Transcript The Urban Geography of Women’s Daily Lives Melissa R. Gilbert Department of Geography and Urban Studies Temple University July 19, 2005 bITS Geographies Informal Science Lecture Series Sponsored by the.

The Urban Geography
of Women’s Daily Lives
Melissa R. Gilbert
Department of
Geography and
Urban Studies
Temple University
July 19, 2005
bITS Geographies Informal
Science Lecture Series
Sponsored by the National
Science Foundation
Urban Geography
Urban geographers ask the following questions:

Why are different types of people, activities
(industry, recreation, residential), and
infrastructure (buildings, highways, public
transportation) located where they are and
why does that matter to people’s every day
lives in metropolitan areas? How has this
changed over time?

Who benefits from the allocation of resources
(jobs, housing, education, parks, libraries) and
power (economic, political) and who does not?
How has this changed over time?

What do we want our cities to look like? How
do we make them work better for all people?
How do we go about making the changes
happen?
Urban Geography
How do we answer these questions?

To understand the geography of cities many
people will look to the actions of politicians,
city planners or major developers. But only a
partial perspective.

Ordinary people create the everyday
geographies of the city.
–
–
–

Place-based social networks.
Choices about where to live, work,
worship, shop etc.
Community activists/volunteers/agents of
change
Data Sources
–
–
Maps, census data, archival data etc.
People—interviews, surveys, observation
etc.
Urban Geography and
Women
My research goals:

What can we learn about the geography of
cities from the perspective of ordinary
people—particularly women and girls?

How do gender roles help to explain the way
cities look and are experienced by women and
men?
Sex= biological differences between males and
females
Gender =the socially created differences
between men and women
Gender Roles= the socially learned behaviors
and expectations associated with masculinity
and femininity. Gender roles change over
time and are different in various places and
cultures.
Occupational Segregation by
Gender
What is occupational segregation by gender?

The segregation of women and men into
distinct occupations is a well documented
characteristic of the U.S. labor force.

In 462 of the 500 job categories that exist in
the US, at least 80% of the workers were
either women OR men.
–
98% of all secretaries are women, 91% of
all nurses, 98.8 % of all preschool and
secondary teachers, 86% of all data entry
workers.
–
90% of all engineers are men, 85% of
police officers and detectives, and 92% of
all precision, production, craft and repair
workers.
–
15% of all professors in geography are
women.
20 Leading Occupations of Employed Women, U.S.
(2001 annual averages)
Occupations
Total
employed
(women)
Total
employed
(men and
women)
(in thousands)
Percent
Women
Women’s
median
usual
weekly
earnings
Ratio of
women’s
earnings
to men’s
earnings
(in %)
(in $$)
(in %)
Total, 16 years and
over
62,992
135,073
46.6%
$511
76.0%
Managers and
administrators
2,486
8,018
31.0
762
65.6
Secretaries
2,366
2,404
98.4
475
n.a.
Cashiers
2,288
2,974
76.9
292
89.3
Sales supervisors
and proprietors
1,990
4,836
44.1
502
70.5
Registered nurses
2,013
2,162
93.1
820
87.9
Elementary school
teachers
1,828
2,216
82.5
731
94.9
Nursing aides,
orderlies, and
attendants
1,874
2,081
90.0
356
89.7
Bookkeepers,
accounting, and
auditing clerks
1,506
1,621
92.9
474
93.7
Waiters and
waitresses
1,029
1,347
76.4
317
87.3
Sales workers, retail,
and personal
services3
1,023
2,311
44.3
n.a.
n.a.
Receptionists
1,015
1,047
96.9
401
n.a.
Sales workers, other
commodities3
925
1,426
64.9
351
82.0
Accountants and
auditors
975
1,657
58.8
687
72.0
20 Leading Occupations of Employed Women, U.S.
(continued)
Occupations
Total
employed
(women)
Total
employed
(men and
women)
(in thousands)
Total, 16 years
and over
Percent
Women
Women’s
median
usual
weekly
earnings
Ratio of
women’s
earnings
to men’s
earnings
(in %)
(in $$)
(in %)
62,992
135,073
46.6
$511
76.0%
Cooks
881
2,073
42.5
305
87.9
Investigators and
adjusters,
excluding
insurance
878
1,171
75.0
487
89.4
Janitors and
cleaners
779
2,166
36.0
318
81.7
Secondary school
teachers
763
1,304
58.5
759
91.9
Hairdressers and
cosmetologists
772
854
90.4
374
n.a.
General office
clerks
756
903
83.7
462
96.0
Administrative
support
occupations
779
1,020
76.4
512
82.3
Occupational Segregation by
Gender
Why does occupational segregation by
gender matter?

Occupational segregation by gender matters
because the jobs that many women take
earn less money. The wage gap is one of
the major causes of economic inequality
today.
2003 Median Annual Earnings by Race
and Sex
Race/gender
Earnings
Wage ratio
White men
$41,211
100.0%
Black men
$32,241
78.2
White women
$31,169
75.6
Black women
$26,965
65.4
Hispanic men
$26,083
63.3
Hispanic women
$22,363
54.3
All men
$40,668
All women
$30,724
Wage gap
75.5%
Occupational Segregation by
Gender
Why does occupational segregation by
gender matter?

While the wage gap has been declining over
the past 15 years, too much of that decline is
do to men’s wages declining in general.
Women's Earnings as a Percentage of Men's,
1951–2003
(for year-round, full-time work)
Year
Percent
1951
63.9%
1960
60.7
1970
59.4
1980
60.2
1990
71.6
2000
73.3
2001
76.3
2002
76.6
2003
75.5
Occupational Segregation by
Gender
What causes it?

55% of the wage gap can be explained by
education, experience, industry, occupation,
union rates or work hours

45% of the wage gap can be explained by
discrimination, stereotyping, and gender
role socialization.
Occupational Segregation by
Gender
How does geography contribute to
occupational segregation by gender?
Large scale studies based on surveys show that:

Women have shorter commutes to work than
men and that women in so-called “women’s
jobs” have the shortest commutes of all.
Why? Gender roles. Women with children
tend to search for jobs closer to home
because of child care, domestic
responsibilities and limited access to
transportation.

Social networks, developed in places, connect
women to so-called “women’s jobs” and men
to so-called “men’s jobs.”
Why? Gender roles.
Women—other women, family, community and
local contacts.
Men—other men and work contacts.
Research Goals and
Methods
Research Objective
 Why do women choose their jobs?
 Why do women use social networks? Do they use
different types of networks for different reasons?
 What do woman think would make their lives
easier?
Whom did I interview?
 95 working women with children
 Worcester, MA
 2 hr. interviews, taped, transcribed, coded,
analyzed
How did I find them?
 Community leaders
 Word of mouth
Research Goals and
Methods
What types of questions did I ask?

Open ended questions
– Where did they go everyday?
– How did they make their job, child care,
and housing decisions?
– What role did social networks play in their
daily life?
– What would make their lives easier?

Close ended questions
– Job, child care, and housing histories
– Household members, number and ages of
children etc.
Results
The Spatial Extent of Women’s Daily Lives

Women had short travel times to work but
women’s travel times to work increased
substantially when you take child care into
account
”It takes five minutes for me to get from my job to the
[day care], and usually I'll talk to [her son’s] teachers
because I like to know what happened during the day
with him, because he's the youngest... So I'll stay
there like ten, fifteen minutes sometimes. And then
we'll leave and it takes like ten minutes if the traffic is
o.k. to get the girls [at another day care].” AfricanAmerican woman, data entry
“Well, it's [childcare one] just five minutes [from work],
but in the wrong direction. So I go there and pick her
up, and I have to go pick up the other kid which is
maybe ten minutes from there [childcare one], and
then from there [childcare two] going home is another
five minutes. But it would take at least a half hour
because you can't just go there and throw the kid in
the car as you drive by slowly. You have to park the
car, go up the stairs, dress the kid, bring her down the
stairs, do the seatbelt, and do the same thing for the
next kid.” White woman, typist
Results
The Spatial Extent of Women’s Daily
Lives
Child care adds time to the work trip
“I pick him [her son] up. It's so funny because it's
like this whole scenario starting over again. I
remember when he was going to daycare and it
used to drive me crazy that I had to drop him
off, pick him up, drop him off. I would tell
George [her husband], “you're going to get your
turn, when that kid goes to school (laugh).” But
it seems like it just never works that way. It
seems like the mothers are always stuck
picking up the kid and dropping him off, no
matter what, you know what I'm saying? To
drop him off, I leave the house at 8:00, he's
there by 8:30 so 1/2 hour drive. And then from
there I go to work which is another 20 minutes
or so. It takes me about an hour more or less
to commute.” Puerto Rican woman, teacher
Results
The Spatial Extent of Women’s Daily Lives

Many women would not travel further to work
for higher pay because of their children
”[I wouldn't travel far] because in the back of my mind
would be getting my kids so I would think if the car
broke down, if I got a flat tire, ran out of gas, all of
those factors would be in the back of my mind and I
don't want the stress. So probably the most I would
do would be 20 minutes, but that would be if it's a
great paying job and [during] the hours my kids were
in school.” White woman, data entry
”I wouldn't go too far [to work], I'm having trouble as it is.
I need to be there if something happens with the kids-15 minutes max.--like where I work now, it takes
about 15 minutes to get to any school I might need
to.” African-American woman, typist
Results
The Interrelatedness of Housing,
Employment, and Childcare Decisions

Women must fulfill the roles of mother,
employee, and family provider. Therefore,
many women’s employment, child care, and
housing decisions are complex and interrelated
“[I switched from night shift to day shift] because my girls
were growing . . . I knew they were going to be
interested in boys and I wanted to be home at night
[laugh]. So when they wanted to go to parties . . .
and their father would say no, but he sleeps very
soundly and they'd be sneaking right on out so I
wanted to be home.” African-American woman,
trouble center operator, electric company
”So I used to work 11-7 in a nursing home but that wasn't
really working out because I couldn't take of my son
and take my daughter to school, I was too tired when
I came back so it just didn't work out…. Then he [her
husband] used to work from 7:00 in the morning to
3:00 so I used to work 3-11. Sometimes and my sister
would just watch the kids or his aunt or somebody
would watch the kids til he got home.” Puerto Rican
woman, nursing aide
Results
The Interrelatedness of Housing,
Employment, and Child Care Decisions

The intertwined nature of women’s housing,
child care, and employment decisions sets
spatial limits on their daily lives.
“I had to run my kids off. Well my two older ones were
going to school so I took them over to a neighbor and
then the baby, I had to stroll him up the street to a
friend's house about five blocks away and then grab a
bus and be there to work by 8:00 a.m.” Puerto Rican
woman, assistant manager, non-profit organization

Lack of access to cars and reliance on public
transportation are big factors in women’s
decisions about jobs, child care and housing
and sets spatial limits on their daily lives.
“I looked for the job particularly because it was within the
bus route...The crossing guard at his [son] school,
took him after school...She'd walk him to the bus stop
and put him on my city bus. I would like walk up to
the front of the bus and say, "o.k. I'm here" and I'd
wave to her and he'd get on” White woman, day care
provider
Results
Social Networks

The spatial extent of women’s lives helps to
determine where and with whom women
develop networks.
I started out [how she found a job] when I was on
welfare and my landlady, who was wonderful,
adopted me as her adopted daughter. ..She invited
me to a meeting one night and again, they gave you
a $5 stipend for attending. Well, that represented
bread and pampers okay. Well little did I know that
this is where the networking began. This is where I
met other women. …They [neighbors] played a key
role [in child care], oh, they really did you know. It
was my landlady for a number of years, then she
rented out to…an older woman who again was like a
motherly, would kind of watch out for the kids. But
the last two people who were there were both single
parents and we shared. White woman, secretary
Results
Social Networks

The location of social networks helps to
determine the spatial extent of women’s daily
lives.
“I'm Italian, so it was not just my parents and my sister, I
had my grandparents, my aunts [laugh], the whole
street was full of family, you know it was just
everyone. I paid an insignificant amount of rent, so I
got a lot of help with everything...It was real hard for
me to get back into that [living with the family], but it
was convenient. Nurse
“My daughter sleeps over my sister’s at night time during
the week…my sister gets her off [to school] in the
morning …they [her sister’s children] all go to the
same school…I iron her clothes and everything so all
she got to do is give her a bath at night…and get her
washed in the morning…My son, I bring him over [to
the same sister] early in the morning when I go [to
work]…She watches him until I get home from work
during my break around 9:00/9:30 a.m. I take him
from her and then by 12:00 p.m. she has him back.”
African-American woman, school bus attendant
Results
Social Networks

Women rely on people they meet in the
community, workplace, and neighborhood as
well as family members.
"I was always told, and anyplace I go, I have to find and
establish a church family, and that's what you do...I'm
not going to say all people at church are good, but
you know once you establish yourself, I think you get
a lot of help." African-American woman, claims
representative, insurance company

Women’s social networks are largely other
women except for family.
“And so my brother lived with me because I needed
somebody to be there because I couldn't afford to live
there by myself. Plus it was kind of desolate you
know...after I had the baby... I was a little concerned,
you know, oh if anything ever happened you know, or
if something happened to me you know like I fell
down the steps and died you know who would ever
know?...But I would prefer to live alone” White
woman, legal secretary
Results
Social Networks

Personal contacts, which connect women to
jobs, childcare, housing, and more generally
are used for economic and emotional support,
can be a resource as well as a constraint.
[Formal day care is] more reliable…without a
question...The day care and preschool are always
there…I’ve wound up taking a day off because I didn’t
have a baby-sitter [her mother took care of her
children for no pay]…but the centers don’t
close…And I think, you know, they get structure and
learn how to socialize with other children. White
woman, social worker
”I would have never moved to Massachusetts without
having family here. But in a way I'm glad that I'm
here and the rest of my family is there [Syracuse,
NY]. My downfall is ...I care about them a lot and
they used to use that to get money and things
because they knew I would give it... and then they
wouldn't pay me back. It took from my family.”
African-American woman, victims advocate, court
system
Results
Social Networks
Social networks are a resource/constraint
“I wouldn't move too far from my parents. My mother
doesn't drive and my father is sick...I do the grocery
shopping, call the doctors, and stay up in the
hospital.” White woman, secretary/receptionist at day
care center
“Then what happened was is that they used to rent
rooms on Elm Street so then she was paying a lot of
money and they wouldn't fix anything so I just had her
move in with me and that way she could stay and get
a better apartment plus her kids were going to come
live with her so then she would take care of my kids
and like I wouldn't charge her any rent, I said she
should just save her money so that's how we worked
things out.” Puerto Rican woman, beautician
Conclusions

Women with children have multiple
responsibilities that require them to
navigate time/space in complicated ways
every day.

These multiple roles set spatial limits on
women’s daily lives which limit their
choices of work and lead them to low
paying jobs.

The spatial boundedness of their lives also
allows women to develop social networks
in places to help meet their multiple roles
as mothers, employees and family
providers.

Women rely on different types of networks
for different types of assistance. Women’s
networks tend to be made up of other
women.
Conclusions

These networks can be both constraining
(leading to low paying jobs or unreliable
childcare) and/or enabling (allowing a housingchildcare-job solution within severe time/space
constraints).
“I have a lot of contacts in the community. Part of it has
been my jobs and besides that my mother was in
social services when I was a kid so a lot of it is roots
and I always use my resources...I have a lot of
friends at work. It is sort of a women's network. I also
belong to a black women's network group…We all
grew up together. Our fathers and mothers knew
each other. We all lived in the same neighborhood or
same side of the city. In the group I was in we all
talked about leaving and how it would be to terminate
some place that you grew up and that was really
horrendous you know thinking about it. I know the
streets, I know where the jobs are, I could pick up the
phone and call you. My mom is here. You go to
Atlanta or Virginia, you don't have those contacts, you
don't have any coping. What do you do to replace
the coping? So it's easier to stay here. “ AfricanAmerican woman, case manager, social welfare
agency
Conclusions
“When I came to Worcester, I met a woman who I
cleaned houses with for one month. I was living at a
shelter and I found a job. Eventually I moved into a
co-op because Pam (a friend) convinced me to…I left
my kids with neighbors. Even for me it was pretty iffy
and risky, but it worked out OK…That's just the way I
am--it is a conscious strategy …When you don't have
your family nearby, you have to turn to people who
aren't related to you. I have no family in Worcester. I
meet people through my children and through friends
at work." White woman, administrative assistant and
cashier
Policy Implications

Affordable and high quality child
care located near home and work

Improve public transportation and
lower costs

Job training and education in nontraditional fields

Housing policies that do not disrupt
social networks

Value “women’s work” in the home
and workplace