Women in the Workforce

1526 Words4 Pages

As the times change, so do the standards. Women previously have been looked at as homemakers, housewives, subordinates. In this new century, this has changed dramatically. Not only have women sought extensive amounts of education, they have sought means to expand and solidify their skills. Although women continue to face discrimination, the qualifications of the playing field have leveled out.

According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (2012), in 2011, women accounted for 47 percent of the workforce (ages 16 and over). Their occupations varied, as well as their marital status and their status as a mother.

Also, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce Economics and Statistics Administration (2011), 14 percent of households are headed by single women, whereas only 6 percent of households are headed by single men. There are more households headed by women, which means more women are the sole earners of income in their household. The workplace plays a critical role in the lives of women.

In addition, more women than men aged 24-35 earned college degrees based on 2007-2008 data (U.S. Department of Commerce Economics and Statistics Administration, 2011). This is a more educated workforce with the possibility to make a significant impact in the areas of advancement (e.g. innovation), knowledge transfer (e.g. mentoring), and leadership (e.g. management).

Consequently, the policies of companies that employ women can have a positive or negative effect on their households, career advancement and earning potential, as well as the lives of those that depend on them. Mary Van der Boon (2003) in her article titled, “Women in international management: An international perspective on women’s ways of leadership”, descri...

... middle of paper ...

...sidered as a matter of respect. Secondarily, when having to travel to areas women have never traveled before; their safety is of highest concern. So surely, gender should be aggressively considered in terms of safety and cultural respect.

Works Cited

Bloch, S. (2011). Expat women: Job & careers abroad. Retrieved from http://www.expatwomen.

com/expat-women-jobs-careers-abroad/8-steps-to-dissolving-the-glass-ceiling-susan-

bloch.php

Drury, M. (2011). Women technology leaders: Gender issues in higher education information

technology. NASPA Journal about Women in Higher Education, 4(1), 96-123.

Ihlwain, M. (April, 2008). Cracks in a particular glass ceiling. Business Week, 58.

Van der Boon, M. (2003). Women in international management: An international perspective

on women’s ways of leadership. Gender in Management, 18(3/4), 132-146.

Show More
Related

  • American Dream Women

    915 Words  | 2 Pages

    “In the United States and several other countries, women now actually surpass men in educational achievements” (Josh, “Harvard Summer School”). Some women are more educated and qualified for most

    Read More

  • Women in the Workplace

    2059 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Women In Corporate America

    658 Words  | 2 Pages

    The once male dominated, corporate, "white collar" America has seen a phenomenal influx of women within the last thirty years. Although a female lawyer, physician, or CEO is no longer considered a rarity in our times, women still face quite a deal of oppression in comparison to their male counterparts. In retrospect, some professions have always been controlled by women, and men have not made a noticeable advance in these fields. In 1970, finding a female lawyer to represent you would be a difficult task, since less than five percent of the profession were women. Today, that number has risen to almost thirty percent. The percentage of female doctors has almost tripled in the course of thirty years. African Americans have not made such a conspicuous progression within the last fifty years, while women have made a tremendous impact on the corporate world. One may wonder, how did women make these extraordinary advances? For the most part, it is due to the education they receive. At the present time young girls are encouraged to enroll in classes dealing with math and science, rather than home economics and typing. As pointed out by Nanette Asimov, in her essay "Fewer Teen Girls Enrolling in Technology Classes", school officials are advocating the necessity of advanced placement, and honor classes for teenage girls, in both the arts and sciences. This support and reassurance than carries over onto college, and finds a permanent fixture in a woman’s life. While women are continuing their success in once exclusively male oriented professions, they are still lacking the respect and equality from their peers, coworkers, and society. The average male lawyer, and doctor make twenty-five percent more money than their female equivalent. Women have always lived with the reputation of being intellectually inferior to, and physically submissive to men. This medieval, ignorant notion is far fetched from the truth. In 1999, high school men and women posted similar SAT scores, being separated by a only a few points. In addition to posting similar scores on the SAT, the average males score was a mere two-tenths of a point higher than an average females score on the ACT. Even though a woman maybe as qualified as a male for a certain occupation , women receive unwanted harassment, and are under strict scrutiny. A good illustration of this would be the women represented in "Two Women Cadets Leave the Citadel.

    Read More

  • Women and the Workforce

    3921 Words  | 8 Pages

    received the right to work menial jobs for minimum pay with less job security. She has

    Read More

  • Sexism Against Women Essay

    637 Words  | 2 Pages

    On the other hand, studies show that the number of women working has dramatically changed since 1970. These studies show that back then, the workforce was made up with 37.97 percent of women. Comparing this percentage to the studies made from 2006 to 2010, the presence of women in the workplace has increased at least 10 percent. In the 1970’s, it was really rare to see a woman working as an accountant; today, 60 percent of those accountants are women. Also, they have kept their own “careers for women” because more than 90 percent of dental assistants, secretaries and other work fields are composed by

    Read More

  • Housewife to Career: The Growth of Women in The Labor Markert

    1555 Words  | 4 Pages

    For centuries, women has always been dominated and controlled by men. Society has viewed women as the weaker gender and relied on men in order to survive. As time went on, things have changed, society has became more advance and so are women. During the World War II, women have increased their role in the society by replacing the men’s in the labor market and also increased their status in the society. Today, the growth of women in the work force continually to raise and so are their status. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the National Bureau of Economic Research, statistics have shown 58.1% of women were in the labor market in 2011 (USBLS) compared to employment rate during the war was 35% of women in the labor market in 1945 (Bussing-Burks). So what factors must have interested women to move from being housewife to the work force? Explanations can be derived through observations of their relationship in the household, their relative status in the society, and their rationality in decision-making.

    Read More

  • Women in Male-Dominated Careers

    1777 Words  | 4 Pages

    Over the years there have been many changes in the work-place. Since the second World War there has been a steady increase of women on the workforce across all the different types of careers there are in the United States. Some careers have seen more of a rapid change than others, a few of the career fields that have not really had much growth in gender diversity have been Engineering and Technology. Both of these fields have always been more male dominate throughout the history of their existence. The problem is that both of these careers demand a constant stream of new innovative ideas to fuel advancements in different types of technology. Those advancements are also very important to the public’s day to day life, as both of these fields are all around us every day. There is no better way to get new ideas than to bring in someone who has a different thought process than you. That is why colleges and companies need to try harder to bring in women to these careers rather than overlook them. With that being said if someone is not right for the job, then they’re not right for the job, the problem is that many companies are choosing male engineers over female engineers. If the careers in these to field want to keep having great advancement, they’re going to need all the great minds that we can get, and stop turning so many away. There has been a lot of research done over this same subject over several years but the results do not seem to be changing, and again and again they always seem to so that men are favored over women when it comes to getting a job in the engineering and technology fields. The problem all boils down to the companies and colleges, both of which need to change so those who desire to excel in these fields, get ...

    Read More

  • Women’s Inequalities in the Workplace

    1034 Words  | 3 Pages

    When you think of a CEO of a company or of world political leaders, do you think of a man or of a woman? Many, if not most of us, see these positions as being held by men. In this essay, I will explain why women are still not equal to men. In the first paragraph I will discuss inequalities that happen in the workplace. The second section will show the differences that occur within the athletic world. Thirdly, I will explain the differences in education and home life. Even though we are approaching the twenty-first century, women in our society are still not equal to men.

    Read More

  • Women in the Workplace

    1106 Words  | 3 Pages

    In American society, the woman has always been viewed in the traditional viewpoint of what role she should play in the home; that she is the homemaker or caretaker. Even when women break from the stereotypical role of "housewife" and join the workforce, they still are not given an equal opportunity at acquiring a job that is seen to be as advancing or of higher recognition, as they would like to have. Men usually already take those positions.

    Read More

  • acting like a lady

    1069 Words  | 3 Pages

    Since the 1950’s, women have been seen as very dainty and sensitive creatures who are meant to be silent partners to their mates. A woman’s place was in the home-cooking, cleaning and watching after her children. Women were to get up every morning and prepare lunches for their breadwinning husbands, as well as wake and dress the children for school, cook breakfast, do housework and have a hot meal on the table when her husband was to return home. Women have stepped down to their traditional roles as housewife and caretaker, and it has raised many issues in society today. It was considered a woman’s job to be a good cook and be a whiz with a broom, in fact, it is what made them so darn attractive. Times, they are a changing. In fact, the U.S Department of Labor states that in the year 2008, women will make up 48% of the work force. That means that more women will be going to college and getting and education, as well as heading out into the workforce to make a name for themselves.

    Read More

  • The Fight for Women's Rights

    1168 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Feminism: Employment, Class, and Wage Inequalities

    1476 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to Vera Nazarian, “A woman is human. She is not better, wiser, stronger, more intelligent, more creative, or more responsible than a man. Likewise, she is never less. Equality is a given.” For centuries, gender discrimination and inequality issues concerning employment and wages, has been a serious problem that still is in the midst of being solved. Women excel in all fields and play a vital role in economic development of the country, and their contribution is nothing short of their male counterparts. However, there are still several issues and problems that women face today. Sometimes, they are not treated equally in their workplace and are considered as inferior to their male co-workers. Gender discrimination and inequality issues has been a reoccurring issue for years and because of this, it impedes single and/or married women from acquiring certain occupations or levels of occupations as males, receiving equal wages as males, and therefore affects women’s economic class placement in society.

    Read More

  • Gender Inequality at a Workplace

    1117 Words  | 3 Pages

    It is, therefore, natural for most companies to think that women cannot be as capable as men in terms of assuming strenuous or challenging positions because women, by default, become less participatory and more vulnerable when they start to have family and children. Apparently, this situation has led to various gender discriminations in the labor market. In conclusion, although the roles of men and women have radically changed over the turn of the century, it is still inevitable to have various gender-related occupational differences because the social and biological roles of women and men do not really change. Society still perceives women as the home makers and men as the earners, and this perception alone defines the differing roles of men and women in the labor market.

    Read More

  • How Our World is Changing

    1511 Words  | 4 Pages

    Women were drawn into the work place in the 1960's when the economy expanded and rising consumer aspirations fueled the desire of many families for a second income. By 1960, 30.5 percent of all wives worked and the number of women graduating from college grew. (Echols, 400) Women soon found they were being treated differently and paid less then their male co-workers.

    Read More

  • A womans work is never done

    658 Words  | 2 Pages

    However, women have made optimistical progress towards equality and their role in the society has been changed dramatically since the last century. Many women stepped out of their home and start to work at factories and offices. The number of working women with children has more than doubled in the past 50 years. While working conditions for women may have improved, there is a lack of appreciation for the notion that work for most women doesn't end at the door of a factory or office. Despite an increase of women's participation in the labour force, women's share of housework has hardly changed in 50 years.

    Read More

More about Women in the Workforce

Open Document