User:Schaden1/Women in the Workplace in the United States

Women in the Workforce in the United States ...

Women make up roughly half the population of the United States, and therefore represent a significant portion of the labor force. Despite this fact, women have often been regulated to lower paying positions and denied employment on the basis of their gender. Although there have been laws passed in recent decades to try to make employment more equal between men and women, women are still paid less for the same work as men. Women are also frequently passed over for promotions in favor of men, even in fields dominated by women. Women also typically perform the majority of household labor, an important task that often receives little to no recognition or reward. If women were to stop working, the United States would grind to a halt. Achieving equality in the workplace in key to achieving equality between genders in society at large.

Before World War II
Women have always been a key component in the economy of the United States since the nation's founding. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, women made products for the home, such as candles, cloth, and soap, as well as assisting with farm work. As the Industrial Revolution shifted the American economy's focus from work in the home to work in factories, women adapted to the shift. They became workers in factories, and received relatively low wages, often working sewing and weaving. Women were treated as inferior to men even in the beginning of work outside the home, as unions frequently rejected them as members and they earned 46 cents for 1 dollar that men earned. Many of these working women were of lower class trying to supplement the husband's income, or young women hoping to support their families. Women were still expected to do all the household work, making working for a wage undesirable for women who did not have to work. At the turn of the century, women dominated the fields of teaching, nursing, and textile manufacturing.

World War II
As World War II drew away the men of the working force to fight, women took their jobs. Women worked extensively in the heavy machinery and agricultural fields, jobs typically held by men. Women also participated directly in the war, serving as nurses, cooks, clerks, and mechanics. It is estimated that there were at most 20.6 million women working for wages in the United States during World War II. Women came to enjoy the independent wage earning, with 75 percent planning to continue working after the men had come home.

After World War II
Post World War II, the new medium of television pressured women to return to the home and act as good mothers and wives instead of earning wages. The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's encouraged women to challenge this pressure, and women made many steps towards equality through legislation. The 1964 Civil Rights Act banned gender discrimination in the workplace, and in 1972 the establishment of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission allowed women who believed that this law had been violated to challenge companies through the court system. In 1966, NOW (National Organization for Women) was founded, an organization that pushed for various women's rights in the workplace. In more recent years, women have entered higher paying professions and acceptance of working mothers has become the norm. However, women still face many challenges towards achieving equality in the workplace.

Challenges
Despite the gains made towards equality in the workplace for American women in the past few decades, there are still many problems to overcome before true equality can be achieved.

Glass Ceiling
Women have often faced challenges getting promoted to upper level management positions. Discrimination is present in these cases, but it is hard to prove and therefore goes unchallenged. This phenomenon is referred to as the "glass ceiling". As of 2010, there were only 15 female CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, an increase from 10 in 2006. The glass ceiling concept can be applied to male members of minority races as well.

Wage Gap
The wage gap is the discrepancy that exists between the amount of money that women earn as compared to men. In 2006, the U.S. Census Bureau determined that women make 77 cents for every dollar that men earn. There are various theories as to why this is the case. Some believe that the reason for the wage gap is that women choose to enter fields en masse that pay less, such as education. Another theory is that because women often leave the workforce or take more flexible (and lower paying) jobs in order to raise children, and thus sacrifice earning potential. Others think that the work that women do, such as secretarial work, is valued less by society and therefore rewarded with less pay. Whatever the reason for it, it is an undeniable fact that the wage gap exists.

Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment, defined by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as "unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature", is often categorized into two types of harassment. These two types are quid pro quo and hostile environment. Quid pro quo involves the requirement of sexual favors for promotion, and a hostile environment is when people are made to feel uncomfortable on a consistent basis in a way that impacts their ability to work. Sexual harassment was not initially included in the 1964 Civil Rights Act banning sex discrimination, but Supreme Court Cases in 1976, 1981, and 1982 made sexual harassment in the workplace illegal. In 2005, the EEOC reported 12,679 sexual harassment charges.