Blumberg, Rae

Among gender theorists, Rae Lesser Blumberg (1984, 1978) has been at the forefront of a scientific theory of gender stratification. This theory draws from empirical knowledge of diverse societies, first initiated when she was a peace corps volunteer in Venezuela and now totaling data collected in 38 societies. Her data set now ranges from hunting and gathering, through horticulture and agrarianism, to industrial and postindustrial societies. Her theory is thus designed to explain gender inequalities or equalities in all times and places.

The theory originated in her PhD dissertation, from Northwestern University, in which she drew upon Gerhard Lenski's typology of societal types. But the main impetus to the theory has come from empirical observations and a series of puzzles about the roles played by women in diverse societies and the reactions of men to these roles. Her work was also prompted by her involvement in the social movements of the 1960s and 1970s. In her various academic positions, beginning with the University of Wisconsin, through the University of California at San Diego, to her current position as Kenan Professor of Sociology at the University of Virginia, she has continued to expand her knowledge of diverse societies, especially various levels of women's economic power, while refining the theory of gender stratification.

The theory emphasizes women's degree of control of the means and the distribution of economic surplus. The more women can control their means of economic production and its allocation, the more power and prestige they can gain; and conversely, the less women can control their economic activities, the less prestige and power they will have. This basic relationship is, however, affected by two other variables. One is the level at which control over economic power is nested. Male-female relations are nested in households; households are lodged in local communities; and households and communities are nested inside a class structure that, in turn, is part of a state-based political system. Second is what she terms the “discount rate of women's work.” When women have economic power at the household level, it will be discounted or devalued relative to that of men, whereas when women have power at the more macrolevel—say, state power—their power will be enhanced at the household level. Thus, the more women control their productive activities at the macrolevel, the more power and prestige they will have at microlevels.

The key to gender equality, then, is the capacity to gain control of economic power: that is, women's control of their means of production and allocation of their productive outputs. This control is determined, first of all, by women's ability to participate in the economy and, second, by their capacity to mitigate against the discount rate for their labor by holding macrolevel power. Moreover, if women's labor is strategically indispensable, they can gain economic power, with indispensability increasing with high demand for women's labor services; compatibility of work with reproductive obligations; possession of technical expertise; autonomy from male supervision; scale of women's work groups; organization of women to pursue their interests; and avoidance of competition from other sources of labor. Under these conditions, women's indispensability increases. Furthermore, the structure of kinship is crucial. If a kinship system allows women to hold and inherit property, they have greater economic power.

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