Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-2009
Abstract
Data from 44 societies are used to explore sex segregation by field of study. Contrary to accounts linking socioeconomic modernization to a "degendering" of public-sphere institutions, sex typing of curricular fields is stronger in more economically developed contexts. The authors argue that two cultural forces combine in advanced industrial societies to create a new sort of sex segregation regime. The first is gender-essentialist ideology, which has proven to be extremely resilient even in the most liberal-egalitarian of contexts; the second is self-expressive value systems, which create opportunities and incentives for the expression of "gendered selves." Multivariate analyses suggest that structural features of postindustrial labor markets and modern educational systems support the cultivation, realization, and display of gender-specific curricular affinities.
Publication Title
American Journal of Sociology
Volume
114
Issue
4
First Page
924
Last Page
976
Required Publisher's Statement
American Journal of Sociology,
Published by: The University of Chicago Press
Article DOI: 10.1086/595942
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/595942
Recommended Citation
Bradley, Karen and Charles, Maria, "Indulging Our Gendered Selves? Sex Segregation by Field of Study in 44 Countries" (2009). Sociology. 2.
https://cedar.wwu.edu/sociology_facpubs/2
Subjects - Topical (LCSH)
Women--Education (Higher)--History--20th century; Professional education of women--History--20th century; Education, Higher--History--20th century
Subjects - Names (LCNAF)
Unesco
Genre/Form
articles
Type
Text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
