GENDER TRACKING IN A COUNTY DEMOCRATIC PARTY ORGANIZATION: AN ISSUE IN SOCIAL STRATIFICATION.
Item
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Title
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GENDER TRACKING IN A COUNTY DEMOCRATIC PARTY ORGANIZATION: AN ISSUE IN SOCIAL STRATIFICATION.
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Identifier
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AAI8312362
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identifier
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8312362
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Creator
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MORAN, EILEEN GEIL.
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Contributor
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Prof. Cynthia Fuchs Epstein
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Date
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1983
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Sociology, General
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Abstract
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While inequality appears to be a universal feature of complex societies, the emergence and persistence of specific types of structured inequality needs to be accounted for sociologically. The persistence of patriarchy and its accomodation to capitalist and industrial development produces and reproduces a sexual division of labor in most social settings.;Feminist claims have politicized the status of women, and thereby, undercut the broad cultural support for sexual stratification. This study focuses on a County Democratic Party as an organization in which women systematically receive lower rewards than their male colleagues. It differs from other studies in the field in that its analytical focus is on attempts by the dominant group to maintain their privileges, rather than on attempts by outsiders to gain power.;In this case study the methodology of participant observation was used to examine the mechanisms through which women were excluded from participation which was 'non-traditional' and were tracked into stereotypical roles within this County Party.;The emergence of a feminist coalition, exposed and challenged the Party's system of sexual stratification.;In both clubs and campaigns, gender shapes recruitment, task assignments, and career sponsorship. The few women who surmount these obstacles face other barriers including sexual harassment and slander. Additionally, the Party's male leadership redefines women's political interest and activity to conform to stereotypes of gender-appropriate behavior. While the women who are upwardly mobile in Party organizations, are single and childless, assumptions about family obligations thwart their mobility. The Party accepts women's volunteer labor but has great difficulty sponsoring their careers.;If the access of single, career women, during a peak of insurgency, is blocked, how does the next cohort of credentialed careerists rise in politics while family responsibilities remain unevenly distributed, and without the structural supports of feminist networks?
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Sociology
