Women's growing contribution to society has extended to the labor force. The past years has shown a rising number of women in the marketplace. Women as breadwinners or active members of the work force are no longer surprising notions. This has become a pulsating reality. This was not the case decades ago where most believed that women's place in society is at home, do the household and raise children.
Women being viewed as the weaker sex were expected to assume the role of nurturer. For a long time, women have played support roles to men. One can trace this idea to as far back as ancient civilization. Women's role was always secondary to men. But as the years progressed, women want a more active role in the society especially in the marketplace. They demand to be treated equally with men (Anonymous, 2004).
Shunning the notion that their rightful place is at home, they strived to have their voices heard in the place largely dominated by men. They brought their cause to the marketplace. Women want to become financially independent. They need to have careers and prove their capacity to work, run organizations and take care of business. In short, do men's job.
Women though were not welcome to the workforce as eagerly as they thought. Some traditional thinkers accused women who want to work as selfish for choosing to put their own needs ahead of the family.
Women have achieved great strides in penetrating the workplace particularly in the past decades. But still, the struggle for equality with men continues. They have successfully penetrated the marketplace. The larger question though is how they are treated there. And what opportunities are open to them due to their gender.
Women faced a number of issues when they first come to the marketplace. Foremost of which is the fact that most women did not have the necessary educational background to be able to tackle the job well. Women are also relegated to jobs with lower positions than men.
Their job options were limited compared to men as some jobs were off-limits to women then. Also, women are found to be paid less than the men for doing the same amount of work. For a long time, women have struggled against these biases.
Women have successfully broken from the mold with which society contained them not so long ago. Through their efforts, discrimination in the workplace was recognized and addressed by enactment of laws. These laws address gender discrimination and discrimination due to martial status, pregnancy, race, disabilities, sexual preference, and age.
In our recent years, we have seen the rise of number of women entering the workforce. They are taking more active step in shaping their roles in society. And demand that they be treated equally with men.
Consider these figures from US Census Board (2000):
Jobs
61% of women age 16 and over in the civilian labor force in March 2000. The percentage for men was 74 percent.
57%of the 70 million women age 15 and over who worked at some point in 1999 that were full-time year-round workers.
72% of women age 16 and over in 2000 who worked in one of four occupational groups: administrative support, including clerical (24 percent); professional specialty (18 percent); service workers, except private household (16 percent); and executive, administrative and managerial positions (14 percent).
Issues Confronting Women in the Workplace
Women working for corporations in America still experience discrimination particularly in getting equal pay for equal jobs. Despite the women's growing competencies, earnings and job distribution seem to put women in disfavor.
Equal pay law came about in 1963. Yet, despite this fact, it is still apparent today that women are still paid less than men.
In a report made by AFL-CIO Organization, it was found out that in 2000 women got a pay of only 73 cents for every dollar a men earns. Another more startling revelation is the fact that these figures are even lower when it comes to African American women who only earn 67 cents for every dollar that a man earns (Anonymous, 2004).
Institute for Women's Policy Research found in their study that the workplace pay gap between men and women are getting worse. US Census Bureau revealed that women make only 75.5 cents for every dollar that men earn. Between 2002 and 2003, average annual earnings for full-time year-round women workers reduced by 0.6 percent, to $30,724, while men's earnings remained unchanged, pegged at $40,668. The 1.4 percent decrease in the gender wage ratio is the largest backslide in 12 years (since 1991). The
2003 Census data also reflect the first decline in women's real earnings since 1995 (Longley, 2004).
