Men's and Women's Consciousness of Gender Inequality: Austria, West Germany, Great Britain, and the United States

Abstract

A model explaining consciousness of gender inequality is tested using data for the United States, Great Britain, West Germany, and Austria. Well-educated people tend to be less favorable toward efforts to reduce gender inequality than less well-educated people. Women with employed husbands are less supportive of efforts to reduce gender inequality than women without a male wage earner. Women are more likely to perceive gender inequality than men and are more supportive of efforts to combat gender inequality. These findings differ from findings in prior U.S. research. Moreover, U.S. women are unique in several respects, including a positive influence of labor force participation on support for efforts to reduce gender inequality. Ourfindings call into question the generalizability of U.S. studies. Nearly a quarter of a century has passed since the feminist movement began a resurgence in the United States in the mid-1960s. Within a few years, second-wave feminist movements had sprung up throughout Europe. Although the specific causes underlying these movements differed from country to country, a common factor was a growing awareness of gender inequalities in the workplace and home and a growing belief that these inequalities were sufficiently unjust that they should be eliminated. In studies of U.S. women and men, attitudes toward gender inequality have been associated with employment and family structure (Mason and Bumpass 1975; Cherlin and Walters 1981; Thomton, Alwin, and Camburn 1983; Smith 1985; Plutzer 1988). However, because these studies have not been replicated in other countries, it is unknown whether findings for the U.S. apply to other societies. We propose a model of consciousness of gender inequality based, in part, on hypotheses derived from prior research in the U.S., then test its generalizability using national survey data of women and men in four Westem societies - the United States, Great Britain, West Germany, and Austria.