SOCIAL INEQUALITY OF WOMEN: AN EXAMINATION BASED ON ANALYSES OF GSS DATA
The research question investigated was as follows: Do GSS income-related data reflect a position of social inequality for women in the United States? The testing of hypotheses related to the research question analyzed General Social Survey data.
The research performed for the study found that substantial income variations exist between men and women in the United States. This finding is not compatible with studies indicating that educational and training qualifications for women in the United States are either equal to or better than the educational and training qualifications for men in this country.
The conclusion drawn from the study findings is that progress toward social equality in relation to gender in the United States remains an elusive goal. The virtual elimination of affirmative action programs likely will assure that the goal of social equality remains elusive in the near future.
The concept of social inequality is multidimensional in character (Labich, 1994). Income levels, vocation, residence, possessions, and other factors influence determinations of social class. Measures of inequality views these same factors from different perspectives, and extend such measurements to additional factors such as welfare. Wolfson (1994) reported that measures of socioeconomic equality either declined or remained unchanged from 1973 through 1981, but that since 1981 th