托福阅读背景知识(295)：男女分工在农业发展中的变化

　　托福阅读背景知识/材料之男女分工在农业发展中的变化，更多托福阅读背景材料/知识尽在新东方在线托福考试频道！

　　在2014年6月29日的托福阅读考试中有这样一道题：男女分工在农业发展中的变化。针对这道托福考题，新东方谢真真老师来为大家普及一下关于性别与社会分工差异的背景知识，这样有助于考生在面对这类题目时方便作答。新东方谢真真老师指出：本文属于因果型文章，侧重点在影响，涉及到男女分工在农业发展中的变化，背景知识不难，在理解时重点提取产生的影响体现在什么方面，假设是否成立。

　　托福阅读真题再现：

　　版本一：原始社会男女各自司职的变化 以前原始女人地位高 因为他们负责种田收获务实 后来工具发明后男人地位比女人高 女人只能生产副产品 比如养牛羊 织布 带孩子

　　版本二：性别作用和地位在农业发展中的变化

　　版本三：农业发展对男女角色分工和的影响 从女人务农到男耕女织

　　解析：

　　解析：本文属于因果型文章，侧重点在影响，涉及到男女分工在农业发展中的变化，背景知识不难，在理解时重点提取产生的影响体现在什么方面，假设是否成立。

　　相关背景：

　　The gender division of labor varies significantly across societies. In particular, there are large differences in the extent to which women participate in activities outside of the home. For instance, in 2000, the share of women aged 15 to 64 in the labor force ranged from a low of 16.1% in Pakistan to 90.5% in Burundi.

　　A number of scholars have argued that these differences reflect differences in underlying cultural values and beliefs. Consistent with this, data on self-reported values about gender confirm that countries with lower female labor force participation also have stronger beliefs of gender inequality. However, this culture-based explanation still leaves unanswered the deeper question of why cultural differences exist in the first place.

　　One hypothesis, initially proposed by Ester Boserup (1970), is that the origin of these differences lies in the different types of agriculture traditionally practiced across societies. In particular, she highlights important differences between shifting agriculture and plough agriculture. Shifting agriculture, which uses hand-held tools like the hoe and the digging stick, is labor-intensive with women actively participating in farm work. By contrast, plough agriculture is more capital-intensive, using the plough to prepare the soil. Unlike the hoe or digging stick, the plough requires significant upper body strength, grip strength, and bursts of power, which are needed to either pull the plough or control the animal that pulls it. As well, farming with the plough is less compatible with simultaneous childcare, which is almost always the responsibility of women. As a result, men tended to specialize in agricultural work outside the home.

　　Within plough agriculture societies, centuries of a gender-based division of labor created a cultural belief that it is more natural for men to work outside the home than women. These cultural beliefs then continue to persist even after the economy transitions from agriculture to industry and services. Through this cultural channel, traditional agriculture affects the participation of women in activities performed outside of the home today.