromosomes.

Question 16

According to the text, which of the following is an alternate term for the concept of nonstandard work?

Accepted Answer

The text states that nonstandard work refers to "temporary, part-time, on-call, seasonal, and precarious employment." The term "precarious employment" is an alternate term used in the text to refer to nonstandard work. Options A, C, and D do not accurately reflect the concept of nonstandard work or precarious employment.

Question 17

Fernanda could not find a job, so she set up her own cleaning business. She has eight clients who call on her; some call regularly, others only call occasionally. She has little security and no benefits, but she is happy that she has at least some work. What kind of employment situation does she have?

Accepted Answer

Fernanda's employment situation is nonstandard because she is self-employed and has no job security or benefits.

Question 18

Jason met with his high school guidance counsellor to discuss what courses he should be taking in order to be accepted into the nursing program at university. His counsellor told him that if he wanted to go into the medical profession he should be a doctor. What is the sociological term for the assumptions made in this statement?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Jason met with his high school guidance...

Question 19

A woman who is a nurse has three daughters, and her daughters are, respectively, a social worker, a schoolteacher, and a hair-salon manager. Which term from the text best identifies the type of work performed by all four women?

Accepted Answer

The answer of A woman who is a nurse has...

Question 20

According to the text, overall, what is concluded about nonstandard work?

Accepted Answer

The text concludes that nonstandard work generally provides less job security, lower pay, and fewer fringe benefits. The other options are not supported by the text.

Quiz 7: Gender Inequality