Introduction
A lot of research has been conducted regarding the crime rates between men and women. Men have been consistently showing higher crime rates than women. Researchers have given biological and socio-cultural reasons for the disparity of crime rates between the men and women. Recently, it has been noted that female crime rates are increasing as more women enter the labor force. This has caused researchers to look more keenly on the impact of division of labor between the different genders on the crime rates. The findings have shown that the division of labor has a huge impact.
Role of Division of Labor in Gender Crime Rates
The rate of male criminal offenders is higher than the rate of female crime offenders. One of the contributing factors to the disparity in the crime rates between the genders is the labor force participation. The tendency in women’s crime rate has been higher in the minor offenses of shop-lifting and theft while men have been involved in more serious crimes. Women have shown a lower rate in the serious crimes. Research has shown that women are no more or no less likely to commit crime compared to men. What really matters are the opportunities available to an individual to commit a criminal offense. Men commit more serious crimes than women because of their location in the labor force environment. In most white collar professions the number of men is higher than the women. This makes the men have more opportunities, skills and social networks causing them to record higher crime rates than women.
This proves that men have been displaying high crime rates because of the opportunities of committing fraud that are present in the workplace. However the female crime rate has been increasing and it has been linked to higher participation in the labor force. In 1960, for every thousand offenders, there were only three. By 2003, the number of women offenders per thousand of offenders had increased to 15. The rate of male crime in property offenses increased over the same period however the rate of increase has not been as high. At the same time the rate of women’s labor participation has increased steadily since 1960 while that of men has been showing a long steady decline (Engelhardt, Rocheteau & Rupert, 2007). These statistics explain the impact on the division of labor amongst men and women in society and its impact on the gender crime rates. With higher participation in the labor force, there have also been decreased fertility rates, increase in real wages and increase in educational attainment among women contributing to the higher female crime rates. As women gain higher education and skills, they become empowered and no longer engage in petty crimes like shop-lifting or mild threats. Rather there will be an increase in the rate of women’s property crimes such as embezzlement, forgery and fraud (Kevonne, 2000). Increased participation in the labor force also causes the women to engage less in violent crimes at home against their children and husbands.
The woman who does well in her career will feel more confident and empowered and will more likely engage in property crimes instead. Another contributing factor in the increase in female crime rates is the gender inequality in the workplace. As women increase in the workplace, they end up receiving poorer pay and working conditions than the men thus they get more involved in crime to be economically empowered. As more women enter the labor force, they become masculinized. They become like men and have male characteristics such as aggressiveness and hardheartedness. They therefore learn to use crime as a way to get success and power. In the future as more and more women join the workforce the rate of men and women crime rates will converge.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the way the men and women lead their daily lives influences the rates of crime in both the men and the women.
References
Engelhardt, B.,Rocheteau, G. & Rupert, P.(2007). The Labor Market and Female Crime. Web.
Kevonne, S. (2000) Female Crime in the United States, 1963-1998: An Update (Statistical Data Included). Web.