Women in the Work Force- 1960s

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Women in the Work Force- 1960s

The 1960s were a time of social and political identification for American women. Despite the victory of voting rights, women still experienced discrimination in daily life. With the current millenium drawing to a close, women today still express concern of unequal treatment. It is important to glance backwards in history and remember the struggles that our mothers and grandmothers experienced. Thanks to the women of the past, women of the present are able to participate in politics and receive equal pay for equal jobs. The struggle continues, but we conquer more discrimination every year.

It has always been a popular misconception that women are the weaker sex.1 This idea leads to the opinion that women can not possibly perform the same job requirements as men. Why should a woman seek further education when she cannot handle a job physically and psychologically in the male work force? A woman who does decide to work out of the home could not expect to earn as much as her male counterpart since she can not do the job nearly as well. History paints the picture of women staying home as homemakers where they belong. We see the ideal woman as June Cleaver from the TV sitcom Leave it to Beaver. A feminist author Betty Friedan wrote a best-selling book arguing that magazines, advertisements, educators, and social scientists portray women as happy as housewives.2The Feminine Mystique explained this portrayal of the trapped women into a life of raising children, taking care of the home, and giving no chance labor outside the home.

Despite the expectation of women as homemakers, women broke free. They wanted to take more active roles in politics, society, and the work force. One arena of support cam...

... middle of paper ...

... Jovanovich, 1987) p.236.

4 John Winters, Jr., http://nimbus.ocis.temple.edu/~rkarras/winters2.htm,

Representation of Women in the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement.

5 See Robert L. Daniel, p.263.

6 See Robert L. Daniel, p.264.

7 See Robert L. Daniel, p.264.

8 See Robert L. Daniel, p.276.

9 See Robert L. Daniel, p.277.

10 See Robert L. Daniel, p.277.

11 See Robert L. Daniel, p.277.

12 See Robert L. Daniel, p.257.

13 See Robert L. Daniel, p.257.

14 See Robert L. Daniel, p.258.

15 See Robert L. Daniel, p.258.

- Gabin, Nancy F. Feminism in the Labor Movement: Women and the United Auto Workers,

1935-1975. London: Cornell University Press, 1990.

- Spain, Daphne and Suzanne M. Bianchi. Balancing Act: Motherhood, Marriage, and

Employment among American Women. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1996.

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