Women and Work/Working in a Group

Historically, the value of labor performed by women has often been considered somehow less significant or legitimate than labor associated with masculine gender roles. The legacy of patriarchy is such that male dominated societies have traditionally assigned a subordinate role to women in the workforce, and this fact has been true in many different kinds of societies, and in many different time periods. Women have often been regarded as property. In some traditional societies, women were considered to be owned by their fathers until the time they were married. Once married, a woman would be considered the property of her husband. The struggle for women’s rights has been a long and difficult one that has taken place over a period of centuries (Lerner, 1993). Women have struggled for the right to vote, to own property, to have access to their children, for education and opportunities, and for many other things that men have often taken for granted.

Even after the democratic revolutions that occurred in the Western world during the past two centuries, the struggle for civil rights, social equality, and economic freedom for women has often lagged behind. In the United States, for example, women did not receive the right to vote until well over a century after the Constitution was initially ratified. Until only a few decades ago, many professions were not accessible to women, and many institutions of higher education did not admit women. As an illustration, the University of Virginia, a college founded by Thomas Jefferson, did not admit female students until 1971. This traditional denial of educational opportunities to women has coincided with the denigration of professions that have often been labeled as “women’s work.” Such activities as housekeeping, cooking, domestic labor, teaching, nursing, and even child-rearing have often had this label attached to them (Hansen & Philipson, 1990). Consequently, these professions and highly important social roles have often been regarded as being of low status and subject to derision.

By contrast, the form of labor normally or traditionally performed by males has been treated with much more respect. Male dominated professions are granted much higher status in society and are normally much more financially rewarding. It continues to be widely believed that such work requires much more physical strength in the case of skilled or “blue collar” labor, or much more intelligence with regards to “white collar” work and the professions. Even in the United States in the twenty-first century, a woman who attempts to enter these male dominated professions will often encounter much resistance and difficulty. Female construction workers, for instance, are typically given very little respect and are often paid much less than their male counterparts. Likewise, women who enter highly skilled professions such as law and medicine continue to fight for respect in a field that remains highly patriarchal, even if open sexism is no longer as prevalent as it once was (Hansen & Philipson, 1993). Women continue to be paid approximately seventy five percent of what men are normally paid for comparable work.

An essential question involves the degree to which this lack of equality can eventually be overcome by means of further struggle. Women are now more educated and enjoy more freedom than ever before in many different parts of the world. The first female President of the United States may soon become reality. Women are continuing to break new ground with regards to pursuing career options that were previously only available to men. The rights of women are being taken increasingly seriously by courts and legislative bodies. At the same time, the sexual objectification of women continues, and women endure much sexual harassment in the workplace and in public spaces. The pornography industry is highly pervasive throughout society, and the internet has only served to make pornography even more available. This portrayal of women as sexual servants helps to impede women’s social and economic mobility (Cornell, 1994). For example, women who seek professional or socioeconomic self-advancement often face men who feel entitled to sexual favors.

Still, there can be no denying the substantial progress women have made in the Western countries during the past half century. Much of this is no doubt rooted in the necessity of women entering the workforce during World War II due to the shortage of men. The rapid expansion of technology and industry in the postwar period also necessitated an ever-larger pool of skilled workers, and this provided the opportunity for many women to join the workforce. Also, a much-expanded professional class emerged during the latter half of the twentieth century that consequently required a large number of people with secondary education or even advanced degrees. Recognition of these facts by university administrators and corporate planners has resulted in diversity initiatives, including those pertaining to gender (Cornell, 1994). These economic and institutional changes transpired during the same era that an ever-greater number of Americans began to become more conscious of their rights as citizens, and increasingly voiced their opposition to discrimination against racial and sexual minorities.

The corresponding expansion of industrial technology, the emergence of the information age, the growth of a much larger urban professional class, and enhanced struggles for civil and political rights have brought many new opportunities to the lives of women, and in ways that would have been unimaginable only a short time ago. Yet sexism and patriarchy still exist and undermine the quality of life for women in a variety of ways. Ongoing discrimination in the workplace and in some professions, gender gaps in the rate of remuneration for comparable work, and social ills such as domestic violence continue to plague women (Hansen & Philipson, 1990). As society struggles to become more inclusive, perhaps these lingering evils from the patriarchal traditions of the past will someday be overcome.

Working in a Group

The experience of working in a group situation and exploring the topic of women and work with my fellow students was a highly enjoyable and beneficial one. Other students raised important points and valuable insights that I would not have considered had I been working on this project on an individual basis. I was particularly appreciative of what the male students who contributed to our project brought to our discussions and collaborative efforts. Issues that pertain primarily to women are often likewise dismissed as “women’s issues,” and are frequently considered to somehow be of lesser importance. This can be considered a continuation of the lengthy tradition of devaluing women’s labor.

Our discussions and collaboration as a group also helped us to clarify how sexism and patriarchy harm not only women, but men as well. Sexism creates a gulf between the sexes and thrives on mutual antagonism. The legacy and subtle influence of sexist attitudes make emotional intimacy much more difficult for men. The perception that men must be unfeeling and emotionally stoic undermines the quality of life for those men who are the most sensitive and who do not wish to conform to such rigid gender role stereotypes. Clearly, a greater sense of reciprocity is needed in the realm of relations between the genders, as well as in the wider society.

References

Cornell, D. (1998). At the heart of freedom: Feminism, sex, and equality. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.

Hansen, K. T. & Philipson, I. J. (1990). Women, class, and the feminist imagination: A socialist-feminist reader. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

Lerner, G. (1993). The creation of feminist consciousness from the Middle Ages to eighteen-seventy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.