Although sexism against women has improved tremendously since the 19th century, it still exists. Since we have been reading about the feminist movement in Chapter 16, I thought it would be interesting to compare aspects of sexism in the 19th century with sexism today.
Education: Oberlin College was the first college to admit women in 1837. Higher education for women was discouraged and frowned upon. Today, women are definitely encouraged to pursue higher education; in fact, there are scholarships available to females only. According to Terence Jeffrey from cnsnews.com, 25% fewer men than women graduate college. In my opinion, female equality in education has been accomplished.
Family Roles: A "stay-at-home dad" sounds ridiculous today and would also be so in the 19th century. Wives were expected to obey their husbands and could not own private property. Fortunately, American women were given some more respect than European women due to the scarcity of women on the frontier. With more women in the workforce today, many feel that it is difficult to balance motherhood with a career. More so than men, women are still expected to be homemakers. In this aspect, female equality in the household has not been reached.
Economic Roles: Only 14.3% of executive officer positions at Fortune 500 companies in 2012 are held by females, according to Danielle Kurtzleben on usnews.com. Whitehouse.gov states that women are paid 23 cents less for every dollar men are paid. Although there are far more women in the workforce today than there were in the 1800's, female equality in the workplace has not been accomplished.
I love this post, Michelle. Thanks for outlining a few of the examples that gender equality has not yet been reached. The difference in pay is the most upsetting to me. Let's continue to work towards gender equality.
ReplyDeleteThis post points out many big problems about gender equality in the US. However, family roles cannot be enforced. The family is a private setting that people usually don't want other people to be involved in. In one family, every member is equal and has a say in every affair, in another, no one is equal, a taciturn pyramid structure is set up over who has what power. What I'm saying is that the family cannot be reformed by a higher power, but the other two can, and should be strove for.
ReplyDeleteWhile it is true that the family is supposedly a private setting, inevitably it will be influenced by outside factors as long as the family does not live in complete isolation. If a society is geared towards patriarchy and is filled with patriarchal families, one family will find it hard to completely eradicate this type of system from themselves. Furthermore, a husband who grew up watching this system play out with his parents will most likely imitate it in his own household. The same is true with the wife. Of course, members of the family can consciously decide to treat each other with perfect equality, but this is not always a decision that comes naturally. In today's society it is expected, but that is largely because now society frowns upon gender inequality. Thus, society as a whole should strive to promote gender equality. A higher power need not be called in, each citizen just needs to do their part.
DeleteJust to throw out a few more ways in which women have gained rights as, despite the setbacks, they have come a long way.
ReplyDelete-They have gained the right to vote, as of the presidential election of 1920. previously woman had no say in who became the next president, ruling out about half the population of the country.
-They can now inherit land. Woman did not attain substantial property rights until around 1920. Previously, if a man died, he wife could not inherit his property.
I think the economic role that woman can play in society, as you mentioned above, really needs to change. Woman should be hired just as readily as men it seems.
It goes both ways, however. For example for a while it was believed that nursing was a woman's job, not suitable for men. Even today when I visit the hospital I see many more woman nurses than male ones. While it may not be because male nurses aren't hired as readily, it is something to ponder.