Teaching Work and Gender in the Twenty-First Century

Today’s undergraduate students seldom question women’s presence or roles in the workplace. Because they have come to see women’s employment as common place, they are often less aware of the persistent gender inequalities in the workplace or the historical roots of these patterns. Throughout my course on Work and Gender I challenge students to think critically about what constitutes “work” and the disparity in the social and economic value of paid and unpaid labor, how race, ethnicity, and social class have influenced gender roles and rewards over time, and how social policy, gendered organizations, and family roles impact the opportunities, experiences, and compensation workers can expect as a result of their gender. These objectives are accomplished through the reading and discussion of empirical research, personal reflections, guest speakers, and documentary film. My goals in teaching this course are for students to come away with a greater awareness of the intersection of race, class, and gender in work and family roles as well as perspective to draw on in their own personal and professional paths.