Women in the workforce

Women in the Workforce

HIstory

History• Before the World War I & II women were expected to tend to

domestic work, and any job opportunities were restricted to certain areas, like education and clothing trades.

• When men were drafted to the wars, women were needed to take their places in the jobs they left behind, and many jobs opportunities opened in weapons factories.

Issues• Main issues are unequal representation and

unequal pay in the workforce.Women, on average, are paid 77% of what men are despite the fact that women earn more academic degrees than men.

As you go up the ranks of the workforce, the percentage of women decreases and the percentage of men increases.

•The United States ranks 77th on an international list of women’s participation in national government.

• Professor Joan Williams popularized the term "maternal wall," referring to discrimination against hiring or promoting mothers based on the assumption they will be less committed to their jobs.

• "I think what's interesting is that it's against the law, I assume everybody knows it, yet it still occurs. And it occurs in a very overt fashion," says David Lopez, the general counsel of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission "That means that employers often leave trails of emails saying in effect, 'We don't want her because she's a mother.' "

Issues

Women & Race

Political Parties

•Traditionally Democratic caucuses support women’s rights groups as part of the liberal agenda

-At the moment the Obama administration is trying to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act which would update the 1963

• More conservative Republicans have historically had more traditional views of women’s roles in society, but many do support women as well.

Media

• ”There was talk about the changes we need in our media, not only the messages that girls and women are consuming about themselves, but the messages that affect how men view women,” – Marianne Schnall (founder of feminist.com)

• Only 56% of movies pass the Bechdel test, which requires the movie to have at least two women in it, who talk to each other, about something besides a man.

• http://www.npr.org/2013/06/10/189280329/50-years-after-the-equal-pay-act-gender-wage-gap-endures

• http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/she-the-people/wp/2013/12/05/book-asks-what-will-it-take-to-make-a-woman-president/

• http://www.forbes.com/sites/connieguglielmo/2013/12/12/facebooks-sheryl-sandberg-leans-in-and-helps-boss-versus-bossy-pantene-ad-go-viral/