The Fundamental Causes of the Womens Movement - Essay Example

14 June 2007 From Suffrage to Equality: The Fundamental Causes of the Women's Movement Introduction The Women's Movement was borne out of social reform groups in which women began to realize that in order to transform their social condition they would need to organize themselves to do so. The Women's Suffrage movement and The Anti-Slavery movement worked hand in hand to lead the other to equality. Nonetheless, the vote took 70 years for women to achieve, and it was not until 1928 that all women could legally vote. Further, the Equal Rights Amendment is still an unrealized dream that is still not recognized by many states and has not been made law. In the 1960s, the National Organization for Women fought the good fight to bring women's rights and equality for all to the forefront, while at the same time some women, like Phyllis Schlafly, were very vocal against feminism and women's movement. Nonetheless, reformers have made great strides towards equality in society today, both in the workplace and within the home. The proverbial "glass ceiling" that keeps women from substantial promotions in the workplace still exists, and there are definite strides to be made, however, as time passes and outdated ideals and beliefs are shattered, total equality for women may be just a short distance down the road. The Suffrage Movement The women's rights movement began in the first half of the nineteenth century. From the emergence of the suffrage movement in the 1850's until women obtained the right to vote in 1920, suffrage became the primary goal of the women's rights movement. Suffrage included a set of grievances such as unequal wages, inequality at work, unsanitary working conditions, and limited job options. This movement also targeted the suffering of the non-working woman as well, such as married women's property rights and the suffrage of women overall. This led to the first women's rights convention held at Seneca Falls, New York in 1848 (Baker 24). An outspoken proponent of women's rights was Francis Wright who gained prominence within the women's movement in the late 1820's as a colorful, sensational speaker. She spoke out against slavery and also believed that marriage was a coercive institution and advocated replacing current laws on marriage with a non-legal bond called "generous attachment", based only on mutual respect and love and not regulated by any legal authority (24). Because she was a woman, her speeches were considered radical and improper and her detractors labeled her a "Red Harlot" along with any other woman who followed her or attended her lectures (25). Frederick Douglas, a well-known reformer within the anti-slavery movement, was also a staunch supporter of women's rights, and as early as 1848 demanded the vote as an essential right of women (42). Furthermore, Susan B. Anthony, an American civil rights leader, played a pivotal role and wrote often about the women's suffrage movement. In her writings, many times she equated the women's movement with the anti-slavery movement. She stated: the 'Woman Suffrage Movement,' was the Anti-Slavery struggle (31) Anthony was also a paid agent of the American Anti-Slavery Society as well as a suffragist (42). In 1875, a major court case, Minor v. Happersett, arose out of the quest to vote by a woman named Virginia Minor. She attempted to cast her vote in St. Louis and the registrar, Happersett, refused to permit her to do so. Minor was the president of the Woman's Suffrage Association of Missouri and her husband was a prominent attorney. They sued the registrar for denying her what they believed was her privilege and immunity of citizenship. The court in Minor v. Happersett decided against her and Minor appealed her case to the United States Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ruled that if the founders wanted to include suffrage in the constitution, it would have been explicitly stated. The Court refused to interpret the constitution any other way and decided that only a constitutional amendment could change the law (Wheeler 34). Thus, this decision shut the door on suffragists who believed the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments included a woman's right to vote. Finally, on June 4, 1919, Congress passed an amendment to the Constitution, the Nineteenth Amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote. The Amendment was ratified on August 18, 1920 and read: Section 1: The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. Section 2: Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. (Linder). Equal Rights Amendment At the height of the woman suffrage movement in 1917, the National Woman's Party (NWP) was formed to mobilize women voters. The NWP actually introduced the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) into Congress in 1923, which was an amendment that would abolish discrimination based on sex (Buechler 26). There are three (3) sections to the ERA: Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex. Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article. Section 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification. (Francis). When John F. Kennedy took the presidential office in 1961, the NWP tried to convince Kennedy that his constituency should recognize women politically and that it would be in his best interest to support the ERA. Instead, Kennedy chose not to do so and appointed a Presidential Commission on the Status of Women as an alternative. This Commission appeared to be a ploy to stunt the ERA as the Commission found that such legislation as the ERA was an unnecessary reform (Buechler 27). To date, fifteen (15) states have not ratified the ERA; these states are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, and Virginia (EqualRightsAmendment.Org). Although "The ERA failed to win a sufficient number of states to be added to the Constitutionother federal legislation resting on the Fourteenth Amendment strengthened the status of women in their efforts to end job discrimination in employment" (Hall 146). Equal Pay Ever since women have entered the workforce, there has been a constant struggle to obtain equal pay for equal work. The first laws addressing the equal pay issue were passed by two (2) states in 1919, Michigan and Montana. This occurred primarily as a result of the influx of women into the male dominated workplace in light of men heading off to war in World War I and II. However, a federal law was not enacted until the 1960's (Figart 61). According to Mishra: The Equal Pay Act was the first law to suggest that the pay of women should be equal to men when their positions are equal. The purpose of the Equal Pay Act was to secure equal pay for women when they have jobs similar to men and to seek to eliminate discrimination and the depressing effects on living standards caused by reduced wages for female workers. (1). John F. Kennedy's Presidential Commission on the Status of Women shut the door on the ERA; however, the Commission did enable the passage of the Equal Pay Act of 1963. This was the first time in history that the federal government was actually involved in "safeguarding the right of women to hold employment on the same basis as men" (Buechler 27). Although many felt that this was a compromised law, it was at least a step forward for equality in the workplace where pay is concerned. Today, "The gap in pay between men and women has grown smaller. There remains a gap overall, but it may be due to the relatively younger age of women in some professions as much as to residual discrimination" (Hall 146). National Organization for Women During the annual conference of the State Commissions on the Status of Women in 1966, the National Organization for Women (NOW) was formed. It was founded by Betty Friedan, and was formed by a group of middle-class women "for the purpose of elevating the legal status of and improving the employment prospects of women like themselves" (Barasko 11). From 1978 through 1982, NOW was fully committed to the ERA, such much so that in 1978 an ERA "state of emergency" was declared by NOW president Ellie Smeal. This emergency would include putting two million dollars towards a ratification campaign with the aid of NOW's 100,000 members (Barasko 72). Eventually their campaign was not successful and the ERA failed to be ratified by three-quarters of state legislatures in 1982. In 1984, in exchange for NOW's endorsement, democratic presidential candidate Walter Mondale agreed to add a woman to his ticket as his running mate and vice- presidential candidate. His republican counterpart in the race for president was Ronald Reagan, a staunch conservative. Potential nominees were Dianne Feinstein, Patricia Schroeder, and Geraldine Ferraro. Finally, Mondale chose Ferraro to run with him on the ticket. Unfortunately, their campaign failed and many believe conservative groups saw Mondale as giving in to feminist demands, including NOW, and this probably hurt, rather than helped his campaign (Barasko 99). Phyllis Schlafly Although many women were supporters of the ERA and NOW, Phyllis Schlafly is probably best known for her vitriolic campaign against the Equal Rights Amendment. In fact, Shlafly led a national movement that many believe succeeded in defeating the ERA (Diamond 406). Schlafly has called the ERA "a direct threat to the protection that mothers and working women enjoyed in American Society." Further, she argued "the ERA would 'abolish a women's right to child support and alimony,' and would 'absolutely and positively make women subject to the draft'" (Critchlow 210). In a debate between Betty Friedan and Schlafly in 1973, Friedan blurted out, "I'D LIKE TO BURN you at the stake!" (12). Betty Friedan founded the NOW, therefore she and Schafly were so diametrically opposed that they symbolized a vast cultural divide. Although very different in their views as adult women, their backgrounds and childhoods were amazingly similar: They were both born in the Midwest in the 1920's Both were brought up in middle-class families They each had very strong mothers Each was intellectually gifted as a child (Critchlow 14). Certainly one of the Republican Right, Schlafly ran twice for Congress and founded a conservative organization called the Eagle Forum, which currently claims a membership of 50,000. She continues her conservative campaigns and has written several books on the subject and her views (Critchlow 287). Pink Collar Work Jobs traditionally filled by women have been termed "pink-collar" work or jobs. These jobs can range from clerical positions to working in the service industry as a waitress or hairdresser. This pool of pink-collar jobs has been called the "pink-collar-ghetto" because of the low pay for employment in the pink-collar realm. The pink-collar-ghetto consists mainly of jobs in the service, secretarial, cashiers, etc jobs that are primarily held by women (Rifkin 5). "'The term pink ghetto was coined in 1983 in a study of women, children and poverty in America and was used to describe the limits on women's career advancement in these traditional, often low-paying jobs,'" according to Jonamay Lambert, the president and found of Lambert and Associates, Inc, a diversity consulting firm (Kleiman 1). Many blue-collar working women in factory settings saw the lure of the pink-collar environment calling. However, many of these jobs, although less physical and dangerous were less stable than the blue-collar work they were accustomed to. With very little room to move up in the pink-collar world, women with blue-collar experience eventually saw pink-collar employment for what it was---unstable and temporary. In the end, many blue-collar workers returned to their former positions with less safety, but more job security (Rosen 30). The Glass Ceiling If a woman were to remain in the pink-collar environment and try to move up to a white-collar senior position, more times than not she was prevented from doing so due to the proverbial Glass Ceiling. The Glass Ceiling is a term coined in the 1980's and has been used to describe middle management's aspirations to climb to a higher or senior position within a company or organization. It eventually evolved to define the struggle of women trying to rise above certain levels in the corporate environment and running into this transparent barrier (David 14). Adding to the dilemma of the Glass Ceiling is the lack of a support system for women. The support systems outside the workplace available to men do not appear to be available to help women in the same situation. A corporate executive cannot make it to the top without a huge amount of sacrifice from those around them such as dedicated family members. Husbands are not as willing to support their wives in such an endeavor, moreover, as Hilary Cosell states in Morrison: I am not really sure that it is possible for most of us to fuse the personal and professional into once smooth, charming, comfortable, and competent whole---doing everything our mothers did, and everything our fathers did as well (Morrison 18). Women who have moved up in the corporate world are part of a group or pseudo organization, coined the Glass Ceiling organization. As discrimination wanes, more and more women will be entering this group and one can only hope the concept of the glass ceiling will one day disappear. Conclusion It is tremendous the strides reformers have made from the time of the Suffrage Movement through the struggle for equality; however, total equality has not yet been achieved. The future looks bright, nonetheless, as political parties are now beginning to recognize the grave importance of female voters. Furthermore, women are challenging the "glass ceiling" in the workplace and are demanding just treatment when promotions and raises are doled out to their male counterparts. It took 70 years for women to get the right to vote, and anything worth fighting for is worth waiting for to see its fruition fulfilled as well. Works Cited Baker, Jean H. Votes for Women: The Struggle for Suffrage Revisited (Viewpoints on American Culture). New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. Barakso, Maryann. Governing Now: Grassroots Activism In the National Organization for Women. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2004. Buechler, Steven M. Women's Movements in the United States: Woman Suffrage, Equal Rights, and Beyond. Rutgers: Rutgers University Press, 1990. Critchlow, Donald T. Phyllis Schlafly and Grassroots Conservatism: A Woman's Crusade (Politics and Society in twentieth Century America). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2005. David, Miriam. Negotiating the Glass Ceiling: Careers of Senior Women in the Academic World. London: Routledge, 1998. Deslippe, Dennis A. Rights, Not Roses: Unions and the Rise of Working-Class Feminism, 1945-80 (The Working Class in American History). Champaign, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1999. Diamond, Marie Josephine. Women and Revolution: Global Expressions. New York: Springer-Verlag, 1998. Figart, Deborah, Mutari, Ellen, & Power, Marylin. Living Wages, Equal Wages (Routledge Advances in Feminist Economics). London: Routledge, 2002. Francis, Roberta W.. "The History Behind the Equal Rights Amendment." ERA Task Force, National Council of Women's Organizations. Retrieved June 13, 2007, from http://www.equalrightsamendment.org/era.htm. Hall, Timothy L. The U.S. Legal System. Pasadena: Salem Press, 2004. Kleiman, Carol (2005). Pink-collar Workers Have Own Barriers to Break. Chicago Tribune. Lerner, Gerda, & Kerber, Linda K. The Majority Finds Its Past: Placing Women in History. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2005. Linder, Doug. "Women's Fight for the Vote: The Nineteenth Amendment." 2006. Exploring Constitutional Conflicts. Retrieved June 10, 2007, from http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/ nineteentham.htm. Mishra, Jitendra M. The Equal Pay Act: The First 30 Years. Public Personnel Management. Retrieved June 12, 2007, from http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1- 20345574.html. Morrison, Ann M., White, Randall P., & Van Velsor, Ellen (1994). Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Can Women Reach the Top of Americas Largest Corporations Boston: Addison Wesley Publishing Company. Rifkin, Jeremy. The End of Work. Toronto: Tarcher, 1996. Rosen, Ellen Israel. Bitter Choices: Blue-Collar Women in and Out of Work (Women in Culture and Society Series). Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990. Wheeler, Marjorie Spurill. One Woman One Vote: Rediscovering the Woman Suffrage Movement. Troutdale, OR: New Sage Press, 1995. Read More