There is a preconceived notion in the United States that feminism is an unnecessary movement. There are people in the United States that believe that women in the United States are completely equal or equal enough to their male counterparts. I myself have come across men and women who truly think that there is no need for feminism to exist any longer. There are many phenomenon that exist that show the necessity of feminism. Two of these phenomenon are the concepts of the glass ceiling and the glass escalator. The glass ceiling is more well-known than the concept of the glass escalator. I had never heard of the glass escalator before this paper. The glass ceiling and glass ceiling continue to effect women in the workplace still.
The glass ceiling
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An example of where women lack positions of higher leadership is politics. The highest offices in the United States are the Presidency, Supreme Court, and Congress. The amount of men and women in these offices are asymmetrical. In the United States only 17 percent of Congress is female (Schuh, 2014). Historically the amount of women elected to the Senate compared to the House is not the same. There have been 278 women who have served in the House of Representatives and 46 in the Senate (Historical Data). There are significantly less women in congress compared to men even in 2015. Currently there are 88 women in the house compared to 347 men, the Senate has 22 women compared to its 78 men (Historical Data). The struggle to be elected to higher office does not end after the first election is won. It is harder for a female incumbent to become reelected compared to a man in the United States. 12 percent of men run uncontested compared to women’s 7 percent (Palmer, 2008). A women is more likely to have someone run against her during her reelection. The dearth of women in positions in substantial power is not contained only in Congress. The glass ceiling is worse in the executive branch. Only 23 women have served in the cabinet or cabinet-level jobs in the United States (Women, 2015). This is compared to the thousands of men who have served in the same positions. Only 14 women were confirmed during the 133th congress for positions as Ambassadors, Foreign Ministers and Cabinet Secretaries (Women
“Feminism is both an intellectual commitment and a political movement that seeks justice for women and the end of sexism in all forms” (Baptiste). Just as in the past, feminism continues to act as a controversial issue among men and women. In the 1960’s, women finally addressed workplace inequity and created woman organizations to achieve equality. In the early 1960’s, the Equal Pay Act and the Civil Rights Act set a milestone for women’s progression towards work equality. Though women have made great leaps towards true equality, women still face many challenges and continue to be categorized as the subservient gender.
After doing some critical thinking, I decided to select the "Glass Ceiling Theory" as my topic. My thesis statement will include how research proves that the "Glass Ceiling Theory" isn't a theory at all, it is an authentic term used to describe the invisible barrier that keeps women and minorities from advancing in the corporate world. The term "Glass Ceiling" can apply to women who are kept from elevating in the corporate world because they are female. Female executives are reduced to particular types of jobs, often staff and supportive jobs that provide limited opportunity for growth. I believe that men and women were proven to be equal decades ago, but the earnings of women in comparison to men are unjust. On average, women earn less than
One theory of feminism that exists is the world is “Second Wave feminism” (Mandle, 2014). This is the most known form of it. These were the successors to the First-Wave feminists who primarily focused on suffrage and legal rights in the 19th and 20th century (Burkett, 2013). The fundamental goals of Second Wave feminism are different from the first, since they primarily center themselves on abolishing workplace inequality, such as the proverbial glass ceiling and salary difference, through anti-discrimination laws.” (Tavaana, 2014). The ideals proposed by this kind, were adopted by the government in the form of bills and laws such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2014). This again, is what one would consider the mainstream feminism.
The glass ceiling is defined as the “unseen, yet unbreachable barrier that keeps… women from rising to the upper rungs of the corporate ladder, regardless of their qualifications or achievements.” According to the Department of Labor, the glass ceiling is made up of “artificial barriers [that are] based on attitudinal or organizational bias that prevent qualified individuals from advancing upward in their organization into management-level positions.” Qualified women are continuously denied a promotion to the highest levels of corporate America and other professions. Once women reach a certain level at their career, they plateau and the glass ceiling prevents them from advancing any higher.
Women have struggle for years to break that glass ceiling for years.Women's rights movement marks July 13, 1848 as the beginning. On August 18, 1920 the 19th Amendment was passed and it gave women some rights. This was only the beginning. Women still have a long way to go before the glass ceiling is shattered. The Glass Ceiling has not been shattered for women examples are the Military, Jobs, and Government.
Traditional gender roles in the United States and other societies have always been dictated as where the man goes and works for a salary as women stay at home to take of house related work. However, many changes in the traditional family has made gender roles go through significant changes. Many women have gone through college and have obtained college education degrees, which has allowed women to advance their careers. The break down of rigid gender roles and the increase in participation of women in the workplace have granted women more choices in life. The choices many women now have in there career fields has made some controversial views on the intelligence of women achieving the status of their male counterparts The first view obtained in the workplace is the ability to make a even paying field for both men and women. Many constituents have pledge to achieve equality for women through laws forbidding the use of any sexist policies that may constitute discrimination against sex. The second is weather working women have been allowed to working women have the same opportunities rewarded to them as men do. Many political action committees have help perpetuate feminist movements which intended to build equal opportunity workplaces for both men and women however, many questionable issues still arise at weather working conditions have become better for women.
The "glass ceiling" has held women back from certain positions and opportunities in the workplace. Women are stereotyped as part-time, lower-grade workers with limited opportunities for training and advancement because of this "glass ceiling". How have women managed their careers when confronted by this glass ceiling? It has been difficult; American women have struggled for their role in society since 1848. Women’s roles have changed significantly throughout the past centuries because of their willingness and persistence. Women have contributed to the change pace of their role in the workplace by showing motivation and perseverance.
Despite the ability of women to now enter into a variety of occupations and positions, men still dominant the power structure and make it much more difficult to rise. Within organizations men are given preferential treatment as a result of viewing women as the inferior gender. Men get promotions easier than women and women are expected to display exceptional behavior in order to receive any type of promotion at all for the same amount of effort. Often times, the presidency is considered the last glass ceiling, and one that is believed to likely be shattered by the election of the first women president. However, even if this glass ceiling is shattered, the existence of glass ceilings in a variety of organizations can still be seen. For example, the severe lack of women within congress (a meager 20) shows how difficult it is for women to be elected and hold their spot despite being just as qualified as their male counterparts. Similarly, Professor Redding provided examples of women within occupations such as lawyers and doctors. While the opportunities for them to get into these occupations has widened, there is still a gap within the occupations
In this article, Williams looks at what she the “glass elevator” which is her term for the advantages that men receive for doing “female-dominate” professions. This was interesting because she looked at why women struggled to succeed in a “male-dominate” position while men seem to be praised in “female-dominate” positions. Something that really struck me from the article was that, Williams suggests the glass escalator really only provides advantages for straight white males. What is intriguing about this is that straight white males are definitely at the top of the hierarchy and everyone else falls below that. Williams states that they receive privileges others don’t, and she is correct because it is seen in our current society. Gender discrimination also goes with racial discrimination. A straight while male would not be judged the same as a gay white male who would not be judged the same way as a straight Hispanic male. This was an eye opening
Critics of feminist studies of men often argue that the politics to change values and behaviour need to come from men themselves, because feminist women’s long efforts against gender discrimination, misogyny, sexual harassment, rape, battering, and male violence have often created backlash and stubborn resistance from men (Lorber, 2012, 274). If men do not fight for what they want they will not see change, it will not be handed to them as many things have already been. Although, the question presumes, why would men want to change something that they feel is just fine? This is where controversy takes place. A change must occur in order for things to be equal. Men do not always have to be the breadwinners; On the other hand, areas that seemed to indicate potential gender equality – fatherhood and men doing “women’s work” – have ironically restored gender inequality. This refers to the racialized glass escalator. Where men who do women’s work have reliable preferences in the working environment, such that even in occupations where men are numerical in minorities they are likely to enjoy higher wages and faster promotions (Lorber, 2012, p.264) In addition, men get daddy bonuses when they become fathers while women workers suffer a motherhood penalty in reduced wages (Lorber, 2012, 274). Limitations such as these reinforce gender
Also, the majority of women have been able to secure employment from traditionally female occupations such as teaching compared to male-dominated careers like engineering. Moreover, democratic country like the United States of America has recognized gender inequality as a fundamental issue and espouse equal right between men and women in contributing to social, economic and cultural life. Despite this improvement, gender inequality persists as women are not represented and treated equally in the workplace (Michialidis, Morphitou, & Theophylatou, 2012). The increasing number of women in the workplace has not provided equal opportunity for career advancement for females due to the way women are treated in an organization and the society. Also, attaining an executive position seem impossible for women due to the glass ceiling effects which defines the invisible and artificial barrier created by attitudinal and organizational prejudices, which inhibit women from attaining top executive positions (Wirth
For several decades, most American women occupied a supportive, home oriented role within society, outside of the workplace. However, as the mid-twentieth century approached a gender role paradigm occurred. The sequence of the departure of men for war, the need to fill employment for a growing economy, a handful of critical legal cases, the Black Civil Rights movement seen and heard around the nation, all greatly influenced and demanded social change for human and women’s rights. This momentous period began a social movement known as feminism and introduced a coin phrase known in and outside of the workplace as the “wage-gap.”
Through the course of history, women have accomplished many feats surpassing stereotypes of being only useful for their vanity. The scholar Chisholm-Burns states that “it is clear that gender bias remains a challenge for women in the workplace, particularly as they try to move up the career ladder” (312). Society has made it hard, but not impossible, for women to accomplish certain goals. Burns continues by giving an explanation of the term “glass ceiling”, which is another form of discrimination towards women. “Glass
Women face an unofficial barrier called the glass ceiling, which limits how high a women can advance in a profession. “Women holding the titles of chairman, CEO, COO (chief operating officer), and executive vice president remain at about 7 percent of the population of executives in the United States” (Hoobler, Wayne, & Lemmon, 2009). Women seem to have more of a family-work conflict then men, so bosses don’t seem to have as much desire, to promote females compared to men (Hoobler, Wayne, & Lemmon 939-940). Men still view women as having a social role, examples are cooking, childcare, and household chores. Men feel threatened, and scared when females are able to handle both work and their personal life. Excuses are created by men, where they believe females should focus on one role, because they won’t be able to accomplish family roles and work roles efficiently. Women can help themselves with this issue of family-work conflict, by, improving communication with their employers. Women can communicate to their employer, by explaining and clarifying their expectations on how much workload they can
For many decades, women have faced inequalities in the workforce. At one point, they were not allowed to work at all. Although women's rights have improved and are now able to work alongside men, they are still treated unfairly. According to the 2012 U.S. Census, women’s earnings were “76.5 percent of men’s” (1). In 2012, men, on average, earned $47,398 and women earned only $35,791. This is when comparing employees where both gender spend the same amount of time working. Not only do women encounter unfairness in work pay, they also face a “glass ceiling” on a promotional basis. This glass ceiling is a “promotion barrier that prevents woman’s upward ability” (2). For example, if a woman is able to enter a job traditionally for men, she will still not receive the same pay or experience the same increase in occupational ability. Gender typing plays a huge role in the workplace. It is the idea that women tend to hold jobs that are low paid with low status. Women are not highly considered in leadership positions because of social construction of gender. Society has given women the role of “caretakers” and sensitive individuals. Therefore, women are not depicted as authoritative figures, which is apparent with the absence of women in leadership roles in companies. Furthermore, sex segregation leads to occupations with either the emphasis of women in a certain job or men in a certain job. In 2009, occupations with the highest proportion of women included “secretary, child care worker, hair dresser, cashier, bookkeeper, etc.” (3). Male workers typically held job positions as construction workers, truck drivers, taxi drivers, etc. (3). Sex segregation represents inequality because the gender composition for these jobs depends on what ...