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Chegg: An Introduction to Intercultural Communication: Identities in a Global Community
Chapter 9 Culture and Women
Learning Objectives
After studying this chapter, you will be able to:
Describe how the status of women varies worldwide.
Explain how the status of women is related to cultural factors.
Compare the status of women in the Nordic countries and Japan and South Korea.
Compare the status of women in the Arab States and China.
Explain how family structure is related to cultural factors.
© iStockphoto.com/digitalskillet
Chapter Outline
Status of Women
United Nations Studies
World Economic Forum Study
Health
Education
Economics
Political Participation
Comparison of Individual Countries and Areas
Nordic Countries
Mexico
China
Japan
South Korea
India
Sub-Saharan Africa
Arab States
Marriage
Family Units
Gender and Communication
➤ Summary
➤ Discussion Questions
➤ Key Terms
➤ Readings
You will study extensive data in this chapter that show how the status of women varies considerably around the world. The major purpose of this chapter is to study how
that variation can be at least partially explained by cultural values. For example, if in one culture women are almost equal to men, what in that culture’s values supports
that? If in another there is great inequity, what in that culture’s values explains that? And how successful have countries been which have attempted to reduce those
inequities by political means?
Then, you’ll examine how those cultural values defining women continue into the practice of marriage and family units and finally into language use.
First, though, let’s review the definition of the word gender. When scholars and researchers use the words sex and gender today, they refer to different concepts. The word
sex is more frequently used to refer to the biological features based on chromosomal evidence that distinguish males from females (Brettell & Sargent, 1993). The word
gender is more often used to refer to the learned behaviors and attitudes associated with the words feminine and masculine. Gender, then, can be said to be socially
constructed (Condit, 2000; Wood, 2005).
From antiquity to the end of the 17th century, there was no concept of gender. The female body was a variation of the male body (Laqueur, 1990). The distinction between
sex and gender and the understanding that sex is fixed before gender are products of the modern era. Gender is learned through language, the toys we play with, the
occupations we are encouraged to hold, the behaviors that are rewarded. Since gender is socially constructed or learned, we can study how gender varies by culture. In the
United States and a number of other cultures, traits that are considered feminine are attributes such as affection, compassion, nurturance, and emotionality. Traits that are
considered masculine are typically attributes such as strength, assertiveness, competitiveness, and ambitiousness (Doyle, 1994; Wood, 2005). In the United States, children
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are aware of gender role differences by the age of 2 (Witt, 1997). By the age of 3, boys compete, wrestle, and play fight more than girls (Geary, 1998). In the United States
and a number of other cultures, fathers reward gender-appropriate behavior more than mothers do. Boys experience more pressure to behave in gender-appropriate ways
than girls do (Levy, Taylor, & Gelman, 1995).
Status of Women
Many studies are now conducted on a regular basis detailing the status of women worldwide. Studies by the United Nations and the World Economic Forum will serve as
the basis for our study of the cultural basis for the status of women.
United Nations Studies
In 1990, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) first used the Human Development Index (HDI) as a measure of life expectancy at birth, educational
attainment, and adjusted per capita income. These were selected as quantitative measures of leading a long life, being knowledgeable, and enjoying a decent standard of
living. Over the past decade all countries have made advancements in education, health, and income dimensions of the HDI. Table 9.1 shows the 20 countries with the
highest scores on the most recent HDI.
In its 1993 report, the UNDP calculated separate HDI scores for women for 33 countries from which comparable data were available. The report concluded that no country
treated its women as well as it treated its men. In some cases, the gap was substantial. Japan had the world’s highest HDI rating that year but fell to 17th on the female HDI
scale. Sweden was 5th overall but 1st on the female version. Gender equality is not dependent on the income level of a country. Several developing countries outperform
much richer countries in the opportunities afforded women.
The HDI masks the differences in human development for women and men. In its 1995 report, the UNDP focused even more sharply on the status of women by using two
new measures: the Gender-Related Development Index (GDI), to reflect gender imbalances in basic health, education, and income for 130 countries from which
comparable data were available, and the Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM), to evaluate a country’s progress in political and economic advancement of women. The
GEM ranked 116 countries with comparable data on women’s representation in parliaments, share of positions classified as managerial or professional, participation in the
active labor force, and share of national income. The GDI for every country remained lower than its HDI, implying that there continues to be gender inequality in every
country.
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Source: United Nations Development Programme (2013).
Later, a new measure was introduced to better show the differences in the status of women and men across countries. The Gender Inequality Index (GII) is a composite
measure of three dimensions: reproductive health (maternal mortality ratio and the adolescent fertility rate), empowerment (share of parliamentary seats held by each sex
and secondary and higher education attainment levels), and labor (participation in the work force). Over the past decade reduction in gender inequality has been virtually
universal, yet there remain significant gender gaps. Table 9.2 shows the countries with the lowest gender inequality, and Table 9.3 shows countries with the highest gender
inequality. Generally, gender inequality is highest in South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Arab states.
Focus on Theory 9.1
Feminist Theories
Feminist theory is more of a variety of voices rather than a single theory. Feminist theorists contend that many aspects of life are experienced in terms of feminine and masculine. Furthermore,
feminist theorists assume that gender is socially constructed and dominated by a male perspective that is oppressive to women in economic development, education, health care, family roles, and
political participation (Foss & Foss, 1994). Feminist standpoint theories assume that women’s experiences enable women to see privilege and power in ways that men cannot, not only in such things
as wages and exclusion from power and decision making but also in the very way society itself is constructed (Hallstein, 1999). The relationship between language and power has been a focus in
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feminist theory. Muted-group theory contends that men created the meanings for a group through its language, which suppresses women. One result is that women develop unique forms of
expression.
World Economic Forum Study
Independent of the United Nations, the World Economic Forum released its first annual report on world gender inequality in 2006. This study is based on health,
education, politics, and economic opportunity. Figure 9.1 shows the countries with the greatest and least gender equality from its 2013 report.
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Source: United Nations Development Programme (2013).
Note: The United States ranks 42nd.
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Source: United Nations Development Programme (2013).
The World Economic Forum report examined the relationship between economic performance and gender inequity. While correlation does not prove causality, the report
cites evidence to show that empowering women means a more efficient use of a nation’s human resources and that reducing gender inequality enhances productivity and
economic growth (Hausmann, Tyson, & Zahidi, 2010). Let’s look in more detail at the bases of these rankings.
Figure 9.1 The Global Gender Gap 2013 Rankings
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Source: Adapted from Hausmann, Tyson, Bekhouche, & Zahidi (2013, Table 3a).
Health
In the area of health, the World Economic Forum report examined the sex ratio at birth to measure infanticide and the gap between women’s and men’s life expectancy.
This measure reflects years lost to violence, disease, malnutrition, and other factors. The report shows that almost 96% of the gap in health between women and men has
been closed. In industrial nations, maternal deaths are rare. Almost all births are attended by trained health personnel. But according to the World Health Organization,
Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan account for 28% of the world’s births and 46% of its maternal deaths. In developing countries, fewer than half the births—and in South
Asia fewer than a third—are attended by any health personnel.
Sex ratio at birth has become a reliable indicator of sex discrimination. The World Factbook (Central Intelligence Agency, 2011) shows the following countries with male
births greater than 110 to 100 female births: China 113.3, India and Armenia 112, followed by Albania, Vietnam, Azerbaijan, Curacao, and Georgia. The high sex ratios at
birth in some Asian countries can be attributed to sex-selective abortion and infanticide due to a strong preference for sons.
Women internationally are the victims of violence rooted in patriarchy and its underlying assumption of the subjugation of women. Many countries have no laws on
violence against women. In much of Latin America, the law excuses the murder of a woman by her husband if she is caught in the act of adultery. In other countries, the
laws offer limited protection. Domestic violence is treated as a private, family matter.
Female genital mutilation flourishes in many countries in the belief that it prevents promiscuity among women. It is performed on an estimated 2 million children each
year in more than 30 countries, primarily throughout the central belt of Africa, from Senegal to Somalia, and by minority groups in the Middle East and Asia. No state or
federal laws ban the practice in the United States.
Women are victims of neglect, trafficking into prostitution, rape, incest, domestic violence, political torture, abuses of refugees, and the ravages of war. One-third of
women in Barbados, Canada, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, and the United States report sexual abuse during childhood or adolescence. As stated earlier, an
estimated 1 million children, mostly girls in Asia, are forced into prostitution. Studies from Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States show that
one woman in six is raped in her lifetime. And studies from Chile, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, and the Republic of Korea indicate that two-thirds or more of married
women have suffered domestic violence.
Education
In the area of education, the World Economic Forum report examined literacy rate and access to primary, secondary, and tertiary level education. The report shows that
almost 93% of the gap in education between women and men has been closed.
Nearly two-thirds of the world’s 862 million illiterate people are women. South Asia reduced its female illiteracy rate from 81% to 67% between 1970 and 1990. The Arab
states more than doubled the reduction in women’s illiteracy rate from 45% to 19% during the same period. More than one in four women aged 15 to 24 are illiterate in at
least 20 countries. More than 40% of African women (except in South Africa) and 29% in South Asia are illiterate (United Nations, 2000).
Women’s access to education has increased dramatically. In developed regions of the world, enrollment in primary and secondary education is nearly universal. In South
America, the Caribbean, and South Africa, more than 90 per 100 school-aged girls are enrolled. In Southeast Asia, western Asia, and northern Africa, the ratios are about
70 for girls and 80 for boys. In South Asia, the ratios are 64 for girls and 77 for boys. In sub-Saharan Africa (excluding South Africa), the ratios are 47 for girls and 59
for boys (United Nations, 2000).
In higher education, female enrollment was less than half the male rate in 1970. By 1990, it had reached 70%. More women than men are enrolled in higher education in
32 countries.
Economics
In the area of economics, the World Economic Forum report examined the differences in labor force participation, the ratio of female-to-male earned income, and the ratio
of women to men employed as technical and professional workers, legislators, and senior officials and managers. The report shows that only 60% of the gap in economics
between women and men has been closed.
Women represent more than 40% of the global workforce. The average wage for women is about two-thirds that for men. The Nordic states have more equality; the Arab
states have less equality (see Table 9.4). Canada ranked first on the overall HDI in 1995 but ninth on the GDI due to the lower participation of women in the labor force
and lower average wage rates for women. In the United States in 2000, women earned 76.5% of what men earned—up from 59% in 1977. Women with 4 years of college
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earn roughly the same median salary as men with a high school education. These statistics need to be interpreted carefully. The 1963 federal Equal Pay Act outlawed
gender-based wage discrimination and requires employers to pay women and men the same wages for the same work. The difference in earnings results from women
being available to work fewer hours than men, on average, and from lower salaries paid in fields traditionally held by women.
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Source: United Nations Development Programme (2007).
Note: World average = 67%; high Human Development Index states = 73%; medium Human Development Index states = 64%; low Human Development Index states = 72%; Arab states = 34%.
The proportion of women in managerial and administrative positions worldwide is 14%, ranging from 28% in industrial countries to 3% in sub-Saharan Africa. In most of
the Arab states and in South Asia, the proportion is less than 10%. In the United States and Canada, women make up 46% and 42% of management, respectively; however,
women in management tend to be concentrated in functions such as labor relations and personnel.
The majority of women in the workforce perform manual labor that requires minimal skills. As economies move toward greater use of technology, women are often the
first unemployed by the changes. Of the estimated 1.3 billion people living in poverty, more than 70% are women. In the United States in 1940, 40% of the poor were
women; in 1980, it was 62%. Poverty has long been a women’s issue. In the 1990s, two out of three poor adults were women, one in three female-headed families lived
below the poverty line, and one in two poor families was headed by a woman.
Political Participation
In the area of political participation, the World Economic Forum report examined the ratio of women to men in parliamentary positions and in minister-level positions and
the ratio of women to men in terms in countries’ executive offices for the past 50 years. The report shows that only 20% of the gap in political participation between
women and men has been closed.
Figure 9.2 Year in Selected Countries That Women First Won the Right to Vote
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Source: United Nations Development Programme (2007).
In the ancient Roman era, women were not considered citizens. By the 1860s, middle-class women in Great Britain were organizing for voting rights. John Stuart Mill,
who had recently been elected to the British Parliament, presented a women’s petition for suffrage in 1866, initiating the first parliamentary debate on the subject. In 1869,
Mill published On the Subjection of Women, in which he argued the feminist case in terms of liberal individualism. Particularly in Australia, New Zealand, and the United
States, the women’s suffrage movement gained strength from the temperance movement. New Zealand became the first country in the world to grant women the vote in
1893. The state of South Australia followed the next year and Australia as a whole in 1902. Only in the 20th century did women gain the right to vote and to be elected to
political office in almost all countries that have representative governments (see Figure 9.2). Until 1918, the Texas Constitution excluded “idiots, imbeciles, aliens, the
insane, and women” from voting. Today, women cannot vote in Kuwait; only men older than age 21 who have held Kuwaiti nationality for at least 20 years can vote.
Worldwide, women’s representation in national parliaments is about 20.3% (see Figure 9.3). In 15 countries, women constitute 5% or less of the parliament and in an
additional 25 countries between 5% and 10%. Women constitute 25% of parliaments in the very high development countries but only 18.6% in all other countries. By
region, women’s representation ranges from 13% in the Arab states to 41% in the Nordic countries. In 2013, 98 women served in the U.S. Congress (20 in the Senate and
78 in the House). This would seem to indicate that exclusion from politics is not as much a function of a country’s level of development or the educational and income
level of women as it is of social and cultural constraints.
In 2013, 24.2% of all U.S. state legislators were women—a percentage that has remained fairly constant over more than the past 10 years. The range of women legislators
was nearly 34% in Arizona, Colorado, Minnesota, and Vermont to less than 13% in Alabama, Louisiana, and South Carolina. That same year, the number of women in
statewide elective executive posts was 73 (22.8%).
Representation will increase as more countries reserve seats for women. According to the United Nations Development Fund for Women, 32 countries have some kind of
female quota for local or national assemblies. Beginning in 1994, India reserved a third of all panchayat (local council) seats for women, and in Uganda, b …
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