Pamela Trotman Reid

Gender and ethnicity: Perspectives on dual status

The role of gender and ethnicity as status variables, i.e., as cues to social standing, personal experiences, and cultural expectations, is discussed and the relevant literature is reviewed. The point is made that gender research typically fails to include race/ethnic concerns, and that studies of ethnic groups often ignore gender issues. Consideration is given to the relative scarcity of research which deals with both gender and race/ethnic issues. The impact of each variable, gender and race, is examined separately, and in combination. Issues of racism and sexism are specifically addressed, and the need for research which utilizes an interaction approach is presented. An overview of the articles presented in this special issue is provided. They are discussed in terms of their ability to confirm the importance of the gender/ethnic interaction.

Racism and Sexism

Are racism and sexism parallel or separate processes? Can we apply findings from one area of research to the other? Obviously, any response to such questions must be conditional, subject to definitions of the terms themselves as well as to the specific circumstances under which the questions are answered. These questions are necessarily asked, however, in light of this society’s long-standing interest in racial prejudice and its increased awareness of discrimination based on gender. For this reason, there is a need to understand the extent to which the biased treatment of women may be legitimately compared to that of blacks. In other words, can it be determined whether racism and sexism are parts of a generalized response set, or if they are two different behaviors? In this chapter, the analysis has two components. In the first part, an examination of racism and sexism is presented with respect to a variety of dimensions relative to the assessment of the existence of parallelism: the definitions, the causes, and the scope of the problems. This review emphasizes social-psychological perspectives, although it is recognized that many other disciplines, such as economics, history, and political science, have contributed to the literature on racism and sexism. The second part of the chapter deals with the impact of both processes on black women, who have dual identities and are oppressed under each. In addition, the possibility that these processes may have an additive effect is explored. Specifically, in the second part of the chapter, the conflicts arising from the racism and sexism that are presented to black women are examined. It is suggested that black women may need special consideration because of their unique position relative to the movements both for women’s equity and for black civil rights.

Feminism versus minority group identity: Not for black woman only

An analytical review of the literature revealed four basic hypotheses that have been adopted by researchers investigating Black women and their relationships. The hypotheses have been identified by the author as follows: The “weakening” hypothesis, the “double whammy” hypothesis, the “Black matriarchy” hypothesis, and the “Black racism” hypothesis. In addition, a discussion of the implication that the hypotheses have for Black and White researchers was given. Finally, suggestions for new approaches and directions that future research should take were included.

The impact of sex, achievement domain, and conceptual orientation on causal attributions

Sex differences in achievement domain and achievement orientation were examined to better understand womens achievement. College students (84 women, 59 men) were asked to write brief accounts of a past success and a past failure and to provide causal attributions for each. More women recalled affiliative-process events, and proportionally more men recalled mastery-impact events. The relationship of topic domain and conceptual orientation to causal attributions was apparent only for accounts of failure. Topic domain and conceptual orientation interacted with sex to further influence stability attributions. When women conceptualized failure as a process, they emphasized attributions to effort and luck, while men accounted for the process failure by ability and task. When the failure was conceptualized in terms of final impact, the sex pattern of attributions was reversed.

Perceptions of Sex Discrimination among Female University Faculty and Staff.

Sixty faculty and staff women at a mid-sized university were surveyed to determine the extent to which they perceived sex discrimination. Faculty women perceived sex discrimination more than did staff women and were less likely to believe that academia was a meritocracy. Differences in perception of sex discrimination were also found based upon the gender composition of the departments. Women in departments that were male-dominated were less likely to perceive sex discrimination and more accepting of the meritocracy notion than were women in departments that were not male-dominated.

Professional Black Men and Women: Attainment of Terminal Academic Degrees

Family background and personality characteristics of black professionals who held doctorates were examined for possible commonalities and sex differences. 30 black men and 34 black women from a variety of professional fields participated in this mail survey which included demographic items and personality scales. The majority of the sample had educated mothers who were employed during their childhood. In addition, the professionals held traditional religious affiliations, had small numbers of children, and their spouses typically were college graduates. The professionals were highly motivated and self-oriented individuals who were tolerant of differences in moral and personal values. Women were even less conventional than men. The women were likely to be unmarried and childless; they also had parents with more education. In general, however, with respect to personality measures, few differences existed between the men and women.