Rights of Women in Context to the American Government - Essay Example

Research Paper on Women's Rights Introduction This paper aims at taking a closer look at the path that women have walked upon during the past centuries and how it has developed. Particularly the paper explores women rights in context to the American government. General Perceptions "Whatever women do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good," said Charlotte Whitton and it happens to be extremely true. History has witnessed the injustices against women. Time and again they proved their worth, through various ways but still have always been considered inferior to men. This may be due to various reasons. In the early years, during the pre-industrial era, women were perceived to be physically weaker than men and were given domestic chores rather than the labor intensive ones like plowing or hunting. However they overlooked the fact that raising children, milking cows, washing clothes and all the other household chores require heavy intensive labor. And recent experiments and tests have shown that women are more pain tolerant than men. The biological implication of the women as the child bearer has also played a pivotal role in incarcerating them in the house. The common view, that a woman's place is in the house basically stem more from that than any other reason. Even after the invention of contraceptives and abortions, due to which they have a greater control over child birth, societal pressures force them to take up the position of a dedicated wife and mother. Due to this pressure the world fails to see and benefit from the intellect of talented women. Most of them fail to finish college and even if they do a little percentage pursue careers. Traditionally, females are expected to learn skills from their mothers. More emphasis is given on developing instincts for running houses rather than a profession. During the 1960s many studies revealed that girls tended to achieve higher in early school years rather than in high schools. A major reason was that girls themselves were never aware that they can have more prospects than just being a house wife. The concept did not exist in their minds. They accepted whatever was ingrained in them. However this trend has been changing over the years. (Eisenberg & Ruthsdotte, 1998) General History Taking a trip down the lane of history it can be seen that the formal education of girls has always been given less importance than that of boys. When America was a colony, the girls used to study in dame schools. They did not have any master school of their own and they could only attend the school for boys if there was any room available for them. This was mainly in the summers when all the boys were out working. However the number of women students started increasing gradually and by the end of the 19th century it had reached great levels. This was due to the fact that more and more women colleges and universities were opened and these women could even apply in regular institutes. In 1870 it was recorded that one fifth of the students studying in the colleges and universities were females. Another survey held in 1900 showed that this proportion had increased to more than one third. As for degrees, women were found to be obtaining 19 % of all the undergraduate college degrees around the start of the 20th century. By the end of the 20th century, this figure had dramatically risen to about 49 %. Even in graduate studies these women were seen to increase in number. Around the mid 1980's they were earning 49 % of all masters degrees and 33 % of all doctoral degrees. Also around the same period it was recorded that 53% of all college students were women from which more than a quarter were above the age of 29. Political History of Women Liberation First Wave The women rights movement began on the 13th of July 1848 when 6 women met for tea. Their conversation drifted towards the situation of women and feeling discontented with it they decided to take action. Today we are living the legacy of the conversation between these women. After two days of the afternoon tea, these women organized a convention to discuss the rights of women in all sectors at the Wesleyan Chapel on July 19th and 20th of 1948. They then formed the "declaration of sentiments" which addressed the major issues women were facing at that time. Some of these were the fact that they were not allowed to vote or given much importance in the eyes of law. After this the movement expanded. From 1850 onwards, regular Women's rights conventions were held attracting huge crowds. These women's hard work finally paid off since they were granted the vote in 1920. After this it split and formed different divisions addressing different issues. This series of events clearly proves that the movement did not begin in 1960. (Sullivan) Second Wave 1960s saw the second wave start. In 1963 due to the persuasion of President John Kennedy set up a Commission on the Status of Women, with Eleanor Roosevelt as its chair. The report that was issued by the commission, documented the discrimination that the women faced in all aspects. Following suit, the state and local governments also set up women's right commissions and researched into the problems faced by women alongside suggesting ways in which those could be finished. Then in the same year Betty Friedan published a memorable book named "The Feminine Mystique". In this book she highlighted the emotional stress middle aged women face due to the limited options they had in life. This immediately inspired thousands of women to strive to gain a greater position in life. 1964 was another important year in the advancement of women rights. In this year Title VII of the Civil Rights Act was passed which prohibited discrimination on job levels over sex, race, religion or national origin. The category of "sex" was added as a way for the bill to not be passed. However it was passed and followed. Following this the "Equal Employment Opportunity Commission" was established to investigate complaints based on discrimination. Within its first five years, it received about 50,000 discrimination complaints based on sex. When it was seen that this commission did not do much to give solutions to the complaints, Betty Freidan along with other influential females decided to form a civil rights organization. So in 1966 the National Organization for Women was born. Seeing this many organizations were opened which stood up for specific sects of women such as Asians, Latinas, Blacks etc. (Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia, 1995) During this same time college activity grew and many women studying in colleges started anti-war and civil rights movements. Many were blocked and thwarted by males who felt that they should be the only ones to lead and that the role of women should be confined. Yet they still succeeded a great deal and it wasn't long before these women started forming their own organizations for the liberation of women to address their role in society at a large scale. These elements of the re-emerging Women's Rights Movement worked together on different issues. These women started working on grass-root projects. They established women newspapers, cafes, book shops etc. Alongside this they established rape crisis hotlines as well to care for victims of sexual abuse and opened child care centers so that they could work outside their home to earn some wages. Women health care professionals opened clinics specially for women to help them in their issues. In 1972 with the inclusion of Title IX in the education codes, equal access of women to higher education and professional colleges became law. With this the number of female specialists almost doubled and it even improved the situation of women in sports. The ration of women playing to not playing in the Olympics rose from 1:25 to 1:3. In the society the Women's Rights Movement has brought about a lot of change as well. For example in 1972 26% of men and women stated that they will not vote for any women as president. By 1996 this number had decreased to only 5% of women and 8% of men showing the drastic change of opinion because of these movements. Then in 1972 the "Equal Rights Amendment" which had been ignored in the congress for about 50 years, finally passed. This was an important landmark in the history of Women rights in America. All over the continent women were encouraged to take part in activities and many house meetings, walk-a-thons, door to door canvassing and events of every imaginable kinds were held. Women suddenly became more politically active. However many problems started arising and by 1982 the bill that needed 38 states to agree to be ratified was 2 votes short. Even though women had become active they were still out numbered by the men, who had everything in their clutches and were not ready to accept a challenge to their authority. The politicians thought that some of the prospects were very controversial. (Morse, 2007) Third Wave The women and feminists that came after 1970s and up till today are most commonly referred to as the third wave. By this time the status of women had risen incredibly in all aspects, from domestic to politics. By 1970s women were working in both chambers of the congress and this helped them to be more specific towards women rights acts. Various bills have been passed ever since and there has been no looking back. The future seems bright for the women now. Many of the bills passed were: greater freedom in reproductive choice, Minimum wage protection for domestic workers, prohibitions against discriminating against pregnant women, tougher child support laws and protection of pension rights for widows and divorced women, provision of federal funds for child care, employment protection for workers needing extended time off to care for family members, protection against violence. Anti abortion rules were over-ridden and women were given free choice to make their own decision. Discrimination of sex in schools and colleges was totally banned, and the equal credit opportunity act was passed. The Supreme court also issued orders that lower wages paid to females were strictly not allowed. These women also saw the injustices against black females and sought to ratify them. Women are now empowered in everything they do. Whether having breakfast, cleaning the house, going shopping or having a career, they have been given the right to choose. They view towards women liberation has changed considerably, at first they thought fighting for a position in the male dominated work force was the key, then they wanted a voice in the politics, and so on the evolution has taken place. This movement has now reached the self actualization level in the United States as liberation stands for a woman's own personal wants and needs. (Imbornoni, 2008) Current Political Scenario In 2008 86 women serve in the congress, 16 women serve in the senate, while 70 women serve in the House. The number of women in the statewide elective executive posts is 74 while the proportion of women in the state legislatures is at 23.6%. Females are currently holding 86, or 16.1%, of the 535 seats in the 110th US Congress and 16 of the 100 seats in the Senate and 70, or 16.1%, of the 435 seats in the House of Representatives. In addition, three women serve as Delegates to the House from Guam, the Virgin Islands and Washington, DC. In 2008, 74 women hold statewide elective executive offices across the country; women hold 23.5% of the 315 available positions. Among these women, 44 are Democrats, 27 are Republicans, and 3 were elected in nonpartisan races. 1,741, or 23.6%, of the 7,382 state legislators in the United States are women. Women hold 423, or 21.5%, of the 1,971 state senate seats and 1,318, or 24.4%, of the 5,411 state house seats. Since 1971, the number of women serving in state legislatures has more than quintupled. (CAWP, 2007) Conclusion Taking a peak at the past decades it can be concluded that the American women have been able to achieve several significant milestones in terms of women liberation. They now have an equal footing, in the countries economic and political areas, with that of men. However the job has not been completed as yet. A study conducted by the U.S. Census bureau revealed that women over the age of 16 represented 59% of the workforce, yet their pay in comparison to men is lower. They earn 77 cents for every $1 a man gets for doing the same job. This maybe due to various reasons for instance women do not seem to get much promotions etc. Another obstacle for the women are their responsibilities at home. Nature have given them the task of house keepers and no matter how much they fight it they still are the ones who end up looking after the kids and the house. This is a great set back for them at work places. Sylvia Ann Hewlett, economist and author of several books found in one of her researches that 42% of corporate women were childless with only 14% planning to be. This proves that women need to neglect one aspect of their life. (Binghamton University, 2002) Works Cited 1. Ann-Marie Imbornoni (2008). Women's Rights Movement in the U.S. Retrieved on March 10, 2008 from http://www.infoplease.com/spot/womenstimeline1.html 2. Binghamton University (2002). Women in Politics. Binghamton Alumni Journal. Volume 11. Number 1. Retrieved on March 10, 2008 from http://alumni.binghamton.edu/AJ/2002/fall/feature02.htm 3. Bonnie Eisenberg and Mary Ruthsdotte (1998). Living the Legacy: The Women's Rights Movement 1848 - 1998. Retrieved on March 10, 2008 from http://www.legacy98.org/move-hist.html 4. CAWP (2007).Women Officeholders Fact Sheets and Summaries. Retrieved on March 10, 2008 from http://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/Facts.html 5. Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia (1995). Women's History in America. Retrieved on March 10, 2008 from http://www.wic.org/misc/history.htm 6. Mary Loretta Sullivan. The legal status of women in the Untied States Of America. 7. Jane Morse (2007). Women's Rights in the United States. Retrieved on March 10, 2008 from http://www.america.gov/st/diversity-english/2007/February/20070226171718ajesrom0.6366846.html Read More