Gender and American Jews
Patterns in Work, Education, and Family in Contemporary Life
9781584657569
9781584658276
Distributed for Brandeis University Press
Gender and American Jews
Patterns in Work, Education, and Family in Contemporary Life
In Gender and American Jews, Harriet Hartman and Moshe Hartman interpret the results of the two most recent National Jewish Population Surveys. Building on their critical work in Gender Equality and American Jews (1996), and drawing on relevant sociological work on gender, religion, and secular achievement, this new book brings their analysis of gendered patterns in contemporary Jewish life right to the present moment. The first part of the book examines the distinctiveness of American Jews in terms of family behavior, labor-force patterns, and educational and occupational attainment. The second investigates the interrelationships between “Jewishness” and religious, economic, and family behavior, including intermarriage. Deploying an engaging assortment of charts and graphs and a rigorous grasp of statistics, the Hartmans provide a multifaceted portrait of a multidimensional population.
Table of Contents
Preface – Sylvia Barack Fishman • Acknowledgments • An Introduction to Gender and American Jews and the Significance of the Inquiry • THE DISTINCTIVENESS OF GENDERED PATTERNS OF SECULAR ACHIEVEMENT AMONG AMERICAN JEWS • Education Patterns: The Foundation of Family and Economic Roles • Family Patterns of American Jews • Labor Force Participation and Occupational Achievement • Dual-Earning Patterns of American Jews • WAYS OF BEING JEWISH AND THE DISTINCTIVE SECULAR ROLES OF AMERICAN JEWISH WOMEN AND MEN • Gendered Patterns of Jewishness • How Jewishness is Related to Family Patterns of American Jews • How Jewishness is Related to Gendered Patterns of Secular Achievement • How Jewishness is Related to American Jews’ Dual-Earning Patterns • Intermarriage and Gendered Patterns of Secular Achievement • CONCLUSIONS • Conclusions and a Look to the Future • Appendix: Statistical Tables • Notes • References • Index