During the 18th and 19th century, patriarchy has been responsible for designing women’s role in society. Throughout history, men have been deemed as superior while women have been regarded as inferior. Society has this ideology that women are the sole laborers of a household; they were not granted the same privileges as men. In addition, women have been negatively affected by stereotyping. Women have been portrayed on television as being submissive to men. The depiction of women on television portrays the implications of a societal view of women. From a man's perspective, an ideal woman is a housewife who does all the household duties herself. However, over the years, studies have shown that gender roles have slowly advanced. Women began to challenge the traditional gender roles, and they expect that men share employment as well as tending to the household and children. The traditional roles that women were expected to play is now an ideology of the past. There is a double standard set between men and women. Women have come a long way; women began to enter the work force in jobs that men held previously. They have also changed their appearance, attitude and how they are viewed by people. Therefore, women are not to be viewed as inferior. Consequently, women went from being submissive to being assertive, influential, and successful individuals. Women went from being submissive to being assertive. Over the years, women’s levels of self-confidence have increased. In today’s society, women refuse to be manipulated by men. Women have become forceful and are no longer subservient to men. Women are now taking assertive actions in both the workplace and their homes. Women are no longer settling and are rebutting the things tha... ... middle of paper ... ...surpass men and reverse the negative stereotypes that society has used to define them. Works Cited "That’s Equality?: Women Now Earn MORE Than Men Across US." Debbie Schlussel. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 May 2011. . Heathfield, Susan M.. "Women and Work: Then, Now, and Predicting the Future for Women in the Workplace." Human Resources - Business Management Development Jobs Consulting Training Policy Human Resources. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 May 2011. . Longley, Robert. "Pay Gap Between Men and Women Getting Worse, Census Data Shows." U.S. Government Info - Resources. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 May 2011. .
In American culture today, women continue the struggle of identifying what their roles in society are supposed to be. Our culture has been sending mixed messages to the modern day female, creating a sense of uneasiness to an already confusing and stressful world. Although women today are encouraged more than ever to be independent, educated, and successful, they are often times shamed for having done just that. Career driven females are frequently at risk of being labeled as bossy, unfeminine, or selfish for competing in many career paths that were once dominated by men. A popular medium in our culture such as television continues to have significant influences as to how people should aspire to live their lives. Viewers develop connections with relatable characters and to relationship dynamics displayed within their favorite shows. Fictional characters and relationships can ultimately influence a viewer’s fashion sense, social and political opinion, and attitude towards gender norms. Since the days of Bewitched and I Dream of Jeanie, where women were commonly portrayed as being the endearing mischievous housewife, television shows have evolved in order to reflect real life women who were becoming increasingly more independent, educated, and career oriented throughout the subsequent decades. New genres of television are introduced, such as the workplace comedy, where women are not only career oriented, but eventually transition into positions of power.
Rampell, Catherine. "The Gender Pay Gap by Industry." Economix Blog. 17 Feb. 2011. Web. 20 Mar. 2012. .
In contrast, men have been seen as more dominate than women because of their masculine abilities and other traits and most importantly their profound responsibility of being the provider and head of the household. Americans constantly uses theses two distinct stereotypes that in many cases present many biases regarding gender codes in America. Things have changed over time the women are no longer just house wives taking care of the house and children waiting for their husband to come home from his nine to five occupations. Andrea L. Miller explains in her article “The Separate Spheres Model of Gendered Inequality” that, “A common theme in the study of gender is the idea that men and women belong in distinct spheres of society, with men being particularly fit for the workplace and women being particularly fit for the domestic domain” (Miller 2). Miller gives two very specific examples on how gender is viewed in American
Women on average have less experience than men (Blau & Kahn, 2013). This statement is over exaggerated. President Obama said, “Women make up about half the workforce. But they still make 77 cents for every dollar a man earns. That is wrong, and in 2014, it’s an embarrassment.” The 23-cent gender pay gap is simply the difference between the average earnings of all men and women working full-time. It does not account for the differences in occupations, posit...
When President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act of 1963 into law, he hoped that it would allow working women to finally earn the same amount of money as men; however, more than half a century later, men continue to out earn women in almost every field of work (Lipman para. 4). Male dominated fields tend to pay more than female dominated fields at similar skill levels. In 2012, women earned an average of $691 per week while men earned an average of $854 per week. Furthermore, the majority of women remain unaware that they are earning less than their male colleagues (Hegewisch para. 1).
Amelia Bloomer:Amelia Bloomer was born in Cortland County, New York, in 1818. She received an education in schools of the State and became a teacher in public schools, then as a private tutor. She married in 1840 to Dexter C. Bloomer, of Seneca Falls, New York. Dexter C. Bloomer was editor of a county newspaper, and Mrs. Bloomer began to write for the paper. She was one of the editors of the Water Bucket, a temperance paper published during Washingtonian revival. Mr. Bloomer lived in Seneca Falls in 1848, but did not participate in the Women’s Rights Convention. In 1849, Bloomer began work with a monthly temperance paper called The Lily. It was devoted to women’s rights and interests, as it became a place for women advocates to express their opinions. The paper initiated a widespread change in women’s dress. The long, heavy skirts were replaced with shorter skirts and knee-high trousers or undergarments. Bloomer’s name soon became associated with to this new dress, and the trousers became known as Bloomers. She continued to new dress and continued advocating for women’s rights in her paper. In 1854, Mrs. Bloomer began giving numerous speeches and continued to fight for equal justice for women.
Women are more than half the work force and are graduating at higher rates then men and continue to earn considerably less then men. There are several contributing factors to the gender wage gap. Women experience gender discrimination in the work force even though it’s been illegal since the Equal Pay Act in 1963. One of the challenges for women is uncovering discrimination. There is a lack of transparency in earnings because employees are either contractually prohibited or it’s strongly discouraged from being discussed. Discrimination also occurs in the restricting of women’s access to jobs with the highest commission payments, or access to lucrative clients.
It is very important to be concerned about the issue because it is constantly increasing throughout the United States. It upsets me that women are paid less than men because women have the same ability and work ethic as men do, but they are looked at differently. According to AAUW, women make 77 percent of what men make. This rate hasn’t changed since 2002 (Hill, 2013). Statistics show that women will never make as much as men due to the thought of never being comparable to men (Williams, 2013).
Women and men are nestled into predetermined cultural molds when it comes to gender in American society. Women play the roles of mothers, housekeepers, and servants to their husbands and children, and men act as providers, protectors, and heads of the household. These gender roles stem from the many culture myths that exist pertaining to America, including those of the model family, education, liberty, and of gender. The majority of these myths are misconceptions, but linger because we, as Americans, do not analyze or question them. The misconception of gender suggests that biological truths no longer dictate our gender roles as men and women; they derive from cultural myths. We, as a nation, need to do severe critical thinking about this delusion of gender, how has limited us in the home, media, and education, how it currently limits us, and what the results of the current and future changes in gender roles will be.
In today’s society, Women perform similar jobs to men. Whether it’s blue or white collar jobs, women are always present and thriving for success balancing a life of business and family. In the job market, some are graduates of the best schools and have interned at the best firms, but are still not compensated as equally as men. Following the recent comments by the CEO of Microsoft concerning women asking for raises and how they should trust the system to install equality, the issue seems to be still present, and women’s work is not rewarded similarly to men’s.
Nowadays there is still not progress in equal salaries for men and women because it requires a cultural change and a change in the working life of our country. According to INCAE business school, On January of 2012, the U.S. president offered his annual address to Congress on the state of the Union in which he spoke briefly about the wage gap between men and women, stating that: "An economy built to be durable is one that fosters the talent and ingenuity of every person. That means women should earn equal pay for equal work ". Regretfully wage inequality is a global problem that occurs even in countries with the largest economies. According to the Catalyst survey, adjusting for initial position, women are paid on average $4,600 less than men. Even when controlling all factors that may differ between men and women, such as ex...
Farrel, Jane, and Sarah Jane Glynn. “What Causes the Gender Wage Gap?”. American Progress. Center for American Progress, 9 Apr. 2013. Web. 22 Apr. 2014
In the past, many people believed that women’s exclusive responsibilities were to serve their husband, to be great mothers and to be the perfect wives. Those people considered women to be more appropriate for homemaking rather than to be involved in business or politics. This meant that women were not allowed to have a job, to own property or to enjoy the same major rights as men. The world is changing and so is the role of women in society. In today’s society, women have rights that they never had before and higher opportunities to succeed.
Despite government regulations to promote equality within the workplace, women’s salaries continue to lag behind males in similar career with similar experiences. According to research performed by Blau & Kahn (2007) “women salaries averaged about 60% of men’s until the 1970s and rose to nearly 80% by the 1990s” (as cited in Bendick, Jr. & Nunes, 2012, p.244). Today, women on average earn approximately $.81 for every dollar that men earn in the United States (Guy and Fenley P.41 2014).
The role women play in today’s society is a drastic change from the previous role. Women used to be confined to the superiority of the man. Physically, mentally, and emotionally abused, belittled, embarrassed, and silenced. These are just a few examples of the emotion from the isolated treatment of the past. A woman’s role in today’s society is more valued than ever before.