‘Avec Françoise, nous partageons les tâches à la maison. J’apporte la poussière, elle nettoie.’ –Jacques Dutronc
While there is a tendency to think that only men treat women in a sexist way, a new study shows that both men and women participate in maintaining a gender hierarchy in our society. Sexism has been discussed in the professional literature for decades as an issue of social hierarchy.
However, only a few researchers have directly tested the role that social hierarchy plays in sexism on a day to day basis.
Some of the motivation for supporting the gender hierarchy is the widespread belief that social hierarchy is of general importance.
The study, which explores the role of men and women in maintaining the gender hierarchy in society, was conducted by a researcher from the University of Miami and his daughter. (…)
The two most significant findings are that both men and women respond in a more hostile way to a woman who violates sex-role expectations, than to one who adheres to them. Secondly, that the more an individual supports social hierarchy in general (that some people should have more power and resources than others), the more hostile they responded toward a woman who violated sex-role expectations.
