Toward Gender Justice: Confronting Stratification and Unequal Power

Abstract

This paper advances a theory of gender justice, defined as equality of outcomes in three domains: capabilities, livelihoods, and empowerment/agency. A pivotal requirement is that women and men must be equally distributed along axes of well-being, with their respective distributions possessing equal means and dispersions. An understanding of gender stratification lies behind this proposal, whereby males benefit materially from a system of gender-divided work and responsibilities. This hierarchical system, buttressed by gender ideology, norms, and stereotypes, is disturbed as we approach gender equality in outcomes, especially of livelihoods. The latter induces greater female bargaining power which, coupled with the effect of social role incongruency on norms and stereotypes, serves to leverage change. Macroeconomic policy can support the shift to greater economic power for women by creating the conditions for class equality that is compatible with sustained economic growth.

Keywords

• gender
• distributive justice
• stratification
• equality
• structuralist macroeconomics
• hierarchy