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The economy-of-effort theory is an idea in
anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...
and
gender studies Gender studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to analysing gender identity and gendered representation. Gender studies originated in the field of women's studies, concerning women, feminism, gender, and politics. The field n ...
. Scholars use it to explain why some cultures assign some forms of work to women and other forms of work to men. In an economy-of-effort scenario, a given task is assigned to men or women (or some other
gender role A gender role, or sex role, is a social norm deemed appropriate or desirable for individuals based on their gender or sex. Gender roles are usually centered on conceptions of masculinity and femininity. The specifics regarding these gendered ...
recognized by that culture) not because of differences in their physical bodies but because other things about that culture's gender roles make it more efficient than otherwise. Ember et al. give the example of a hypothetical culture that assigns logging and woodcutting to men. Because this gives men more familiarity with different types of wood and their properties, this society also assigns men such tasks as the construction of wooden musical instruments, even though none of the differences between men's and women's physical characteristics, such as strength, affect the work or its outcome. Anthropologists use this idea to explain division of labor scenarios that are not accounted for by theories of
male expendability Male expendability, the relative expendability argument, or the expendable male hypothesis, is the idea that the lives of male humans are of less concern to a population than those of female humans because they are less necessary for population ...
, relative strength, or compatibility with childcare.


See also

*
Male expendability Male expendability, the relative expendability argument, or the expendable male hypothesis, is the idea that the lives of male humans are of less concern to a population than those of female humans because they are less necessary for population ...
*
Division of labor The division of labour is the separation of the tasks in any economic system or organisation so that participants may specialise (Departmentalization, specialisation). Individuals, organisations, and nations are endowed with or acquire specialis ...
* Strength theory *
Compatibility-with-childcare theory The compatibility-with-childcare theory is an idea in anthropology and gender studies. Scholars use it to explain why some cultures Sexual division of labour, assign some forms of work to women and other forms of work to men (or some other gender ...


References

Anthropology Gender Gender roles {{anthropology-stub