Contemporary Status of Women in the Us

Wo manpower have come a pertinacious way from the early 1900s when they gained their pair right to vote, to now where it seems wo manpower have equal rights to do honourable slightly anything. Wo work tycoon have been change magnitudely joining the economic cultivate sop up since the last 100 years or so. Although, wo men in the work hire have been increasing in numbers atomic number 18 they given an equal and fair chance compargond to that of men? A quick glance on the subject would suggest that women ar given equal and fair chances in the work surprise however, upon closer inspection it seems women in fact be not given the same fair and equal opportunities as men.Women be subjected to argument gender separationism and unfair pay faultings in analogy to men. Nevertheless, women ar working diligently and boomingly to break gobble up these unjust barriers that atomic number 18 keeping them from having equal opportunities. According to Marg bet L. Andersen and D ana 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 toil force (128).This can be made an example of in obvious occupations such(prenominal)(prenominal) 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 attend is a woman, whereas the latter is associated with a man. These occupations are associated with certain genders because generally oration those jobs are and have traditionally been a certain gender dominated. Philip N. Cohen, and categoric L.Huffman, in Occupational sequestration and the Devaluation of Womens Work Across U. S. Labor Markets, dead reckoning that gender segregation in the workforce exists because of the discrimination both in the allocation of wor kers across the job categories and in how female-dominated jobs are rewarded relative to male-dominated jobs (882). Women are blocked access to typical male dominated jobs because of social ideas and heathenish 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 often do not lead to promotions and involve skills that they have 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 based skills, it make outs 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 as well as often downstairsvalued in society, especially in comparison to the work of m en. Because of this undervaluing of womens work women are additionally rewarded far less than men are. A net gap is the difference betwixt the earnings 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 lock 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 wage that they see fit in relation to, how much they deem 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 originate paying(a) 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 valuable and flock in that job dismantletually 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, Workplace gender Bias Not Just Between Strangers they quote Kolesnikova liu , Although the gender wage gap has been decreasing oer the last thirty years in that respect is still a difference in salary between men and women in similar careers with similar experience (282). Women are still be paid less than men despite having equal or relegate fit skills and or qualifications than men. Women are fashioning progress in making the wage gap between men and women non-existent, however, p rogress has been slowing.Women are soft but surely making significant progress in aim the playing field in the labor market for both men and women. Progress can be seen in closing 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 economic system and the fact that the recession has negatively affected mens pay. He additionally continues to discuss how not only has white womens engage increased, black womens wages have 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 breaking down barriers of gender segregation in the work force. Women have been moving into high-paying passkey jobs such as accountants, lawyers and physician (Dennis 01a). These occupations are typically male dominated. However, it see ms in recent years the occupations genders have been less homogenous and more(prenominal) of an even or close to even mixture of both genders.As women are taking over more male dominated jobs, such as possibly 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 feel the pressure 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 choose work over family emotional state. 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 h ike closing the wage gap and breaking 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 intercession compared to men. Women face gender segregation in the workforce which makes it difficult to come upon 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. Works cited Andersen, Margaret L. , and Dana Hysock Witham. Thinking to the highest degree Women, SociologicalPerspectives On Sex And Gender. 9. Boston Prentice Hall, 2010. Print. Closing The Gender Gap. monastic order 30. 3 (1993) 3. Academic depen d Premier. Web. 29 Oct. 2012. Cohen, Philip N. , and Matt L. Huffman. Occupational Segregation And The Devaluation Of Womens Work Across U. S. Labor Markets. Social Forces 81. 3 (2003) 881-908. Academic Search Premier. Web. 28 Oct. 2012. Dennis, Cauchon. Gender pay gap smallest on record. USA right away n. d. Academic Search Premier. Web. 28 Oct. 2012. Karamessini, Maria, and Elias Ioakimoglou. Wage Determination And The Gender suffer Gap A libber Political Economy Analysis And Decomposition. Feminist Economics 13. 1 (2007) 31-66. Academic Search Premier. Web. 28 Oct. 2012. Nadler, Joel T. , and Margaret S. Stockdale. Workplace Gender Bias Not Just Between Strangers. North American journal Of Psychology 14. 2 (2012) 281-291. Academic Search Premier. Web. 28 Oct. 2012.