Contemporary Status of Women in the Us Essay

Wo recreate force fetch amount a long way from the early 1900s when they gained their constitute right to vote, to today where it seems wo men confound satisfactory rights to do just well-nigh anything. Women possess been increasingly joining the economic operate on force since the remnant 100 years or so. Although, women in the impart force demand been increasing in numbers argon they given an fair to middlingise and comme il faut chance comp ard to that of men? A quick glance on the field of operations would suggest that women ar given equal and fair chances in the work force however, upon closer inspection it seems women in fact ar not given the same fair and equal opportunities as men.Women argon subjected to business enterprise gender sequestration and unfair pay fractures in comparison to men. Nevertheless(prenominal), women ar working diligently and successfully to break down these unjust barriers that be keeping them from having equal opportunities. Acc ording to Marg bet L. Andersen and Dana Hysock Witham, in Thinking about Women sociological Perspectives on Sex and Gender, gender segregation is the pattern whereby women and men atomic number 18 situated in different jobs thought the job force (128).This washstand be made an ex vitamin Ale of in obvious occupations such as kindergarten and preschool teachers, nurses, librarians, and house cleaners, versus college professors, doctors, lawyers, and construction works. The former, when typically imagined, the first image that comes to mind is a woman, whereas the latter is associated with a man. These occupations are associated with certain genders because generally speaking those jobs are and obtain traditionally been a certain gender reign. Philip N. Cohen, and Matt L.Huffman, in Occupational Segregation and the Devaluation of Womens Work Across U. S. Labor Markets, opening that gender segregation in the workforce exists because of the discrimination both in the allocation o f workers across the job categories and in how fe virile-dominated jobs are rewarded relative to male-dominated jobs (882). Women are blocked access to typical male dominated jobs because of social ideas and heathen norms that say that women cannot effectively do the work of men, which requires intellect, leadership, hard labor, and other skills traditionally associated with men.Rather, women are kept in low paying jobs that frequently do not lead to promotions and involve skills that they let traditionally been known for, such as cooking, cleaning, taking care of children, obeying mens orders, and things of that nature. Because women and men are kept in jobs that relate to their traditional gender found skills, it creates a segregation of the labor force instead of creating a heterogeneous labor force were men and women are equally interested in and are hired in certain occupations.Womens work is overly often undervalued in society, especially in comparison to the work of men. Because of this undervaluing of womens work women are additionally rewarded far less than men are. A prosecute gap is the difference between the net income of men and women in the workforce. at once women earn only 77 percent of what men earn, at least on average (DeNavas-Walt qtd. in Andersen and Hysock Witham 137). The wage gap between women and men can be attributed to occupational segregation and wage discrimination.Occupational segregation places women in lower skilled jobs that underutilize and devalues womens skills and potential to work and be successful in the labor force (Karamessini and Ioakimoglou 34). Employers usually pay their employees wages that they see fit in relation to, how much they entertain an employee and his or her skills are worth in the company, and how they contribute to the company. Because womens work and skills are undervalued by a majority of society they are in turn paid less compared to men.Additionally, women usually seek out or are put into jobs that are women dominated. Again since womens work is undervalued, once an occupation becomes a woman dominated occupation, the job itself becomes less worth(predicate) and people in that job eventually are paid less in that occupation compared to if it had been a male dominated occupation. The wage gap is also impacted by wage discrimination. The unequal pay of women based on gender rather than qualifications and skills is wage discrimination. In Joel T. Nadler and Margaret S.Stockdales article, work Gender Bias Not Just Between Strangers they quote Kolesnikova amp liu , Although the gender wage gap has been decreasing over the last thirty years there is still a difference in wages between men and women in similar rushs with similar experience (282). Women are still being paid less than men despite having equal or better fit skills and or qualifications than men. Women are making attainment in making the wage gap between men and women non-existent, however, draw near has been slowing.Women are slowly but surely making significant jump on in leveling the playing field in the labor food market for both men and women. Progress can be seen in remnant the wage gap between genders and in the desegregating of gender based jobs. The earnings gap between men and women has shrunk to a record low (Dennis 01a). Dennis attributes it to the prosperity of women in the 21century economy and the fact that the recession has negatively affected mens pay. He additionally continues to discuss how not only has ashen womens wages increased, black womens wages throw also seen an increase in the past nine years.Womens wages have been slowly increasing and becoming even with that of men. This increase can be attributed to women respite down barriers of gender segregation in the work force. Women have been moving into high-paying professional jobs such as accountants, lawyers and physician (Dennis 01a). These occupations are typically male dominated. However, it seems in recent years the occupations genders have been less same and more of an even or close to even mixture of both genders.As women are taking over more male dominated jobs, such as perhaps managerial jobs, it seems that there are sacrifices that women have to make where as men usually do not. Studies indicate career oriented women are more likely to delay relationships or children in order to advance their careers (Hoffnung qtd. Nadler and Stockdale 282). Because women are taking on traditionally male dominated occupations they are under extra scrutiny and watch, therefore, women find out the pinch to perform well and make sacrifices in the name of their job.Women can feel that in order to be successful they are required to favor work over family life. The pressures over performing well in a womens career life and also balancing their social or family life can create anxiety and unhealthy stress for women. Although, women have been successful in further closing the wage gap and b reaking down gender segregation within the workforce, their progress it seems has also come at the price of choosing a career or a family.Although women have come a long way since the early 1900s it seems that they are still subjected to unequal treatment compared to men. Women face gender segregation in the workforce which makes it difficult to attain prestigious and high paying jobs. Women are also subjected to being paid less than men regardless of having equal or superior skills. Nevertheless, women are facing these obstacles head on. Women are now more than CEOs, they are leveling the playing field between genders in the labor force and re demanding, and showing that they deserve equal pay.