Kathleen Gerson

Kathleen Gerson (born August 6, 1947) is an American sociologist.[8] She is considered as an authority on such subjects as gender equality particularly within relationships and marriages,[9] changing gender roles,[10] family housework patterns,[11] travel patterns,[12] finances and how they affect household formation,[13] and other aspects of changing family life. Her research is often based on qualitative interviews.[10] She is a tenured professor at New York University.[8]

Kathleen Gerson
Born (1947-08-06) August 6, 1947
Alma materStanford BA, 1969
Berkeley MA 1974, PhD 1981
AwardsDistinguished Merit Award 2014[1]
Jessie Bernard Award, 2013[2][3]
William J. Goode Award, 2012[4][5]
Rosabeth Moss Kanter Award 2003[6]
Distinguished Feminist Lectureship Award, 1998[7]
Scientific career
Doctoral advisorsHarold L. Wilensky
Arlie R. Hochschild
Claude S. Fischer

Research

Gerson's research has studied changing patterns among men and women in the past few decades. She found that young American men ideally want "equal relationships" but that in practice it is often hard to achieve in the real world with "round-the-clock hours and unpredictable on-call availability."[8] In her 2009 book The Unfinished Revolution, she argued that young men and women often planned to marry but were taking their time, and that many found it acceptable to stay unwed if they can not meet their self-imposed high standards for themselves or their partners;[10] she wrote that young women increasingly would prefer to stay single rather than marry and become the sole household raiser of children.[14]

Gerson examined changing patterns among fathers and mothers and housework. For example, she argued in 1997 that the perception that "women can do it all"—in the sense of having both a career and a family—that this perception caused problems, since fathers reluctant to pitch in with household chores could use that perception as an excuse for them not to work, and fathers who wanted to help out with housework were often not accepted by society.[11] She argued that changes in workplace policies affected thinking about gender roles,[9] and that gender boundaries were "blurring".[13] Her examinations of young people who were dating found it less likely that women were seeking men with large "paychecks" and men seeking women as "sex objects", but rather that both sexes were "looking for the whole package".[13] She argued that women who left the workforce did not do so simply to care for children but rather that the motivations were "much more complicated."[15] Her studies detailed numerous stresses on modern marriages, with couples striving to find satisfying relationships while divvying chores in egalitarian ways.[16] In recent years, as persons age, they will move in and out of "different types of families" during their lives, according to her research.[16] She found that men are less concerned if their girlfriend or wife earns more than they do, and more concerned with longer-term issues such as affording a house.[17] She said that Americans were less likely to spend more time on vacation, compared to Europeans, partially because of a culture of "vacation-shaming" and not purely economic concerns.[12]

Selected publications
  • The Unfinished Revolution: Coming of Age in a New Era of Gender, Work, and Family, 2009, Oxford.[10][15]
  • No Man's Land in 1993, BasicBooks.[11]

References
  1. Note: for lifetime achievements, from the Eastern Sociological Society
  2. Note: from the American Sociological Association for distinguished scholarship on gender issues.
  3. Gerson, Kathleen. "Award Statement". American Sociological Association.
  4. Note: Distinguished Book Award for Gerson's Unfinished Revolution from the American Sociological Association
  5. Gerson, Kathleen. "Unfinished Revolution Award Statement" (PDF). American Sociological Association.
  6. Note: for excellence in work-family research in 2003
  7. Note: from the Sociologists for Women in Society
  8. Claire Cain Miller, JULY 30, 2015, The New York Times, Millennial Men Aren’t the Dads They Thought They’d Be, Retrieved August 19, 2015, "... Kathleen Gerson, a sociologist at New York University, found that young men want equal relationships ... difficult as work has become more demanding with round-the-clock hours and unpredictable on-call availability...."
  9. JANUARY 23, 2015, Maanvi Singh, NPR, Young Women And Men Seek More Equal Roles At Work And Home, Retrieved August 19, 2015, "..as workplace policies change, people's attitudes toward gender roles will shift as well, says Kathleen Gerson..."
  10. August 16, 2011, Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz, Chicago Tribune, Marriage? Let me think about it: New generation of couples delays, and even dismisses, matrimony, Retrieved August 19, 2015, "... her 2009 book The Unfinished Revolution... sociologist Kathleen Gerson found that the overwhelming majority plan to marry, but they're not in a hurry..."
  11. August 11, 1997, JENNIFER OLDHAM, Los Angeles Times, Working Fathers': More Responsibilities, More Pressures -- Families: Men who play a greater role at home struggle to find balance and deal with stereotypes. Sound familiar?, Retrieved August 19, 2015, "...author of "No Man's Land" (BasicBooks, 1993)....For men who don't want to be involved, it lets them off the hook..."
  12. August 19, 2015, T.J. Raphael, PRI News, Even fewer Americans than before are taking vacation, Retrieved August 19, 2015, "...Gerson says Americans frequently participate in a sort of “false thinking” about vacations, viewing the time off as a distraction from work. But she says a person’s best thinking can be done on a golf course, at the beach or in a swimming pool. The trend of working more and playing less has more to do with a culture of “vacation-shaming” than it does with money, Gerson adds...."
  13. Sharon Jayson, USA TODAY, February 2, 2011, Singles blur expectations: A new portrait of single Americans, drawn from a major new survey, suggests the attitudes and behaviors of today's singles are quite unlike their counterparts just a few decades ago, Retrieved August 19, 2015, "...Kathleen Gerson... blurring of gender boundaries...They're both looking for the whole package..."
  14. Matthew Yglesias, February 1, 2013, Slate magazine, CHART: Women Prefer Divorce to Housewifery, Retrieved August 19, 2015, "...Kathleen Gerson's book The Unfinished Revolution. ... both men and women say they want an egalitarian arrangement..."
  15. NANETTE FONDAS, March 25, 2013, The Atlantic, The Many Myths About Mothers Who 'Opt Out': Women don't leave the workforce simply because they're desperate to stay home and take care of their kids—their motivations are much more complicated than that., Retrieved August 19, 2015, "...Sociologist Kathleen Gerson surveyed young women for her book, The Unfinished Revolution...."
  16. The Atlantic, THE MANY NEW FACES OF THE AMERICAN FAMILY: Blended families, same-sex marriage, the “sandwich generation,” stay-at-home dads: Welcome to the revolution at home., Retrieved August 19, 2015, "...As individuals move through different life stages, people are going to find themselves moving in and out of different types of families over the course of their lives..."
  17. Emmet Malmström, OCTOBER 14, 2010, 6 Fascinating Facts About Men Today: Recently Cosmo conducted a large-scale survey of guys to help us figure out what males want. The results were then discussed by a panel of distinguished experts at Cosmo's first ever "Man Summit." You don't want to miss what these psychologists, anthropologists, sex therapists, and sociologists revealed..., Retrieved August 19, 2015, "...They're becoming more and more OK with women with bigger paychecks... more concerned with ... being able to buy a house together..."
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