Social Characteristics Theory: Gender in Relation to Election

Social Characteristics Theory
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Social Characteristics Theory

Sociologists recognize the significance of socialization for healthy societal development. Without socialization, it would be difficult for individuals to relate well and to pass various aspects of their culture from one generation to another. In other words, culture or societal organization can easily die without socialization. However, socialization reproduces inequality due to distinctive people’s social characteristics. For example, individuals in society are categorized differently based on their race, gender, and social classes. Social characteristics theory can be used to explain why no woman was elected to national officer earlier.
The social characteristics theory portrays that the way people socialize in society is highly influenced by their differences, such as race, gender, social classes, cultural background, and education level. These factors differentiate one person from another and make everyone unique in his or her own way. Society perceives people based on where they come, who they are, what they have achieved, their gender, and their affiliations (Lyness & Grotto, 2018). The status differences create social hierarchies that are observed in various group settings. For example, for many years, the United States of America (USA) has male presidents and vice presidents. Traditionally, many people believed that women were incapable of taking top leadership positions in the government. For one, during that time, many females did not join institutions of higher education for study and were not given an opportunity to show their strengths and capabilities in leadership.

Status characteristics theory shows that the emergence and power structure are affected by how individuals in various groups perceive others. For instance, in the case of the USA, where no woman was elected in the national officer earlier before the current Vice President, Kamala Harris, it was difficult due to gender. In simple terms, gender was the primary hindrance for women to rise in power structures. Females were suppressed in that they did not believe that they are capable of taking big roles in leadership (Steffens...