PollEverywhere http://www.PollEv.com/andrewperrin SOCI 101.002 - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

PollEverywhere http://www.PollEv.com/andrewperrin SOCI 101.002 - Prof. Perrin Work, Family, and Inequality October 7, 2014 1 / 22

Work, Family, and Inequality SOCI 101.002 - Prof. Perrin October 7, 2014 SOCI 101.002 - Prof. Perrin Work, Family, and Inequality October 7, 2014 2 / 22

Work in America Work and occupation are central to survival Class, family, culture surround work Strong moral valence to discussions about work SOCI 101.002 - Prof. Perrin Work, Family, and Inequality October 7, 2014 3 / 22

Big Questions in the Sociology of Work Why don’t workers work harder? Why do workers work as hard as they do? How do history, social structure, and technology shape the nature of work? How does workplace organization change workers and companies? How does work interact with non-work activities (family, recreation, education, third sector)? SOCI 101.002 - Prof. Perrin Work, Family, and Inequality October 7, 2014 4 / 22

Why don’t workers work harder? Early industrial sociology (“plant sociology”) Associated with Clark Kerr: Industrialism and Industrial Man , 1960 Central problem: how to make factories operate efficiently. What organizing principles encourage workers to slack off? What can companies do to control workers’ time better? SOCI 101.002 - Prof. Perrin Work, Family, and Inequality October 7, 2014 5 / 22

Why do workers work as hard as they do? Michael Burawoy, Manufacturing Consent , 1979 “Marxist sociology”: if we assume efficiency is not in workers’ interest, why do workers work efficiently? Introduces concept of consent : inducing not just compliance but belief What’s in the company’s interest a lot is in the worker’s interest a little bit (“making out”) Introduced the idea of workplace culture SOCI 101.002 - Prof. Perrin Work, Family, and Inequality October 7, 2014 6 / 22

PollEverywhere http://www.PollEv.com/andrewperrin SOCI 101.002 - Prof. Perrin Work, Family, and Inequality October 7, 2014 7 / 22

Who does what kind of work? Racial inequalities Economic migration Gender, comparable worth, and pay Education inflation SOCI 101.002 - Prof. Perrin Work, Family, and Inequality October 7, 2014 8 / 22

How do history, social structure, and technology shape the nature of work? Biernacki, The Fabrication of Labor , 1995 British and German cultures (ideas about exchange and productivity) shape differences in 17th-century textile factories Recent work on Japanese work processes in the U.S.: when do “foreign” work processes work and not work? Toyota, Subaru-Isuzu, NUMMI, Saturn High technology, globalization, and work patterns: “High” vs “low” road organizations “Thinking for a living” High-performance work Globalization SOCI 101.002 - Prof. Perrin Work, Family, and Inequality October 7, 2014 9 / 22

How does workplace organization change workers and companies? Workplace ethnographies Earlier, cultures determined workplaces; now, how do workplaces determine cultures (beliefs, skills, styles, habits)? Back to Burawoy (sort of) Hochschild, The Managed Heart Leidner, Fast Food, Fast Talk Worker/management flexibility and commitment SOCI 101.002 - Prof. Perrin Work, Family, and Inequality October 7, 2014 10 / 22

How does work interact with non-work activities (family, recreation, education, third sector)? Hochschild, The Second Shift , 1989 Schor, The Overworked American , 1991 Hochschild, The Time Bind , 1997 Key observations: Women’s entry to paid work “Time squeeze” Increasing work hours Family-friendly policies Mobility, work hours, and voluntary activity SOCI 101.002 - Prof. Perrin Work, Family, and Inequality October 7, 2014 11 / 22

Trends in Gender and Work SOCI 101.002 - Prof. Perrin Work, Family, and Inequality October 7, 2014 12 / 22

Trends in Gender and Work SOCI 101.002 - Prof. Perrin Work, Family, and Inequality October 7, 2014 13 / 22

What is Inequality? Also called “Social Stratification” Differences in status, power, prestige, or resources among individuals or groups in society Different ways in which groups are constituted and assigned status Class Nation Race Education Sex etc. Relationships among these groups SOCI 101.002 - Prof. Perrin Work, Family, and Inequality October 7, 2014 14 / 22

Big Questions in the Sociology of Inequality Why is there social inequality? What determines where people fall in the social structure? What are the consequences of placement in the social structure? SOCI 101.002 - Prof. Perrin Work, Family, and Inequality October 7, 2014 15 / 22

Fairness and the Stakes of Inequality Much of this work is motivated by the question of fairness Are the rules of the game fair? Is there a “level playing field”? To what extent is status a result of merit or work? (achieved status) To what extent is status a result of chance or birth? (ascribed status) Does the system result in one group consistently winning over the other (iterative justice)? Are the stakes reasonable? SOCI 101.002 - Prof. Perrin Work, Family, and Inequality October 7, 2014 16 / 22

Single- vs. Partner Families SOCI 101.002 - Prof. Perrin Work, Family, and Inequality October 7, 2014 17 / 22

Can Government Help? SOCI 101.002 - Prof. Perrin Work, Family, and Inequality October 7, 2014 18 / 22

Race- versus Class-based Policy Race and poverty are very closely tied in the U.S. Many good studies suggest addressing racial disparity head-on William Julius Wilson, When Work Disappears : poverty helps reproduce racial inequality; attack racial disparities by ameliorating economic inequality. Conley, Being Black, Living in the Red : racial disparity is based on, but more than, economic inequality; purely economic remedies won’t work. Pager, Marked : racial discrimination remains strong and common, particularly in low-wage labor markets. SOCI 101.002 - Prof. Perrin Work, Family, and Inequality October 7, 2014 19 / 22

Work, Gender, Inequality Occupations and industries tend to be segregated by race and gender Educated mothers face guilt no matter what the decision “Second shift” seems to be diminishing but : Not disappearing altogether; and 1 Some evidence of job segregation within families 2 SOCI 101.002 - Prof. Perrin Work, Family, and Inequality October 7, 2014 20 / 22

PollEverywhere http://www.PollEv.com/andrewperrin SOCI 101.002 - Prof. Perrin Work, Family, and Inequality October 7, 2014 21 / 22

Sandberg, Lean In SOCI 101.002 - Prof. Perrin Work, Family, and Inequality October 7, 2014 22 / 22