Abstract
For the longest time, women have had to deal with the burden of being viewed as the weaker subordinate sex compared to men. Up until the early 1900s women were blind to the unfairness of the hierarchical system, it was not until World War II that women came to realize all the opportunities and rights they were deprived off. After the war, women’s activist movements engulfed American society demanding their equal rights. Gradually women’s roles began to change from housewives to independent, empowered individuals. However, even though women’s roles expanded, their equal rights lag
behind. It is the lack of those equal rights for which women face so many disadvantages compared to men, limiting their ability to advance in the business world. Although achieving egalitarianism is highly debated, women continue to advocate for their rights in hopes that their efforts will pay off someday. Just like it seemed impossible and doubtful for women to become independent in the 1900s, egalitarianism seems impossible now, but what the future holds for women is simply unpredictable.
Literature Review of Women’s Rights
Since the beginning of time, women have held roles subordinate to those of men. However, as time progressed certain historical events in the U.S. allowed women to gradually break free of their submissive class and become more independent. Although the United States has made remarkable progress in establishing equality between genders by implementing new legislation protecting women from discrimination, the fight for equality is far from over. To many this is a tricky topic to discuss since there are so many differing perspectives about women achieving equality. In an effort to better understand and distinguish the various views of women’s equality the following three questions will be answered:
1. What historical events changed women’s roles in society and how were women’s rights affected by this change?
2. What effects arise from inequality between genders?
3. Can equality between genders be achieved?
This literature review will focus on answering the three questions mentioned above in reference to the differing opinions of society and will explain what is at stake for many women throughout the United States.
What historical events changed women’s roles in society and how were and still are women’s rights affected by this
change?
Before the historical events that paved the way for women’s independence and fight for equality, a woman’s life revolved around family and farm. In the 1800s, tradition accustomed families to take on certain roles and duties: the husband would do all the labor work of the farm and was the ultimate ruler of the house, while the wife transformed the raw farm products into usable materials, was in charge of all household duties, took care of the children and was of inferior rank to that of the husband’s. It took World War II for women to become aware of their deprived rights and realize their true potential.
After the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the United States entered World War II. So many men were sent off to war that there was manpower shortage in factories and manufacturing plants back home, as a result demand for women workers increased. Propaganda, such as the Rosie the Riveter poster, was broadcast all over the United States
encouraging women to step up to help win the war, temporarily fill men’s shoes, and help keep society in order while men fought overseas. Women accepted the challenge, and were eager to take advantage of the new opportunities that were available to them and join the work force of which previously only men were allowed to work in. Women were proud to serve their country but also took this situation as a chance to prove to men that they were perfectly capable of doing anything a man could do (Bryant, 2009).
However, as women began taking up men’s traditional responsibilities, men back home felt threatened and responded with hatred and discrimination, which lasted well after the war. It was during World War II that “women faced the greatest challenge of trying to gain recognition and serve their country in more ways than they had in previous years. Little did[women] know, their efforts would prove to be victorious and they would leave an everlasting mark on American society... This war was the birth of many new identities that America had not yet seen.” (Bryant, 2009). Even though, women went
back to being housewives after the war was over, life would never be the same, for women had discovered a new sense of liberty. Due to the economic roles of women, the aftermath of World War II predisposed an activist movement later around the 1960s (Evans, 2009).
In the 1960s, another historical event further changed women’s roles in traditional society. Following the civil rights movement, the women’s liberation movement was an activist movement intended to create an egalitarian society between genders through non-violent protesting. The movement joined thousands of women for conscious-raising and re-thinking of the definition of womanhood and manhood. During this time, women founded the organization National Organization for Women (NOW) to fight cases of discrimination in legal courts, joined male dominated professions, established new institutions like rape crisis centers, shelters for battered women and health clinics, created women’s liberation groups where women exchanged experiences and challenged society’s definition of womanhood, demanded access to birth control, equal wages and legal abortion, and so on (Evans, 2009).
Although many women found the movement to be a life changing event that liberated them from society’s hierarchal roles, the movement sparked a lot of controversy in the American society. Many men of that period believed this movement had been founded by a bunch of whiny, “new and angry”, “small band of bra-less bubbleheads” (Douglas, 1995) (Dunbar, 1970, p.71). While women like Gloria Steinem believed “the women's liberation movement would benefit not only the women, but the men of the society as well, by dissolving the sex role stereotypes and expectations" (Steinem, 1970). Even though many opposed the movement, women were dedicated to fight for their equal rights and did not give up. Consequently, the movement made it illegal to discriminate in hiring, wages, promotions, education and access to credit, and legalized abortion in the early stages of pregnancy (Evans, 2009). Although the women’s liberation movement did not reach complete egalitarianism, it broke many boundaries, improved their rights, and partially freed women from the subordinate chains of society.
The historical events of World War II and the Women’s Liberation Movement profoundly transformed the traditional housewives to the independent, intellectual and empowered working women of this generation. Although American society has vastly improved the way women are treated and viewed, the hierarchal system is still seen at times today. “Sexist attitudes remain pervasive in American popular culture and discrimination, though illegal, continually finds subtle expression, as most working women can testify” (Evans, 2009). Egalitarianism might not yet be within grasp, but these events gave hope to many women and certainly created a more liberal and tolerant America.
What effects arise from inequality between genders?
First of all, gender inequality refers to disparities in power, status and prestige between men and women (Ferro, 2012).
Subtly, gender inequality is still seen at times today in the workplace, household, and education. The disparities between genders tend to have many disadvantages for the subordinate sex, which in this case are women. One of the most debated disadvantages that arise from gender inequality is the gender wage gap. Just recently, the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) issued the new updated statistical figures of the gender wage gap, which revealed a widening of the wage gap in the 2012 year compared to the 2011 statistics. It appears that 2012’s 80.9 percent ratio of women’s to men’s median
weekly full time earnings declined by more than one percent point from 2011’s 82.2 percent ratio. This corresponds to a weekly wage gap of 19.1 percent for 2012. While women’s median weekly earnings were $691 in 2012, a marginal decline compared to 2011; men’s median weekly earnings were $854 in 2012, a marginal increase compared to 2011. Figure 1 above the page further demonstrates 2012’s decline in comparison to 2011 concerning women’s median weekly earnings in red, and women’s median annual earnings in blue.
Figure 1: The Gender Earnings Ratio, 1955–2012, Full-Time Workers (TOP of the page)
(IWPR, 2013)
According to Anne Hegewisch, the widening wage gap is due to the types of jobs women are gaining and losing. As a result of the recession, in 2012, the government had to tighten budget and cut public sector jobs, which are mainly held by women. Consequently, women began working at lower paying jobs which brought down the statistical figures released by the IWPR. However, male-dominated sectors that were affected by the recession, have been flourishing as recovery progresses (Berman, 2013). In conclusion, instead of progressing towards egalitarianism it seems that the U.S. is regressing since women’s wages are decreasing and the wage gap keeps on widening.
Another disadvantage seen in the workplace according to Laura Ferro’s blog is the underrepresentation of females working in high management positions. In the last twenty years the percentage of female managers has merely risen from 35% to 38%. Even though, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, women have made up half of the workers in the labor force since 2010, these figures do not demonstrate egalitarianism because women are underrepresented in top management positions. This underrepresentation is common in the United States and can be seen in the: Fortune 500 companies where only 12 women held executive positions in 2011, Executive Government since not a single woman has been President, Congress since in 2011 women only held 17 Senate seats out of 100 and 92 out of 435 House seats, U.S. law firms since in 2010 women made up only 19.5% of partners and 11% of the biggest law firms did not have women in their governing committee, and the science and engineering employment sectors since men outnumbered women 73% vs. 27% as of 2009.
Apparently, the glass ceiling is still effective in the United States considering women are often subjected to lower working positions and men hold the top managing positions (Ferro, 2012). “Many studies show that women’s choice to have children and stay home for an extended period of time is one of the reasons women do not make it up the chain of command” ( Ferro, 2012). Even though this statement might account for some disparity, it does not explain the profound difference in gender managing positions. Sexism is another factor that comes into play in the status and roles women play in the workforce. Women are often judged by stereotypes and archaic gender roles in the workforce rather than by individual skills and talents, which often leads to the elimination of potential employees (Evans, 2009).
Yet another disadvantage experienced as a result of gender inequality is known as the division of labor. Division of labor refers to the unequal division of burden concerning household and childcare duties. It is a common belief in society to think that women can work while maintaining their inescapable and unequal responsibilities of the house, while men naturally
work outside of the home. This accumulation of work that women struggle with has repercussions that can affect their work and limit their recognition in the outside world (Articlesbase, 2008).
On the contrary, in the article Caring Responsibilities Still Fall on Women published by Drake, he argues that men attain advantages over women from the inequality between genders. Drake goes on to explain that men are less encumbered by caring responsibilities of the family and can therefore focus and advance more in their careers. Even though both the woman and male of the house might work full time, the woman is still left with the responsibility of household management. This heavy weight of responsibility often impedes women’s ability to progress in their career, leading to the promotion of men, who are fully dedicated to their careers, to higher management positions. In addition, Drake argued that men constantly earn higher wages than women for doing the same work. However, this wage helps men earn a decent wage for their families (Drake, 2008, p. 28). According to the differing perspectives of professionals, there are advantages and disadvantages that come with inequality between genders.
Can equality between genders be achieved?
This question is one of the most controversial questions concerning gender equality. There are so many perspectives that come into play and all make good points. A survey called the Gender Egalitarianism survey was conducted on March 4, 2013 in the El Paso, Texas community in an effort to understand the differing views of gender inequality and an egalitarian society. The survey was posted through Facebook where a more diverse demographic was reached and consisted of questions ranging from personal female accounts of gender discrimination, to opinionated questions asking male recipients if they believe women should have the same rights as men, to interpretive questions asking if gender equality could ever be achieved. According to the non-representative sample gathered from the survey four out of 13 female recipients experienced some sort of discrimination because of their gender, 8 out of 8 male recipients agreed that women should have the same
rights and opportunities as men, and 15 out of 21 total recipients believed gender equality could be reached with proper enforcement. Although, according to this survey men are on board with the idea that women should have the same rights as men, not all recipients believed that true egalitarianism could ever be achieved in American society.
Some professionals, including Victoria De Grazia, Claudia Goldin, and Juliet B. Schor, in a conversation concerning gender inequality moderated by Michael Weinstein from the New York Times argued that while the government may attempt to treat women and men equally, complete equality will never be achieved because women are constantly undermined by social trends. They even elaborated saying that the only way gender equality could be achieved would be if male children were taught the same values as their female counterparts since early childhood, an incredibly difficult and highly unlikely task to achieve. On the other hand, William Julius Wilson and others argued that gender equality can be achieved by enforcing proper legislation and by changing the narrow minded mentality of society (Weinstein, 1999). In addition, according to Laura Ferro’s blog, some studies argue that gender equality can never be achieved because men and women are just naturally
and biologically different from each other. While other people argue that egalitarianism can be reached if society is able to break free of the limitations set on appropriate gender roles and instead allow unique skills and talents to determine the role a person can play in society (Ferro, 2012). Even though the survey Gender Egalitarianism was not a reliable representative sample, the differing perspectives of professionals on the matter support the controversial results gathered from the survey where 15 out of 21 total recipients believed equality could be reached.
Conclusion
Although women have made great strides in expanding their horizons and opportunities in this world, the fight for equal rights is far from over. Many disadvantages still arise from inequality between genders that affect women on a daily basis, such as in the workplace, household and education, and differing perspectives about gender equality do not help the situation but yet obstruct it. Although the outcome is uncertain and unpredictable for now, women will continue advocating for their equality because unlike men, their womanhood is at stake.
References
Articlesbase. (2008, December 23). Gender Inequality. [Web blog]. Retrieved from http://www.articlesbase.com/womens-issues-articles/gender-inequality-695039.html
Berman, J. (2013, March 7). Gender Wage Gap Widened In 2012, As Women Workers Were Held Back By Recovery. Huffington Post. [Web blog]. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/07/gender-wage-gap-2012_n_2830173.html
Bryant, J. (2009, February 3). How War Changed the Role of Women in the United States. Yale. Retrieved from
http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/2002/3/02.03.09.x.html
Douglas, S. (1995). Where the Girls Are: Growing Up Female with the Mass Media. Times Books: New York. [Book]. Retrieved from http://otal.umd.edu/~vg/jpf96/jp08/womenlib.html
Drake, L. (2008, January 16). Caring responsibilities still fall on women. Nursing Standard. p. 28
Dunbar, H. (1970, March 23). Women's Lib: The War on 'Sexism'. Newsweek. p. 71-8. Retrieved from http://otal.umd.edu/~vg/jpf96/jp08/womenlib.html
Evans, S. (2009). Women’s Liberation Movement. Our Voice Our Country. [Web blog]. Retrieved from http://www.ourvoiceourcountry.org/research/womens-liberation-movement.aspx
Ferro, L. (2012, March 19). Gender Inequality in the U.S. Today. Trust Women. [Web blog]. Retrieved from
http://www.trustwomenpac.org/2012/03/gender-inequality-in-the-u-s-today
Ferro, L. (2012, March 27). Gender Inequality in the U.S. Today: Part 2. Trust Women. [Web blog]. Retrieved from http://www.trustwomenpac.org/2012/03/gender-inequality-in-the-u-s-today-part-2/
Hegewisch, A., Williams, C., & Edwards, A. (2013, March). The Gender Wage Gap: 2012. IWPR. [PDF Fact Sheet]. Retrieved from http://www.iwpr.org/publications/pubs/the-gender-wage-gap-2012/
Steinem, G. (1970, Aug 31). What It Would Be Like If Women Win. Time
Magazine. [Book]. p.22-3. Retrieved from http://otal.umd.edu/~vg/jpf96/jp08/womenlib.html
Weinstein, M., De Grazia, V., Goldin, C., Schor, J.B., Wilson, W.J. (1999, May 16).
A Man’s Place. [Magazine]. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/1999/05/16/magazine/a-man-s-place.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm
For the longest time, women have had to deal with the burden of being viewed as the weaker subordinate sex compared to men. Up until the early 1900s women were blind to the unfairness of the hierarchical system, it was not until World War II that women came to realize all the opportunities and rights they were deprived off. After the war, women’s activist movements engulfed American society demanding their equal rights. Gradually women’s roles began to change from housewives to independent, empowered individuals. However, even though women’s roles expanded, their equal rights lag
behind. It is the lack of those equal rights for which women face so many disadvantages compared to men, limiting their ability to advance in the business world. Although achieving egalitarianism is highly debated, women continue to advocate for their rights in hopes that their efforts will pay off someday. Just like it seemed impossible and doubtful for women to become independent in the 1900s, egalitarianism seems impossible now, but what the future holds for women is simply unpredictable.
Literature Review of Women’s Rights
Since the beginning of time, women have held roles subordinate to those of men. However, as time progressed certain historical events in the U.S. allowed women to gradually break free of their submissive class and become more independent. Although the United States has made remarkable progress in establishing equality between genders by implementing new legislation protecting women from discrimination, the fight for equality is far from over. To many this is a tricky topic to discuss since there are so many differing perspectives about women achieving equality. In an effort to better understand and distinguish the various views of women’s equality the following three questions will be answered:
1. What historical events changed women’s roles in society and how were women’s rights affected by this change?
2. What effects arise from inequality between genders?
3. Can equality between genders be achieved?
This literature review will focus on answering the three questions mentioned above in reference to the differing opinions of society and will explain what is at stake for many women throughout the United States.
What historical events changed women’s roles in society and how were and still are women’s rights affected by this
change?
Before the historical events that paved the way for women’s independence and fight for equality, a woman’s life revolved around family and farm. In the 1800s, tradition accustomed families to take on certain roles and duties: the husband would do all the labor work of the farm and was the ultimate ruler of the house, while the wife transformed the raw farm products into usable materials, was in charge of all household duties, took care of the children and was of inferior rank to that of the husband’s. It took World War II for women to become aware of their deprived rights and realize their true potential.
After the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the United States entered World War II. So many men were sent off to war that there was manpower shortage in factories and manufacturing plants back home, as a result demand for women workers increased. Propaganda, such as the Rosie the Riveter poster, was broadcast all over the United States
encouraging women to step up to help win the war, temporarily fill men’s shoes, and help keep society in order while men fought overseas. Women accepted the challenge, and were eager to take advantage of the new opportunities that were available to them and join the work force of which previously only men were allowed to work in. Women were proud to serve their country but also took this situation as a chance to prove to men that they were perfectly capable of doing anything a man could do (Bryant, 2009).
However, as women began taking up men’s traditional responsibilities, men back home felt threatened and responded with hatred and discrimination, which lasted well after the war. It was during World War II that “women faced the greatest challenge of trying to gain recognition and serve their country in more ways than they had in previous years. Little did[women] know, their efforts would prove to be victorious and they would leave an everlasting mark on American society... This war was the birth of many new identities that America had not yet seen.” (Bryant, 2009). Even though, women went
back to being housewives after the war was over, life would never be the same, for women had discovered a new sense of liberty. Due to the economic roles of women, the aftermath of World War II predisposed an activist movement later around the 1960s (Evans, 2009).
In the 1960s, another historical event further changed women’s roles in traditional society. Following the civil rights movement, the women’s liberation movement was an activist movement intended to create an egalitarian society between genders through non-violent protesting. The movement joined thousands of women for conscious-raising and re-thinking of the definition of womanhood and manhood. During this time, women founded the organization National Organization for Women (NOW) to fight cases of discrimination in legal courts, joined male dominated professions, established new institutions like rape crisis centers, shelters for battered women and health clinics, created women’s liberation groups where women exchanged experiences and challenged society’s definition of womanhood, demanded access to birth control, equal wages and legal abortion, and so on (Evans, 2009).
Although many women found the movement to be a life changing event that liberated them from society’s hierarchal roles, the movement sparked a lot of controversy in the American society. Many men of that period believed this movement had been founded by a bunch of whiny, “new and angry”, “small band of bra-less bubbleheads” (Douglas, 1995) (Dunbar, 1970, p.71). While women like Gloria Steinem believed “the women's liberation movement would benefit not only the women, but the men of the society as well, by dissolving the sex role stereotypes and expectations" (Steinem, 1970). Even though many opposed the movement, women were dedicated to fight for their equal rights and did not give up. Consequently, the movement made it illegal to discriminate in hiring, wages, promotions, education and access to credit, and legalized abortion in the early stages of pregnancy (Evans, 2009). Although the women’s liberation movement did not reach complete egalitarianism, it broke many boundaries, improved their rights, and partially freed women from the subordinate chains of society.
The historical events of World War II and the Women’s Liberation Movement profoundly transformed the traditional housewives to the independent, intellectual and empowered working women of this generation. Although American society has vastly improved the way women are treated and viewed, the hierarchal system is still seen at times today. “Sexist attitudes remain pervasive in American popular culture and discrimination, though illegal, continually finds subtle expression, as most working women can testify” (Evans, 2009). Egalitarianism might not yet be within grasp, but these events gave hope to many women and certainly created a more liberal and tolerant America.
What effects arise from inequality between genders?
First of all, gender inequality refers to disparities in power, status and prestige between men and women (Ferro, 2012).
Subtly, gender inequality is still seen at times today in the workplace, household, and education. The disparities between genders tend to have many disadvantages for the subordinate sex, which in this case are women. One of the most debated disadvantages that arise from gender inequality is the gender wage gap. Just recently, the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) issued the new updated statistical figures of the gender wage gap, which revealed a widening of the wage gap in the 2012 year compared to the 2011 statistics. It appears that 2012’s 80.9 percent ratio of women’s to men’s median
weekly full time earnings declined by more than one percent point from 2011’s 82.2 percent ratio. This corresponds to a weekly wage gap of 19.1 percent for 2012. While women’s median weekly earnings were $691 in 2012, a marginal decline compared to 2011; men’s median weekly earnings were $854 in 2012, a marginal increase compared to 2011. Figure 1 above the page further demonstrates 2012’s decline in comparison to 2011 concerning women’s median weekly earnings in red, and women’s median annual earnings in blue.
Figure 1: The Gender Earnings Ratio, 1955–2012, Full-Time Workers (TOP of the page)
(IWPR, 2013)
According to Anne Hegewisch, the widening wage gap is due to the types of jobs women are gaining and losing. As a result of the recession, in 2012, the government had to tighten budget and cut public sector jobs, which are mainly held by women. Consequently, women began working at lower paying jobs which brought down the statistical figures released by the IWPR. However, male-dominated sectors that were affected by the recession, have been flourishing as recovery progresses (Berman, 2013). In conclusion, instead of progressing towards egalitarianism it seems that the U.S. is regressing since women’s wages are decreasing and the wage gap keeps on widening.
Another disadvantage seen in the workplace according to Laura Ferro’s blog is the underrepresentation of females working in high management positions. In the last twenty years the percentage of female managers has merely risen from 35% to 38%. Even though, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, women have made up half of the workers in the labor force since 2010, these figures do not demonstrate egalitarianism because women are underrepresented in top management positions. This underrepresentation is common in the United States and can be seen in the: Fortune 500 companies where only 12 women held executive positions in 2011, Executive Government since not a single woman has been President, Congress since in 2011 women only held 17 Senate seats out of 100 and 92 out of 435 House seats, U.S. law firms since in 2010 women made up only 19.5% of partners and 11% of the biggest law firms did not have women in their governing committee, and the science and engineering employment sectors since men outnumbered women 73% vs. 27% as of 2009.
Apparently, the glass ceiling is still effective in the United States considering women are often subjected to lower working positions and men hold the top managing positions (Ferro, 2012). “Many studies show that women’s choice to have children and stay home for an extended period of time is one of the reasons women do not make it up the chain of command” ( Ferro, 2012). Even though this statement might account for some disparity, it does not explain the profound difference in gender managing positions. Sexism is another factor that comes into play in the status and roles women play in the workforce. Women are often judged by stereotypes and archaic gender roles in the workforce rather than by individual skills and talents, which often leads to the elimination of potential employees (Evans, 2009).
Yet another disadvantage experienced as a result of gender inequality is known as the division of labor. Division of labor refers to the unequal division of burden concerning household and childcare duties. It is a common belief in society to think that women can work while maintaining their inescapable and unequal responsibilities of the house, while men naturally
work outside of the home. This accumulation of work that women struggle with has repercussions that can affect their work and limit their recognition in the outside world (Articlesbase, 2008).
On the contrary, in the article Caring Responsibilities Still Fall on Women published by Drake, he argues that men attain advantages over women from the inequality between genders. Drake goes on to explain that men are less encumbered by caring responsibilities of the family and can therefore focus and advance more in their careers. Even though both the woman and male of the house might work full time, the woman is still left with the responsibility of household management. This heavy weight of responsibility often impedes women’s ability to progress in their career, leading to the promotion of men, who are fully dedicated to their careers, to higher management positions. In addition, Drake argued that men constantly earn higher wages than women for doing the same work. However, this wage helps men earn a decent wage for their families (Drake, 2008, p. 28). According to the differing perspectives of professionals, there are advantages and disadvantages that come with inequality between genders.
Can equality between genders be achieved?
This question is one of the most controversial questions concerning gender equality. There are so many perspectives that come into play and all make good points. A survey called the Gender Egalitarianism survey was conducted on March 4, 2013 in the El Paso, Texas community in an effort to understand the differing views of gender inequality and an egalitarian society. The survey was posted through Facebook where a more diverse demographic was reached and consisted of questions ranging from personal female accounts of gender discrimination, to opinionated questions asking male recipients if they believe women should have the same rights as men, to interpretive questions asking if gender equality could ever be achieved. According to the non-representative sample gathered from the survey four out of 13 female recipients experienced some sort of discrimination because of their gender, 8 out of 8 male recipients agreed that women should have the same
rights and opportunities as men, and 15 out of 21 total recipients believed gender equality could be reached with proper enforcement. Although, according to this survey men are on board with the idea that women should have the same rights as men, not all recipients believed that true egalitarianism could ever be achieved in American society.
Some professionals, including Victoria De Grazia, Claudia Goldin, and Juliet B. Schor, in a conversation concerning gender inequality moderated by Michael Weinstein from the New York Times argued that while the government may attempt to treat women and men equally, complete equality will never be achieved because women are constantly undermined by social trends. They even elaborated saying that the only way gender equality could be achieved would be if male children were taught the same values as their female counterparts since early childhood, an incredibly difficult and highly unlikely task to achieve. On the other hand, William Julius Wilson and others argued that gender equality can be achieved by enforcing proper legislation and by changing the narrow minded mentality of society (Weinstein, 1999). In addition, according to Laura Ferro’s blog, some studies argue that gender equality can never be achieved because men and women are just naturally
and biologically different from each other. While other people argue that egalitarianism can be reached if society is able to break free of the limitations set on appropriate gender roles and instead allow unique skills and talents to determine the role a person can play in society (Ferro, 2012). Even though the survey Gender Egalitarianism was not a reliable representative sample, the differing perspectives of professionals on the matter support the controversial results gathered from the survey where 15 out of 21 total recipients believed equality could be reached.
Conclusion
Although women have made great strides in expanding their horizons and opportunities in this world, the fight for equal rights is far from over. Many disadvantages still arise from inequality between genders that affect women on a daily basis, such as in the workplace, household and education, and differing perspectives about gender equality do not help the situation but yet obstruct it. Although the outcome is uncertain and unpredictable for now, women will continue advocating for their equality because unlike men, their womanhood is at stake.
References
Articlesbase. (2008, December 23). Gender Inequality. [Web blog]. Retrieved from http://www.articlesbase.com/womens-issues-articles/gender-inequality-695039.html
Berman, J. (2013, March 7). Gender Wage Gap Widened In 2012, As Women Workers Were Held Back By Recovery. Huffington Post. [Web blog]. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/07/gender-wage-gap-2012_n_2830173.html
Bryant, J. (2009, February 3). How War Changed the Role of Women in the United States. Yale. Retrieved from
http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/2002/3/02.03.09.x.html
Douglas, S. (1995). Where the Girls Are: Growing Up Female with the Mass Media. Times Books: New York. [Book]. Retrieved from http://otal.umd.edu/~vg/jpf96/jp08/womenlib.html
Drake, L. (2008, January 16). Caring responsibilities still fall on women. Nursing Standard. p. 28
Dunbar, H. (1970, March 23). Women's Lib: The War on 'Sexism'. Newsweek. p. 71-8. Retrieved from http://otal.umd.edu/~vg/jpf96/jp08/womenlib.html
Evans, S. (2009). Women’s Liberation Movement. Our Voice Our Country. [Web blog]. Retrieved from http://www.ourvoiceourcountry.org/research/womens-liberation-movement.aspx
Ferro, L. (2012, March 19). Gender Inequality in the U.S. Today. Trust Women. [Web blog]. Retrieved from
http://www.trustwomenpac.org/2012/03/gender-inequality-in-the-u-s-today
Ferro, L. (2012, March 27). Gender Inequality in the U.S. Today: Part 2. Trust Women. [Web blog]. Retrieved from http://www.trustwomenpac.org/2012/03/gender-inequality-in-the-u-s-today-part-2/
Hegewisch, A., Williams, C., & Edwards, A. (2013, March). The Gender Wage Gap: 2012. IWPR. [PDF Fact Sheet]. Retrieved from http://www.iwpr.org/publications/pubs/the-gender-wage-gap-2012/
Steinem, G. (1970, Aug 31). What It Would Be Like If Women Win. Time
Magazine. [Book]. p.22-3. Retrieved from http://otal.umd.edu/~vg/jpf96/jp08/womenlib.html
Weinstein, M., De Grazia, V., Goldin, C., Schor, J.B., Wilson, W.J. (1999, May 16).
A Man’s Place. [Magazine]. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/1999/05/16/magazine/a-man-s-place.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm