Exploring Gender Inequality with Maps and Tables [Interactive Maps]

The Gender Equality Explorer was created by the Women's Foundation of Minnesota and  the University of Minnesota's Center on Women and Public Policy.  

 Link to the Explorer Here

The tools are based on American Community Survey Data. You can generate tables and maps based on different geographic areas and variables.

Table Tools - The table tool is straightforward; however, there are 116 different variables choices. This can feel a little overwhelming.  The generated tables are neat and easy to read (To some people, these tables might be easier to generate and read that the ones that come from American Fact Finder); however, be careful when you run a query for multiple geographies. For example, if you want to look at household type by county in Connecticut, the default is for the data for each county to be displayed on a separate page. You have to click through all of the pages OR change the default setting on the number of geography items per page.  Depending on your tables and geographies, these tables can become unwieldy.  The nice thing that is you can download the data into Excel (Click on the EXPORT tab). This allows you a little more control over how you present the data.

Maps: The mapping feature takes a bit longer to load (be patient) and opens up to a default map. When you get there, click on the "Change Data" button to make a different map. [This button is on the upperleft hand corner of your screen]. Once you finish making your map, you can export it to an image or to a power point.

While I really like this site, keep in mind that you are limited to census/ACS variables.  So you can look at education and poverty by sex category, but you can't look at other important indicators if they aren't ACS questions (such as the number of male and female politicians). With that said, this tool is a easier to use than American Fact Finder because it limits you to sex/gender variables.

Diversity Data Kids [Interactive Maps]

This site is great because it allows users to generate custom maps based on certain variables of interest. One can generate the maps based on a number of geographic areas (states, counties, school districts, metro areas)

The majority of the indicators are related to children's outcomes in some way; however, keep in mind that not all variables are available at all of the location types. Some of the variables can be broken down further by race or poverty level.

• Population Demographics and Diversity
• Early Childhood Care and Education
• Education
• Health
• Parental Employment
• Policy
• Income and Poverty

Here is an example of a map that I generated.  

I really like that these maps are so easy to generate and the program generally seems to run quickly; however, one of the reasons is because the options are limited.  The lack of choices makes things pretty user friendly - but it also means that you don't get too much complexity here. In addition, I have not  found out any way to download the data that are generated.   Despite this drawback, the tool is a nice way to make a quick map of a variable of interest.

Finding and Analyzing Arrest Data [Data] [Interactive Feature]

The Bureau of Justice Statistics has a pretty cool interactive tool that let you look at arrest statistics from 1980 onward.  The interactive tables also allow you to look at how certain arrest rates differ by race and gender.  You can see an example below.

In order to make this graph I clicked on the "National Estimates" and then selected "Trend Graphs by Sex".  The tool then gave me the option to choose Age Group, Sex, and Offense. If you want to see a trend line for both men and women (as I do above), make sure you select the check box for men and women. After I made all my selected, I click on "Make Rates Graph"

I like that it is easy to generate the graphs - giving  very visual representation of trends. You could ask them to hypothesize how certain offenses might vary by gender, race, or over time. After discussion, you can easily generate a graph to answer the question. They can also easily generate these graphs at home. In addition, you can download the data into Excel.

This would also be a great tool to start a discussion about this type of data.  Are "arrests" good measures of crime? How are rates different from counts?

UN Human Development Index [Data]

The UN Human Development Index measures the life expectancy, educational attainment, and income of most nations. "The breakthrough for the HDI was the creation of a single statistic which was to serve as a frame of reference for both social and economic development."

The site is a great way to have students look up differences between nations and regions on three major indicators. The data are also easy to sort on the spot- and so you could use this in class to start a discussion on global inequality.

UN Human Development Index

The site does a great job explaining how each data point was calculated, so this would also be a nice tool to use if you wanted to talk about measuring and operationalizing concepts.

Finding Polling Data Online [Data Downloads]

Sometimes you are interested in looking at polling data on social issues in order to make a point to class. Other times, students are looking for evidence to support their arguments.

Polling Report is a good place to grab some quick information on public opinion.
Link to Polling Report

 This stripped down site simply lists a number of topic areas. Click on each one to see recent polling data.

Once you click on a topic, you will see information of who conducted the poll, the polling dates, sample size, and margin of error. You can also see the exact question that was asked and the percentage of people who gave each response. (This is a great tool to use for talking about building survey questions). Occasionally, you will also see additional information that shows responses by demographics such as age, gender, or political party.

While this is a great way to get a pulse on some social issues, one downside is that you can't actually download any data from this site or delve further into the methods or responses. However once you see a poll that you are interested in, you can usually google that specific polling organization to get more some information on that particular poll.

Other Good Sites for Finding Polling Data

Gallup Poll

Mapping US Mass Shootings [Interactive Map]

This interactive map from Mother Jones is a good tool to use if you want to talk about mass shootings in your class room. If you hover above the shooting location, you can see important details about the shooter including the shooter demographics and information about the guns that were used.

Click here to link to Mother Jones Guide to Mass Shootings

Mapping Poverty in the US [Interactive Map]

This interactive map from the New York Times uses Census data to show where the poor live. You can the number of people living in poverty or the percentage living in poverty. You can also hover your mouse over each county to see the numbers for that county. When you zoom in,  you can also get the data for smaller geographies like Census tracts.  If you click on several of the big cities on the bottom ribbon, the map will zoom right in to that area.

Click to View Interactive Poverty Map

This map can be a useful starting point for talking about how and why poverty is distributed the way it is. You can use local counties and then ask students to speculate on why there are so many discrepancies between them.  I also think it can be useful to show this map alongside a map of racial/ethnic dispersion to help students see the intersection between race and social class

Mapping Racial Segregation [Interactive Map]

This interactive map is very useful for visualizing what racial/ethnic segregation looks like in the US. There is a large amount of data here, all taken from the Census, and so the map can be slow to load.  In addition, sparsely populated rural areas can be hard to find.

-Once you open up the map, I recommend clicking on "Add Map Labels" to help you navigate your way around.

Click Here for Explanation and Methodology of the Map

Click here for the Interactive Racial Dot Map

Here is an example from the map -looking at Minneapolis-St Paul.


FYI - If you are teaching in a large city and just looking for a map of that city  it might help you to use these screen shots that Wired Magazine took.  [This is where I originally saw the link]
Wired Magazine

The Composition of Families in the US [Interactive Graphic]

This interactive graphic from the New York Times asks the question "How Many Households Are Like Yours?" Users choose the primary residents of the household and then can add people. The graphic will then show the number and percentages of US families that meet the same criteria.   Selecting household members also produces graphs showing how this particular type of family has varies with respect to time, race/ethnicity, and income level. This graphic relies on Census Data.

Click Here to Link to NYTimes Household Interactive

This is a great way to introduce a discussion about changing family structures in the US or just to quickly find some demographics that you can use as talking points.

Exploring Differences in the Number of Adults With College Degrees [Interactive Map]

This interactive map, published by the Chronicle of Higher Education, allows the user to examine trends in higher education.  Users can compare the the percentage of adults with college degree from 1940 to 2009. Users can also look at differences by county or by demographics such as gender or race. One final cool feature is that you can isolate certain types of counties, such as wealthy counties or heavily Hispanic counties. The Census is the primary source of Data.

Click here for Link to Interactive Map

The only downside to this one is that users mus have a Chronicle password. Because of that, this would probably work better as an in class demo rather than as a student assignment.  This would be a great starting point for a conversation about rising levels of higher education or about stratification by demographics.

Measuring Social Class [Interactive Graphic]

This interactive graphic from the New York Times gives a number of ways to look at social class. It is a bit dated (uses 2001 and 2003 IPUMS Data), but still useful.To see the different possibilities, click on one of the four tabs at the top of the graphic.

Click here for NY Times Graphic : How Class Works

1. Components of Class:  This interactive breaks down social class by 4 measurable variables > Occupation, Education, Income, and Wealth.  Users can select different values of each variable to determine where someone falls on the social class spectrum. 
2. How Class Breaks Down - This interactive uses a 5x5 grid to display what class people are in based on occupation. In my opinion, the interpretation of this one is not as user friendly as the others.
3. Income Mobility -  There are four subsections here. Navigate using the titles on the top left.
1. How mobility works - This interactive gives you a sense of how people started out in 1988 and compares to where they wound up in 1998. Clicking on each social class helps illustrate that social mobility is not as easy as many think it is.
2. Overall Trends, Income Elasticity, and Country by Country are not interactive but they do have graphs that you may find useful.
4. A Nationwide Poll - These graphics are static but you could grab them and use them for presentations. There are five subsections of graphics - click on the titles to the far left in order to see them all. You can also download the complete poll results.

You can use this for talking about social class in a content class - or you can use it for talking about measurement in a methods class.

Female candidate speech on gender in politics

Watching TV show "Scandal", I found this video of a Congresswoman responds to a sexist interview. I think this would be useful for illustrating ...