Education and Beliefs about Gender Inequality

Abstract

This paper considers competing claims regarding the role of education in intergroup relations generally and its role in shaping gender ideology in particular. The data presented indicate that education tends to have a greater positive impact on recognition of gender inequality than on endorsement of group-based remedies for such inequality. This pattern is consistent with the argument that education reproduces rather than challenges social inequality. In addition, in some attitudinal domains with employment-related content, education has a stronger effect on women's gender-related attitudes than on men's. This suggests that differing interests may shape the effect of education on men's versus women's attitudes and that education may offer women resources that encourage some change in their interpretation of their subordinate group status.