A Sociological Study of the Effects of Exposure to Gender Stereotypes on Women’s Unequal Position in Family (Case Study: University of Mazandaran Students)

The aim of the present study is to investigate the effects of exposure to gender stereotypes on women’s unequal position in family. The theoretical framework of this research is a combination of theories, such as Rigeway and Michell’s gender stereotypes, Fiske’s two_dimensional sexism, Oakley, Gelenn and England’s inequality gender and Burgess and Borgida’s gender streotypes. A survey method has been used in this research and data have been collectedusing a researcher-made questionnaire. The statistical population included 364 female students of University of Mazandaran, selected through stratified sampling method appropriate to the volume. The results of the study showed that about two thirds of the respondents (%63) were exposed to moderate and high (high and very high) unequal position in their parents' families. A comparable percentage of married respondents (%63.5) had also experienced moderate and higher levels of unequal status in their married life. Furthermore, regression analysis of the data showed that the variables of marital status (with beta coefficient of 0.68), exposure to gender stereotypes (0.28), and behaviors based on gender stereotypes (0.15), respectively, were the strongest predictors of the unequal position of women in the family.