Chapter Five

Understanding Women and Work

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Women and Work What was traditionally classified as

women’s work? Is this still the case today?

Do the stereotypes and myths surrounding women affect their acceptance and treatment in the workplace?

What is their career?

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Industrialization Changes Women’s Participation

By 1790, the availability of water-powered machinery such as spinning frames and carding machines enabled businessmen to substitute power tools for women’s hand labor in the manufacture of cloth.

By 1813, 175 other cotton and wool spinning mills, employing entire families, punctuated the river rich New England landscape.

This was the beginning of women working in factories.

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Were women workers treated different? As more women were recruited to work in

the factories, the women’s experiences as factory workers varied according to their ethnicity, race, and class, and differed from those of men.

According to the Puritan values that many WASP during this time adhered to, women were second class citizens and were under the rule of men. They “are” not equal to men.

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But why still today are women labeled as not qualified? Killing Us Softly

But why still today are women labeled as not qualified?

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But why still today are women labeled as not qualified?

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But why still today are women labeled as not qualified?

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But why still today are women labeled as not qualified?

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But why still today are women labeled as not qualified?

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What is feminism? What does it mean to be a strong

woman? What does it mean to be feminine,

as opposed to masculine?

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But why still today are women labeled as not qualified? Discrimination can be a learned

behavior. Women have been socialized to

believing in their inability to be equal to men particularly in the workplace.

Little has been taught about the impact that women have in the workplace or in the world.

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What about the woman who does not do a good job? Just because you are qualified for a job does

not mean that it will be a “good fit”, why? Yet oftentimes when women and minorities

are hired for a job and don’t do well they are considered not qualified and taint it for others in their group. The first assumption should be that this was not a good fit for this individual or maybe they are just a “slacker”. Slackers come in all races and genders.

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Women and physically demanding jobs Differing requirements, why?Because the standards are set by men on

how to lift, how much etc. Yet research shows that if women are

allowed to develop their own techniques to lift heavy objects then there is no need for this difference. For instance, if carrying a heavy object they will most likely shift the burden toward their lower-body strength and perform the task successfully. Women will use their hips—quite different from men.

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Jobs are adaptable, so that both men and women can be successful.

However jobs have been adapted to men because men were the traditional workers in those jobs.

When women come along and ask that the job be adapted to their average capabilities. What happened?

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However, this strikes people as being unfair, as lowering the standards of the job, or as admitting that women are not as capable as men, or in creating "double standards."

In fact, the job itself, the techniques, and the equipment used were designed to "fit" with men's average capabilities (they were and many still are – male standards) and so are biased in favor of male workers.

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Other Issues affecting Women in the Workplace

StereotypesEqual PayGlass & Concrete Ceiling

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Has equal pay for women been achieved?

Many women still make 77 cents to every $1 of a man doing the same job.

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Yet, The Equal Pay Act of 1963 says: same pay for men & women doing equal work, requiring equal skill/effort/responsibility under similar conditions.

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Equal Pay Equal pay is a bread-and-butter issue

for working families. More than two-thirds of all mothers in

the U.S. work for pay. Two-earner families are today’s norm

among married couples. Studies show that as the percentage of

women in an occupation rises, wages tend to fall.

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Equal Pay Workers who do what traditionally has

been viewed as “women’s work”—clerical workers, cashiers, librarians, child care workers, teachers and others in jobs in which 70 percent or more of the workers are women—typical earn less than workers in jobs that are predominantly male or are integrated by gender.

Does unequal pay hurt men?

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Concrete Ceiling vs. Glass CeilingConcrete ceiling for

Women of Color Diversity programs

not as effective or intended for women of color

Subtle racism Managers are not held

accountable for advancing women of color

Pervasive stereotypes

Glass ceiling for Caucasian Women

They can see the next level but still have a hard time getting there as 95% of all top management jobs are held by white males

The “old boys network” still in effect in many corporate environments

Can you do it? Name a famous man who is not a

professional athlete or actor/singer Name 10 famous men who are not a

professional athlete or actor/singer 20? 30?

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Can you do it? Name a famous woman who is not a

professional athlete or actor/singer Name 10 famous woman who are

not a professional athlete or actor/singer

20? 30?

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Political Contributions of a few Women around the World Indira Gandhi – Prime minister of India Ellen Johnson – Sirleaf of Liberia Queen Hatshepsut – Pharaoh of Egypt Benazir Bhutto – Prime minister of Pakistan Wilma Mankiller – Principal Chief of the

Cherokee Nation Golda Meir – Prime minister of Israel Margaret Thatcher – Prime minister of

Britain

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Violeta Chamorro – President of Nicaragua

Corazon Aquino – President of the Republic of the Phillipines

Of all the major countries in the world, what country has not yet had a woman in the highest position?

Women History Quiz Let’s see how much you know

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Women History Quiz Answers

1. Elizabeth Blackwell (1821-1910)2. Madam C. J. Walker (1867-1919)3. The Trung Sisters (d. 42 A.D.)4. Margaret Fuller (1810-1850)5. Barbara Jordan of Texas (1936-1996)

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Women History Quiz Answers

6. Valentina Tereshkova did this 1963 (b. 1937)7. Empress Wu Chao (625-705 A.D.)8. Amelia Earhart (1898-1937)9. Frances Perkins 10. Jane Austen (1775-1817)11.Anne Bradstreet (1612-1672)

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Women History Quiz Answers

12. Boudicca (d. 61 A.D.) 13. Antonio Novella did this 1990-1993 (b. 1944) first surgeon general14. Women’s history month is March.

Women History Quiz Answers Did you find it difficult to answer

the questions on the quiz? Why or why not?

What does this say about what we learn regarding significant women in society?

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