In her essay “Taking Women Students Seriously,” Adrienne Rich discusses the historical struggle for gender equality. While it may seem that there has been progress in achieving gender equality, with men taking on more household responsibilities and women pursuing careers outside of the home, this perception might not accurately reflect the reality. Despite ambitious women striving for successful careers, there is still an imbalance in leadership positions within organizations compared to equally qualified men. The healthcare industry and academia exemplify sectors where men remain predominant in top roles while women are overrepresented among working staff.
Despite the progress made since the implementation of the Equal Pay Act in 1963, which aimed to combat gender-based wage discrimination, women still encounter challenges in the workforce. If a woman starts her career at age 25 today and stays in the same full-time job for 40 years, she could face a significant loss of over $500,000. Unfortunately, there is no simple solution to address this inequality – unless she were male. The Civil Rights Act, enacted one year after the Equal Pay Act, offered protections against wage discrimination for both women and minorities. Nevertheless, in modern society, most women still earn less than their male counterparts.
In 1998, women aged 25 and above who were employed full-time earned only 76 percent of what men earned. This perception of a “gender gap” and discrimination against women in the workforce persists. Despite improvements in women’s representation in fields such as law and medicine, men continue to dominate these professions. This leads to the question of why women encounter obstacles in career advancement, promotions, and employment opportunities even when they possess comparable education and experience. Moreover, women of color face particularly lower earnings compared to white women.
According to a 1998 national survey conducted by Washington Post, there are gender imbalances in domestic duties. Although some men are willing to help with child care and household chores when their wives work, responsibilities within the household are mostly divided based on gender. The survey discovered that working mothers do twice as much housework as their husbands, and more than half of the surveyed women expressed dissatisfaction with the level of support they receive from their husbands for household tasks.
Traci Hughes-Velez, the director of compensation for a major corporation in Brooklyn, N.Y., and a survey respondent, explains that although some men are starting to understand the challenges women face, her husband does not fully grasp her constant sense of responsibility for their son’s well-being at home. Both men and women typically see being a man as having more advantages and think that most men do not understand women’s issues. Even though attitudes are changing, families with two working parents have not completely adapted in certain areas.
The media often criticizes parents, especially mothers, for choosing both parents to work instead of cutting costs so that one parent (usually the mother) can stay home and take care of the children. However, in reality, most married women want more time at home and a flexible work schedule with fewer hours and days. Unfortunately, current technology and traffic congestion make it difficult to achieve this. Despite these challenges, women feel obligated to have a career to prove their own value and worth, just like men do. Moreover, women have the legal right to pursue a career. In fact, approximately one third of American families have the mother as the main breadwinner.
Over the past fifty years, women have been working towards achieving gender equality in economic and political domains. They have especially made advancements in securing leadership positions in sectors and organizations that were previously inaccessible to them. The idea of a woman serving as Secretary of State would have been unimaginable twenty-five years ago. Despite progress in achieving gender parity, there are still areas that require further attention. Women continue to earn only 72 cents for every dollar earned by men, and there remains a significant lack of gender equality at the highest levels of decision-making within business, government, and various professions.
The women’s movement is making continuous progress in the fight against discrimination based on reproductive abilities, towards a more equal world. As a woman, I am proud of the advancements made in creating a fairer society today. However, further efforts are still needed to dismantle barriers that hinder women from achieving genuine gender equality, earning respect, and surpassing superficial limitations.
