Gender division in sociology degree programmes – causes and effects?

Signs of the feminization of sociology in Turkey: Transformation of gender composition and possible scenarios

“…The changes in gender composition in the discipline are generally discussed on the basis of the process of the feminization of sociology and its consequences (see e.g. DiFuccia et al, 2007; McNamee et al, 1990; Roos, 1997; Skipper et al, 1987; Spalter-Roth, 2003; Spalter-Roth and Lee, 2000; Witt, 2009). While many academics have considered this as a positive development or transformation, others have concentrated on the transformative effects of such development.…”

“…Considering the changes in gender composition of particular academic disciplines in the social sciences, sociology in particular deserves attention. This is because ‘sociology was traditionally male-dominated like nearly all degree courses’ (Witt, 2009: 450); however, data suggest that in recent years and in certain countries, women are increasingly visible in sociology, both in terms of students and academic personnel. For example, the 2004 and 2009 data for the Committee on the Status of Women in Sociology (CSWS), which is part of the American Sociological Association (ASA), and the reports Gender Trends in Sociology and Social Sciences (1966–2012, 1990–2011) of the American Sociological Association all suggest that while men have started to abandon the area/discipline, women, conversely, have become more visible.…”

“…For example, the 2004 and 2009 data for the Committee on the Status of Women in Sociology (CSWS), which is part of the American Sociological Association (ASA), and the reports Gender Trends in Sociology and Social Sciences (1966–2012, 1990–2011) of the American Sociological Association all suggest that while men have started to abandon the area/discipline, women, conversely, have become more visible. Furthermore, data in the study conducted by Ann-Katrin Witt (2009), which addresses the change in female–male student ratios in sociology departments of universities in Sweden, suggest a dominance of female students and a gradually declining number of male students. Harley and Wickham (2014: 31) argue that in Australia, the sociology discipline which was dominated by men in 1959 now has more female students than male students and has more women than men in academic posts at all levels and that the trend is clearly towards feminization.…”