Women in the Workplace

Sydney Ledwedge

Thesis Women are starting to shoot ahead in the

workplace. They are slowly catching up with men in the battle for positions. Can this cause a potential shift in the main source of income in the house hold.

Women in the past…In the past, it was not likely for women to have

jobs. Main job: to care for the family and home Men were the main provider for the

household.

Women in education…Just as unlikely it was for women to have a job,

it was also not common for women to have a high education if any education at all. Women have started to surprise the world with the number of women with degrees.

Since 1984, the majority of people in gradute schools are women.

In 1996, women received 238,563 master’s degrees. Men only received 181,062.

Discrimination in the workplaceWith the high numbers of women getting degrees you

would think that women would be taking the higher paying jobs. This is untrue. Men are still taking the more powerful and higher paying jobs.

For every dollar a man makes a women only makes 78 cents.

Women also have to deal with other discrimination in the workplace They are looked over for promotions because they can

become pregnant. Companies worry that if they hire a women and she becomes pregnant she will either leave the company or ask for maternity leave. But this statement is not always true. 65% of women in senior

management positions have children and have kept their job while taking care of their family.

Discrimination cont. Women are also discriminated for being too

pretty. Example

An article stated that a women was fired because her male coworkers thought she was “too pretty”, causing a distraction in the office.

Another women in Florida, Amy-Erin Blakely, was fired because her bust was too large. Her employees complained to their manager saying that they were having a hard time concentrating during meetings. Because of this she was told that she would not be able to advance in the company anymore.

“The Glass Ceiling” A way to describe women’s treatment in the

workplace is “The Glass Ceiling.” “ The Glass Ceiling” is meant to indicate a

symbolic barrier in the corporate hierarchy where women are rarely allowed passing.

RacesNot only do women as a whole get

discriminated for their gender but also for race.

According to the Women’s Bureau unemployment rate: Asian women 7.5% White women 7.7% Hispanic women 12.3% Black women 13.8%

Women shooting ahead…Even though women are treated unfairly, they

are starting to show a rise for the top. USA Today journalist Dennis Cauchon stated

that in 2009 women held 50% of the nation’s 132 million jobs.

Due to the recession men have lost 3 million jobs in construction and manufacturing alone.

The jobs that were still running smoothly were those in health care, education, and government, all of which are mostly held by women

Women shooting ahead cont.

One reason why women are starting to grow in the workforce is because while women are getting degrees, men are sitting at home playing video games. Men 18 to 34 spend more time playing video games than 12

to 17 year olds. Many believe that the media is one of the reasons for

the large number of unemployment percentages. A lot of movies today are about men that do not want to

grow up. They show men going to parties, drinking, smoking, showing they have no responsibilities. This is playing a large influence on the future working generations.

In 1950, the percentage of unemployed men was only 5%. In 2010, it was recorded at 20%.

Shifting in the workplace?In the past women were just seen as caring for

the home. But women are now starting to achieve greater job opportunities that were once only held by men.

Of working married women, 48% provide half or more of the household income.

60% of U.S. women that work outside of the home, earn one trillion dollars each year in aggregate.

Top 10 occupations…The top10 occupations with the highest median

weekly earnings among women are:1. Physicians and surgeons, $1,6182. Pharmacists, $1,6053. Chief Executives, $1,5984. Lawyers, $1,4615. Computer Software Engineers, $1,4456. Computer and Information Systems Managers,

$1,4157. Physical Therapists, $1,2088. Speech-language Pathologists, $1,1849. Computer Programmers, $1,17710. Human Research Managers, $1,170

Women in jobs.. Women in Business:

Today women-owned businesses make up about 40% of all businesses.

Women employ 27.5 million people and make more than $3.6 trillion in sales.

Women also make 95% of the family financial decisions.

Women in the Medical Field Over 90% of registered nurses and 53% of medical

scientists are women.

Women in Management… In 1960, only about 15% of manager and

administrators were women. Today that number has risen to 51%

Stated in a Washington Post article, “ Companies that employ more women in upper level management are more profitable that those that rely heavily on male ‘talent’ to run their business.”

“ There is a clear relationship between women in senior management and corporate financial success.”

An Example of women succeeding in management.A women by the name of Marilyn Carlson

Nelson, had a father that was the owner of his own business. Nelson would beg her father to give her a job in his business, but would never hire her. He instead assigned her to what he called “female” jobs in the company. Since he would not hire her, she decided to take her business career into her own hands. When Nelson was in her 60’s, she was so far ahead in the corporate world that she was able to buy her father’s company. While in charge of the company, she was able to triple the growth and profits and turn her father’s tiny company into a global leader.

Works Cited http://www.momlogic.com/2009/12/feminist_trade_school_opens_for_teens.php http://www.google.com/imgres?

q=women+looking+intelligent&start=97&um=1&hl=en&sa=X&biw=624&bih=827&addh=36&tbm=isch&tbnid=5H8_Fi9000AmXM:&imgrefurl=http://www.futu rity.org/society-culture/sex-appeal-women-kiss-science-goodbye/&docid=f- gH0CMg0iiIMM&imgurl=http://www.futurity.org/wp- content/uploads/2011/08/math_women_1.jpg&w=525&h=358&ei=eZWtT8q5HIqm8ASYtoTuCA &zoom=1

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=women+working+in+the+home&um=1&hl=en&biw=686&bih=827&tbm=isch&tbnid=thKxN38Rc9sK7M:&imgrefurl=http://otal.umd.edu/~vg/msf97/ms04/g b/project4.html&docid=drOltjUMpZFCmM&imgurl=http://otal.umd.edu/~vg/images/couple_at_home.jpg&w=252&h=336&ei=-JWtT4PeL4q08ATf17z8CA&zoom=1

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=women+in+education&um=1&hl=en&biw=686&bih=827&tbm=isch&tbnid=dZ5IiGUu4n67RM:&imgrefurl=http://womensblip.wordpress.com/category/educ ation-achievement-and- work/page/2/&docid=FzzVD4lA2jKQQM&imgurl=http://womensblip.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/women-education-in-dubai6.jpg&w=300&h=266&ei=W5etT6ikOIT48wTK15nfCA&zoom=1

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=discrimination+in+the+workplace&um=1&hl=en&biw=686&bih=827&tbm=isch&imgrefurl=http://www.employeerightspost.com/articles/sex- discrimination/&tbnid=uFtTPJmR9seFMM&docid=iyrCBK9MCvjtmM&ved=0CEMQhRYoAQ&ei=2JatT6jHNo-q8ATy4MyGCQ

http://www.kelloggforum.org/against-workplace-discrimination/ http://www.google.com/imgres?

q=women+in+business&um=1&hl=en&biw=1280&bih=843&tbm=isch&tbnid=3vCkEWfjRK5YrM:&imgrefurl=http://www.womensdish.com/business-accessories-for-women.html&docid=WoaYuJMQmvrK1M&imgurl=http://www.womensdish.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Working-Women-Fashion-Tips.jpeg&w=4992&h=3328&ei=SPSvT5GuOJGg8gSlrvn7CA&zoom=1

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=women+as+nurses+today&um=1&hl=en&biw=1280&bih=843&tbm=isch&tbnid=Fm7SRs6OQxBItM:&imgrefurl=http://applyforgovernmentgrants.org/government-grants-for-nurses.htm&docid=PVHDo785Y34jtM&imgurl=http://applyforgovernmentgrants.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Government-grants-for-nurses-1.jpg&w=300&h=350&ei=1vSvT8KRMITs8wTC-pnxCA&zoom=1