Properties of gender identity and their implications for gender consciousness

Three properties of gender identity—perceived similarity to other women, sense of common fate and centrality of gender to the sense of self—were measured in national surveys of women in the United States. Analyses of their relationships to gender consciousness support the general proposition that these properties of identity are implicated in different ways in collective discontent, criticism of the legitimacy of gender disparities and acceptance of change‐oriented collective action. As predicted, the sense of common fate proved the most important, even after adjustments were made for the structural resources in women's lives that help them develop both a sense of common fate and gender consciousness.