Bio: (1942-) American gender theorist. Janet Chafetz earned her Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Texas and later taught at the University of Huston. She is famous for using Gerhard Lensky's macro-evolutionary approach to explain gender stratification. She argues that there are two types of forces that perpetuate gender inequality: coercive and voluntary. Coercive forces depend on the ability of men to control resources at the macro level, control gender relations at the micro level, secure elite positions, diminish the economic and cultural significance of women's work, and create gender ideologies and norms. Voluntary forces follow coercive ones, because women, through socialization, adopt gender ideologies and stereotypes, and thus maintain the gender order. Gender stratification continues to function stably until change occurs. Changes can be caused by spontaneous demographic, technological, or political processes, or they can come as a result of organized efforts to change gender relations. Industrialization and urbanization were the most important processes for improving the position of women. The position of women also improves when male members of the elite realize that their survival depends on the recruitment of women into the elite. Her theory of gender stratification enables not only the understanding and prediction of gender relations but also shows how they can be influenced.

Main works

Masculine/Feminine Or Human? an Overview of the Sociology of Sex Roles (1974);

A Primer on the Construction and Testing of Theories in Sociology (1978);

Sex and Advantage: A Comparative Macro-Structural Theory of Sexual Stratification (1984);

Female Revolt (1986);

Feminist Sociology: An Overview of Contemporary Theories (1988);

Gender Equity: An Integrated Theory of Stability (1990);

Religion and the New Immigrants: Continuities and Adaptations in Immigrant Congregations (2000);

Religion Across Borders: Transnational Immigrant Networks (2002);

Handbook on Sociology of Gender (2006).