Gender Income Research Articles

Preoperative teaching received and valued in a day surgery setting.

Bemier MJ, Sanares DC, Owen SV, Newhouse PL Preoperative teaching received and valued in a day surgery setting. AORN J, 2003;77(3):563-4,568-9. The shift in health care to managed care has resulted in changes in service delivery, with a focus on achieving quality outcomes by cost-effective means. A consequence of this model is the shift of surgical procedures from the inpatient to the outpatient setting, which creates a challenge for providing preoperative teaching within a reduced timeframe, but also an opportunity to develop relevant research in the area of nursing care based on data collection. This article describes studies carried out by perioperative nursing staff at a university-based academic medical center. The two-phase study involved development and psychometric testing of an instrument, and the administration of the validated instrument to evaluate the substantive nature, scope, and value of the preoperative teaching provided to a sample of same-day surgery patients. A literature review specific to nurse and patient perceptions of valuable preoperative information was conducted. Relevant articles utilized a preoperative teaching questionnaire (PTQ) to survey nurse and patient perceptions regarding types of information valued in preoperative teaching. Following one study, researchers recommended expectations for the postoperative course and home pain management be included in preoperative teaching plans. Another study identified time limitations to provide patient information by 90% of nurses surveyed. In a third study, patients who perceived caring behaviors from nurses experienced less symptom distress and higher functional status postoperatively. Researchers also found that nurses and patients do not always concur on topics that are most important to patients. The study in this article was conducted in two phases. Phase I involved constructing a tool to measure the nature and value of preoperative teaching for patients undergoing same-day surgery. The PTQ included items from domains including: situational/procedural information, sensation/discomfort information, patient role information, skills training, and psychosocial support. Patients were asked whether they received specific teaching and then rated the value of the teaching for each item. Each item was rated using a I.ikert-type scale. Conlenl experts identified 26 items which were included in the preoperative teaching interview guide (PTIG) which were then rated on two scales, one used to determine whether or not patients received preoperative training and another to determine the value that patients placed on the teaching. In addition, six open-ended questions regarding patient satisfaction with the surgery and the preoperative teaching were developed. Demographic data including gender, race, age, education level, and annual household income was collected on all patients. The sample study included 50 patients who met the inclusion criteria of at least 18 years old, speak English, have undergone no other surgery in the past 2 years, and were discharged home following the surgery. …

Demographic and lifestyle factors associated with body mass index among children and adolescents

Cases of overweight and obesity among adults, adolescents, and children are escalating in the United States. Using data from the Continuing Survey of Food Intake for Individuals (CSFII) 1994–1996 and 1998, and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III (NHANES), we developed multivariate regression models to examine the association between demographic and lifestyle variables (gender, race/ethnicity, age, family income, diet, and television viewing) and the body mass index (BMI) of children aged 6–11 years, and adolescents aged 12–19 years for CSFII and aged 12–16 years for NHANES. In the children's model, the statistically significant demographic predictors of BMI were age, race, gender, and family income. Among adolescents, the demographic predictors were age, race, and gender. Among the lifestyle variables, dietary factors were not associated with BMI in children. On the contrary, carbohydrates (less added sugars) had a statistically significant inverse relationship to BMI among adolescents. In both children and adolescents, television viewing was markedly associated with BMI, and participation in team sports was negatively associated with BMI. The overall process by which overweight develops is complex, and our four models explained only a small portion of total variance of BMI. The CSFII models explained 8.5% of the variance for children and 11.4% of the variance for adolescents. The NHANES models explained 8.8% of the variance for children and 12.5% of the variance for adolescents. Demographic variables accounted for roughly one-half of the explained variance for both children and adolescents. The rest of the explained variance was accounted for by television viewing, diet, and family income.

Does the Glass Ceiling Exist? A Cross-National Perspective on Gender Income Mobility

We compare male and female upward labor income mobility in Germany and the United States using the GSOEP-PSID Cross National Equivalent File. Our main interest is to test whether a glass ceiling exists for women. The standard glass ceiling hypothesis highlights the belief that the playing field is level for women and men in the labor market up to a point, after which there is an effective limit on advancement for women. We examine the glass ceiling hypothesis by looking at the dynamics of the income distribution - the movement of women and men through the distribution of income over time. We find that there is considerable evidence in favor of a glass ceiling both in Germany and the United States. In Germany the glass ceiling is evident in higher incomes while in the United States the glass ceiling is evident at all incomes levels.

Early exit from the labour force between exclusion and privilege: Unemployment as a transition from employment to retirement in West Germany

Over the past twenty-five years, unemployment has been growing continuously in West Germany. In this study one of the reasons for growing unemployment is analysed: unemployment of older people in their transition from employment to retirement. First, the different possibilities of transitions into retirement are explained within the framework of social security regulations. Taking this legal framework as a starting point, early retirement passages are then modelled with the IAB unemployment sub-sample. It will be shown that - due to the long duration of these unemployment episodes - early retirement contributed considerably to the rise of total unemployment. Early retirement patterns will be broken down by economic sub-sectors and establishment size. It turns out that this kind of unemployment originates primarily from large establishments in manufacturing and extractive industries. Multivariate analysis presented at the end of the paper also includes personal characteristics such as gender or skills and income levels. In the light of these findings, the 'push' and 'pull' hypothesis common in explaining early exit are discussed. Drawing on the statistical findings as well as on the institutional analysis, it is argued that both kinds of factors are at work.

Customers Vote with Their Forks

This study examines Consumer Complaint Behavior (CCB) in the restaurant industry. The purpose for this study is twofold: (1) To examine how gender, age, family status, and household income relate to ten common customer complaints: rudeness, lack of product knowledge, slow service, uncleanliness, inattention, forgetfulness, incorrect billing, rushed service, and overly-friendly service; and, (2) to examine the manner in which customers express their complaints. Three types of complaining behavior were considered: verbal, written, and not returning to the restaurant. Analysis of the data resulted in a demographic profile of consumer complaining behavior. Some key findings include: Documented complaints are underrepresented, yet these detailed criticism are far more prevalent than those customers who chose not to express their dissatisfaction with service. Children heighten the expectancy of efficient and quick service. Those who complain are members of upscale socioeconomic groups. Implications for management are discussed, including a recommendation to encourage customer complaints and to immediately react to them.

The Determinants of Gender Differences in Income in Trinidad and Tobago

The present study employs 1993 Continuous Sample Survey of the Population data for Trinidad and Tobago to investigate the causes of gender income differentials. The findings suggest that such differentials are not well explained by differences in levels of human capital and other measured factors valued by the labour market. This result is robust to the disaggregation of the data into African, Indian and Other ethnic groups thereby raising the possibility of gender discrimination. African and Indian women's incomes would increase by over 20 per cent with the returns to the measured factors of their male, ethnic counterparts. Women would benefit from having men's industry distribution of jobs, but not men's occupational distribution. African women appear to be significantly more disadvantaged relative to their male counterparts than are Indian or Other women.

Differentiating Characteristics and Needs of Minority Grandparent Caregivers

Data collected over a three-year period compared two groups of African American grandparent caregivers with a group of European American grandparents who were raising their grandchildren. Gender, marital status, and household income differentiated minority from nonminority participants. Statistically significant differences among certain of the demographic variables between the two groups of African American grandparents were also found. Practical implications of the results for research and practice are discussed through illustrating differences in advocacy needs and agenda-making between two grandparent caregiver support groups.

An Analysis of the Demand for Regular Dental Health Care

The more information a dentist has concerning factors that affect the demand or lack of demand for dental care the greater his or her capability to profile client markets. Logically the more exact the profiling of clients (potential clients) the better able the dentist is to develop a marketing program that is responsive to various market segments. In this paper the authors report findings extracted from an extensive health assessment survey which shed light on factors influencing the demand for dental services. Responses from 1934 residents of a large southeastern metropolitan area were analyzed. Statistical analyses of the data were conducted to determine whether or not a relationship existed between dental care utilization and the presence/absence of dental insurance, gender, racial/ethnic background, and household income. The potential implications these factors may have on marketing a dental practice are explored and recommendations presented.

Racial and gender income inequality in the American states

The purpose of this article is to uncover the political factors associated with greater income parity for black men, black women, and white women relative to white men in the American states. Variables are constructed for federal, state, and local government employment, state electoral competition, federal procurement, black state legislators, and women state legislators along with a number of socioeconomic factors. It is discovered that the political variables carry less weight than the socioeconomic ones. These findings raise questions about the future prospects for increased earnings parity for minorities and women as previous federal efforts to eliminate racial and gender discrimination appear to have been weakened and state political factors have little relationship with greater income equality.

Reducing the gender gap in an asian economy: How important is women's increasing work experience?

This paper draws upon the 1991 Taiwan Social Change Survey to study the extent to which the gender income gap in Taiwan is due to the gender difference in work experience. To avoid important confounding influences, the analysis also incorporates major alternative hypotheses for this gender income gap. The central findings are: 1. (a) Contrary to theoretical expectations, the gender gap in Taiwan is not mainly due to gender differences in labor force experience. Nor is it likely due to gender differences in schooling, selectivity bias, or even statistical discrimination that is a major explanation of the gender wage gap in the United States. 2. (b) A large part of the gender gap appears to have resulted from gender differences in family role constraints. As a result, women's progress in labor force participation and work experience is unlikely to translate into any sharp reduction in the gender income gap. Large reductions in the gender gap in Taiwan apparently require a more equal sharing of family responsibilities by both men and women.

Perceptions of Childhood Family of Origin Well‐being, Self‐esteem, and Attitudes Toward the Divorced Single Mother

The contributions of perceptions of childhood family of origin well‐being and self‐esteem to attitudes toward the divorced single mother among 170 college students were investigated. Participants came from two family types, including those who lived only with their biological parents (i.e., biological parents group), and those who lived at some time in their lives with a divorced single mother (i.e, divorced single mother group). In all hierarchical regression models tested, the control variables of participants’ gender, age, socioeconomic status, and family income, as well as the predictor variable of family type made no significant contributions to their attitudes toward the divorced single mother. Childhood perceptions of family of origin well‐being, however, significantly predicted more positive attitudes toward the divorced single mother, particularly for the biological parents group. On the other hand, self‐esteem made no significant contributions. In addition, forthe biological parents group, amoun...

Emotional correlates of body weight: The moderating effects of gender and family income

Abstract This study explored emotional correlates of relative body weight in a sample of 187 male and 269 female college students. The contribution of relative body weight, gender, family income and their interactions to variables related to anxiety and anger were evaluated by multiple regression procedures. Relative body weight was positively related to trait anxiety, especially among those with lower family incomes. Increased body weight was also related to trait anger and an anger-out expression style, but only among men. These results suggest that gender and family income moderate the contribution of relative body weight to anxiety and anger, both central aspects of a 'disease-prone personality'

Persisting Gender Differences in Social Workers' Incomes: Does the Profession Really Care?

A recent study conducted by the authors found that male alumni of a master of social work (MSW) degree program in the Midwest received about $8,000 more in annual income than female alumnae. So what's new? Not much, as evidenced by the history of this phenomenon. Williams, Ho, and Fielder (1974) found that men with master of science in social work (MSSW) degrees had salaries more than $5,000 a year higher than those of women, even when controlling for job tenure, marital obligations, and part-time employment. Knapman (1977) found that women in 200 family agencies in Michigan tended to work in lower level positions and were paid significantly less than men even when length of employment was controlled. Also, Belon and Gould (1977) found that male members of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) were paid more than female members, even when the effects of education, present position, prior experience, type of agency, and number of hours worked per week were controlled. Kravetz and Jones (1982) reported that women did not even expect to earn as much as men. The 1980s did not see a decline in the discrepancy. Sutton (1982) selected two groups of MSWs from surveys returned by members of the Pennsylvania chapter of NASW: those employed full-time for 10 years and those employed full-time for two to four years. In both groups, women's median incomes were less than men's at all levels of responsibility, even when education, type of employment, auspice, and job responsibilities were controlled. Sutton (1982) called for a move from research and global recommendations to more action. Although Sutton suggested four concrete approaches, appears that the profession has not taken her advice. Not only did the 1980s bring no improvement in sex discrimination in social work salaries, the late 1980s may have brought deterioration. York, Henley, and Gamble (1987) controlled for job position, experience, and education in a random sample of social workers in North Carolina and reported that men received average of $5,645 a year more than women. Income Inequality in Other Professions Social work is not the only profession in which women are paid less than men. Solomon (1978), reporting on salaries earned by employees with PhDs, observed, Overall, being a woman means $1,555 lower salary, whereas in psychology women earn $2,607 less! (p. 998). Solomon also quoted Becker's (1971) assertion that an increase in the numerical importance of a minority group increases the prejudice against them, since the majority begins to fear their growing power (p. 16). Hence, Solomon noted, it is possible that discrimination against women is more pervasive in psychology than in other fields because there are more women psychologists (p. 996). Could the same be said of social work? And lest those in academia think they are good income-parity models for future social workers, they must think again. Men who are full professors are paid 13 percent more than women, male associate professors are paid 8 percent more than female colleagues at that level, and male assistant professors are paid 9 percent more than their female counterparts (American Association of University Professors, 1991). It appears that nothing has changed since Gottlieb (1987) plainly identified the problem: Sex inequality is based essentially on the belief that a woman's is a family role (p. 562). Family roles are ignored in this society's monetary evaluation of roles. Do our nonactions against the gender income gap suggest that the profession actually believes that women belong in family roles and are not, therefore, entitled to be paid as much as men in professional roles? Perhaps social workers care rhetorically but not enough to take action, as the history of the profession suggests. York et al. (1987) noted that the profession has been documenting sexual discrimination in social work and other fields for over 20 years, with most studies finding gender to be a better predictor of salary than any other variable. …

Factors influencing mode of claims settlement in workers' compensation cases.

This paper examines the variables that influence the means by which 10,192 injured workers settled their compensation claims during 1990. The data on which this study is based come from a state in Australia where there are three means by which workers' compensation claims can be settled by lump sum payment: settlement following a specific injury payment, early settlement payment and settlement following a common law payment. This paper is specifically concerned with identifying the variables that determine whether the claim will be settled by a lump sum payment and whether different modes of claims settlement by lump sum are unique and predictable from a range of variables that include injury characteristics and demographics. The results of logistic regression modelling revealed that those who received a lump sum settlement could be reliably distinguished from those who did not receive such a payment. Each mode of settlement varied in the extent to which it could be predicted. Contrary to expectations, the most difficult form of settlement mode to predict was that of specific injury payments (4% accurate) with the most predictive being early settlement payments (81% accurate). Common law payments were also highly predictable (48% accurate). The form of lump sum payment received by injured workers was found to depend on a range of injury characteristics, indices of severity and for common law payments, gender and potential income loss. It is argued that although injury characteristics play a part in the process of claims settlement, personal circumstances and insurance company policies are influential in dictating the form by which workers compensation cases are finalized.

Class, Gender and Ethnic Income Inequalities in 1973 and 1984: Findings from the Canadian National Surveys

This paper utilizes two sets of Canadian cross-sectional data collected in 1973 and 1984 for the purpose of evaluating competing theoretical explanations of the level, structure, and process of income inequalities within and between social classes and language and gender groups. The analysis shows a wide income gap between social classes both in 1973 and 1984. The income gaps between males and females are also large. The income gaps between Anglophones and Francophones tend to be much smaller than between class categories and gender groups in 1973, and more so in 1984. The greatest improvement in income disparities seems to come from less discriminatory pay structures and exploitation, not from human capital and individual characteristics.

The Gender Gap in Earnings

The gender income gap is a much debated subject both at an analytical and economic level. This article considers both, but emphasizes the different ways the data can be analyzed. The authors show that a hierarchical linear model is the best way to evaluate male-female wage differentials. Both interindustry and intraindustry wage disparities between men and women are measured by using a technique that assumes that observations within the same industry have correlated error terms. By simultaneously testing human capital factors and environmental factors, the analysis model serves as a link between theory and empirical analysis. The results show that the wage differences are larger in some industries than in others, so that it can be assumed that a gender income gap is not only a function of individual differences in qualification, but also differences between industries. The between-industry differences in gender income gaps contradict the hypothesis that gender income differential is largely due to female work preferences and the resulting segregation.

Do Workers Accurately Perceive Gender Wage Discrimination?

Using data from a 1987 American Medical Association survey of young physicians, the authors investigate how accurately the women in the sample perceived the gender wage discrimination affecting them. Contrary to the conclusion of some studies that women inaccurately perceive gender discrimination against them, this study finds a strong, positive correlation between women's perceptions of the gender income differences they were experiencing and econometric estimates of those differences. The women in this sample accurately perceived gender wage discrimination, and built that perception into their judgment of the amount by which they were underpaid.

Toward an Integrated Theory of Gender Stratification

Determinants of gender stratification range through every institutional sphere and every level of sociological analysis. An integrated theory is presented which charts the connections and feedbacks among three main blocks of causal factors and two blocks of outcomes. The GENDER ORGANIZATION OF PRODUCTION block includes the degree of compatibility between productive and reproductive labor, and determinants of the gender segregation of productive labor (including flows from other blocks). The GENDER ORGANIZATION OF REPRODUCTION includes demographic conditions, the social control of reproductive technologies, and the class and gender organization of parenting. SEXUAL POLITICS includes historical variations in family alliance politics, erotic status markets, and violent male groups. On the outcome side, GENDER RESOURCE MOBILIZATION centers on gender income and property, household organization, sexual coercion, and the distinctiveness of gender cultures. GENDER CONFLICTS involve the conditions for both gender movements and counter-movements, which feed back into the prior blocks of causal conditions. Despite rises in women's gender resources in recent decades, it is likely that gender conflicts will go on in new forms. An integrated theory makes it possible to examine alternative scenarios and policies of change in gender stratification of the future.

Rape and Dimensions of Gender Socioeconomic Inequality in U.S. Metropolitan Areas

There is a growing consensus that a major cause of the rape problem is the subordinate position of women in the social, political, and economic order. Despite this consensus, there have been few structural analyses of rape and inequality. Further, extant investigations suffer from a number of serious shortcomings such that, at present, there is not a sound basis for accepting, or rejecting, rape and inequality arguments. Correcting for many of the limitations of previous studies, this investigation extends our understanding of the role of gender socioeconomic inequality and other structural factors in the etiology of rape. The authors examine the relationship between rape rates and various measures of general, racial, and gender socioeconomic inequality for U.S. metropolitan areas. Their findings show that gender income inequality is a significant contributor to rape, but gender inequities in educational attainment and occupational status do not contribute significantly to this offense. The analysis also points to a number of other structural factors, including general income inequality, that are powerful predictors of rape.

Tuberculosis Status and Social Adaptation of Indochinese Refugees

The relationship between tuberculosis and social adaptation of Indochinese refugees in Manitoba is examined in 43 randomly selected refugees treated for active and inactive tuberculosis (cases) and their matched controls. Tuberculosis status did not significantly affect adaptation as measured by selected scales and indicators. Significant predictors of better personal well-being included a low number of family members outside the household in Manitoba, non-use of traditional medicine, female gender, and high individual income. Tuberculosis status was not a significant predictor.