Abstract
In stratification research, the question of how to evaluate the social status of women remains controversial. The problem is that there is no indicator to differentiate between employed and unemployed women. There are two alternative solutions to this problem : the first would be to modify the social status model, keeping the hierarchy of paid occupation as a criterion of evaluation, while the second would be to develop a new scale that includes unpaid activities. However, with respect to the issue of “gender inequality, ” insofar as “gender inequality” is based on liberalism, the unit of social status must necessarily be the individual. Further, the variable for occupational status is one with an inseparable connection to liberal ethics, and stratification research remains dependent on the empirical validity thereof. These political aspects imply that stratification research concerning inequality is restricted to the sphere of the employed. Thus, gender inequality should be considered in the light of its exclusion and alienation from that.
