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Gender is a social construct placing cultural significance onto sexual identity. As the main source of economic and social welfare for its members, the family is the first building block in the generation of social capital for the larger society (Bubolz 1998, Hogan 1998). Since women are typically the primary care givers, they serve a critical role in the early development of social capital in a society. The individual’s capacity to trust has roots in the mother-child relationship (Picciotto 1998). There is increasing evidence that gender may make a difference in economic circumstances (Molinas 1998). As a result of differing social networks and correspondingly different levels of access to information, men and women face different economic consequences. - "Local gender relations…play a significant role in mediating the translation of economic resources into individual well-being… Women are generally poorer than men because they lack the range of endowments and exchange entitlements which male members of their households tend to enjoy." (Kabeer 1996)
Several studies have found that men and women’s personal networks differ in composition, although they are similar in size. Men’s Networks Men’s networks tend to be more formal since men are more often involved in formal employment. Male networks include more co-workers and fewer kin than women’s networks (Moore 1990). - In Brazil, men tend to create formal organizations, in part to counteract weak social ties, compared to those of women (Neuhouser 1995).
Women’s Networks Women’s networks tend to be informal (Neuhouser 1995) and include more kin relative to male networks (Moore 1990). Women become accustomed to informal networks partly in response to their lack of participation in formal work organizations. - A study on Pakistani women in England found that women who are not formally employed have more time to socialize (Werbner 1991). As a result they are more apt than men to develop friendship networks and they will largely determine the friendships that the family keeps. Women also determine how the family spends money on consumption goods and gifts, an integral part of social networking.
Traditionally, women are responsible for household welfare and child rearing. Reliance on informal exchange networks is necessary among women and their households to share resources, stabilize incomes, and reduce risks. This is especially important because many women are not involved in the formal sectors and as a result are often locked out of information which may help them survive and or thrive. - Social networks of impoverished women in Brazil are found to be important for women to obtain income and other necessities (Norris 1985).
- "Gender discrimination squanders trust, hinders family relations, restricts social networks, and depletes social capital, the valuable capacity of societies to work toward common goals." (Picciotto 1998)
- "In the political network, only 11 percent of parliamentary positions are held by women. In general then, no country has ended gender discrimination…If you have a system in which women are confined to their homes, you can not expect much community-level social capital to be built…The better a society treats its women, the greater the social harmony and the higher the economic productivity." (Picciotto 1998)
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