Women have long been viewed as lesser than men, being more delicate and lacking male intelligence (Ferber, Jimenez, Herrera, & Samuels, 2009, pp. 336-357). As a result, for centuries women have been told that their place was in the home and that it was shameful for them to be within the workforce. However, with the onset of the industrial revolution more and more women entered the workplace. As a result, by the time of the great world wars, women stepped up and took the place of the brave men who were in battle (Ferber et al, 2009, pp. 336-357). Consequently, they were cementing their way into the workforce and outside of the captivity of home servitude (Ferber et al, 2009, pp. 336-357).
However, the attitudes against women in the workplace have not completely changed, nor has the wages between male and females within the workplace, which is yet to become equal. These types of trends show in statistics as “Women still make up only 27 percent of the top 10 percent of labor income earners, and their share of higher income groups is even smaller” (Institute for Policy Studies, 2017). In spite of the advances in societal thinking and the long road women have walked towards equality, we still have a way to go to truly be seen as “equals” to men in the workforce.
Note: This article was originally published by Misty Hamilton Smith on Nov. 2, 2017, for the course IDS 400 at Southern New Hampshire University.
References:
Institute for Policy Studies. (2017). Inequality.Org. Retrieved from https://inequality.org/facts/income-inequality/
Ferber, A.L., Jimenez, C.M., & Herrera, A.O., & Samuels D.R. (2009). 