How often do you see a woman as an executive in charge of a large company? And of those women that have succeeded into these positions, how many of them have families at home? Not all that many. It seems that the way society looked at women in the past has hindered them from succeeding in both the family and career aspects simultaneously. Many women choose one or the other. Either to raise a family of their own or to pursue their career, especially if their career choice is not one of the jobs considered being “women’s work”.
In the past women were looked at as the more nurturing of the sexes and that is why they typically stayed at home and raised the family while the men went out and brought home the bacon so to speak. If you have ever seen the television shows of the 50’s you would have noticed that most of the families on these shows consisted of a father that worked a nine to five job, a couple of kids, and a mother. The mother was a housewife who’s sole duties were to raise the children, clean the house and have a hot meal on the table for her husband as he returned home from work. In many instances the women on these shows never worked out side of the home and when they did decided to try they normally failed and at the end of the show realized that their place was in the home raising the children. Never once did I ever see a show that while the woman decided to give a career a try that the man stayed at home and took care of the children, and not once did I see one of these women succeed and stick with her job.
The Term Paper on Labor Force Women Alla Family
... expected to take care of their families and work outside of the home. At this point, women were expected to take on dual ... article. This cohort was supposed to desire a career and then a family. More women went to college and obtained degrees. But since ... support her two young children and husband. Both of Mela's positions, telephone operator and nurse, were jobs, not careers. For both positions, ...
But this is changing. More often then not women in today’s society are going out there and starting careers of their own. And these are not necessarily careers that are in the category of women’s work. Many of these women are going out and getting positions that would normally not be considered “women’s work”. What I mean by women’s work is those jobs that are normally possessed by women. Such as waitressing, secretarial work, teaching elementary children, childcare, and many other positions. These were only a few of the jobs out in the work field and yet they were the only ones that were allowed to women. Or at least that is how it used to be up until WWII when women had to go out into the working world to support their families. This was due to the fact that most men were away defending their country.
Women were soon able to do many jobs that would normally not be allowed to women. Women worked in factories, had executive positions in companies, they helped build airplanes, and many other things to help with the war effort. This only lasted as long as the war though. As soon as the war was over and the men began to come home, women were expected to return to their lives of being housewives. Although many women were forced to or willingly left there jobs when America’s men returned from war to reclaim them, the attitudes and images regarding women had been altered and would affect the future of America for better or for worse. After the war when many women had the taste of life outside of the home they soon began to try even harder to change the way things were they more or less decided that it was time that they too were able to make it in the work force. Many women started to take charge of their lives and went out and attempted to get a job. Most of these jobs that women sought were men’s jobs because they “offered more pay, fringe benefits, authority and autonomy.” (Williams)
Many women who make it in the business world don’t have a family of their own. Even though studies show that working mothers are better role models for their young children as long as they also spend time with their children. According to a website sponsored by the University of Minnesota:
The Term Paper on Men And Women Gender Jobs Work
... mothers, should be at home looking after their children and preparing a nice home for husbands and families. Women who choose to work often work ... known as an earning's ratio (Lowe, 1999). In 1996, women who worked full time earned only 73% of what a men earned. This ... is that men must occupy more of the jobs with status than women do. Clerical jobs usually fall underneath some sort of management ...
“Daughters of working mothers tend to be more assertive, independent and active defenders of their rights…They are more likely to choose their mothers as models and as the person they most admire. The female role is not being limited to homemaker.” (Portner)
These girls learn from an early age to believe in themselves, which a lot of female have a hard time doing in this day and age. If a young girl has a good role model to look up she is more likely to have a better image of herself and to respect herself as a person. The web site also states that some girls with full time mothers are over protected and less likely to be out going. They may be reserved and that may not help them to stand up for themselves.
Also in an article I found on the website Family Education it was stated that:
“Sociologists cite the cross-cultural studies showing that the more solitary mothering is, the less tender the mothering. This runs exactly count to our thinking, that only if the mother is always there can she feel the tender maternal bond.”
Now I’m not saying that if a mother only stays at home and raise her children that she will not be tender and caring towards her offspring. What I am trying to state is that mothers have to find some thing else to occupy their time with than just mothering and for some the way of doing this is by having a job outside of the home.
There are some disadvantages of mothers working, but at the same time the advantages seem to out way them. According to “Psychology of Women-A Handbook of Issues and Theories,” “When women combine the roles of wife and worker, their families have a substantial economic advantage over families where only the husband is an earner.” This is true in so many different ways. In the fact that children are able to participate in more things if their parents are able to afford it, and that children do not have to go with out things that they would not be able to afford with a single income.
The Essay on A Womans Work Never Ends
In 1963, women spoke out and were able to initiate the forming of the law called the Equal Pay Act, an amendment to the already existing Fair Labor Standards Act. The act requires employers to pay all employees equally for equal work, regardless of their gender. However, this law has a very big weakness; it only applies when men and women are doing the exact same work, yet in the past, women have ...
The few women who have succeeded in the business world may find it hard to find equal paying jobs and may face discrimination or even sexual harassment. According to the website Working Women, “in 1996 women were paid only 74 cents for every dollar earned by a man.” There have been many laws made to change this. Now days under affirmative action women must receive the same pay as a man would. Also women may not be taken as seriously just because of the fact that they are female. If they act with assertiveness, ambition, and risk taking they are not accepted well. They are thought to be too manly. If they act to feminine such as being passive, dependent, or emotional they are denied the chance at leadership roles because they don’t have the right traits. (Grunig) Women have to walk a narrow path that is set for them by men. If they do not follow this path they are looked at as not being normal. Women have tried over the years to over come this and they have finally started to succeed. More and more women are taking leadership roles in companies. Now days, women cannot be denied a job just because they are women. An employer could face a lawsuit if they do.
Women have worked long and hard to reach the point they are at today. Women in European countries have formed labor unions to try and ensure their rights in the work place. Policies that have been established by these unions have helped women out in the areas of sexual harassment, childcare, and parental leave. (Gregory) These are just a few of the changes that unions have succeeded to make. Unions in the U.S. have helped increase equality in wages between men and women. They have also helped women receive health and pension benefits. These are all changes for the better. Not only for workingwomen, but for those who do not have jobs outside of the home. They are helping make it fairer to women in all situations in society. By becoming equals in the work place they are also equals in all public relations. Women have foraged ahead and have started to take their own destinies into hand.
If women keep fighting for what they want some day all people will be treated equally no matter what their gender. Who knows, maybe someday there will even be a female president. And maybe it will be you.
The Homework on Should Women Work Outside Home
Recently, many women are engaged in various kinds of job, and they have been advancing in society. Moreover, it is quite ubiquitous among typical families that a mother works outside the home. In the article Should a Woman Work Outside the Home?, the author Mohammed Akade Osman Sudan argues that a womans rightful place in society is in the home. I disagree with the authors view that women should ...
Work Sited
Denmark, Florence L. and Michele A. Paludi eds. Psychology of Women: A Handbook of Issues and Theories. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1993
Gregory, Jeanne, Rosemary Sales, and Ariane Hegewisch. Women, Work and Inequality: The Challenge of Equal Pay in a Deregulated Labor Market. New York: St. Martin’s Press Inc., 1999
Grunig, Larissa A., Elizabeth Lance Toth, and Linda Childers Hon. Women in Public Relations: How Gender Influences Practice. New York: Guiliford Press, 2001
Portner, Joyce. “Impacts of Work on the Family”. University of Minnesota. 2 Dec. 2001. 8 April 2002. http://www.cyfc.umn.edu/work/Wfs/impacts.html
Sutton, Kyanna. “Do Working Moms Make Better Moms?” Family Education. Jan. 2002. 8 April 2002. http://familyeducation.com/article/0,1120,3-287,00.html
Williams, Christine L. eds. Doing “Women’s Work”: Men in Nontraditional occupations. Newburg Park: Sage Publications, Inc., 1993
“Working Women: Equal Pay” ALF-CIO Online. July 1998. 8 April 2002. http://www.aflcio.org/women/wwfacts.htm.
