Century of Women in Britain and the US - Essay Example

A CENTURY OF WOMEN Irrespective of their race, religion & women were not seen as women in the society in the beginning of thiscentury. The woman, often conceived and the childbirth has become dangerous. There was no birth control system in yester-years. The abortion was treated as an unlawful thing. They did not follow any contraceptive methods, as the same were not available or discovered. The system of divorce was so complexes and was not within the reach of the poor in yesteryears. The women were not encouraged to learn education. The involvement of women workforce were a little below half of the British work force and that of women in USA, they were above half of workforce in recent days. During this century, the life styles of women have changed vastly. The activities of women have brought an important role in transformation of women. Many workingwomen have reached pinnacles in their selective fields. They have become champions in the fields of educational institutions, science and technology. Now the women are more economically stronger and independent than a century ago. The women are not involved in union activities. Now the women in UK & USA can exercise their franchise not like in olden days. Now the women are well educated and participated in national politics. The women were first employed in jobs during the currency of First World War. After the First World War, the services rendered by the woman were forgotten, as they did not enter into domestic service. The start of industries gave some opportunities to women to get good jobs with good returns. The involvement of women in second world war and the role played by them brought changes in awareness and consciousness within the women and the in the society too. The politicians thought of safeguarding the interests of women at their respective work place. The women desired to stick to their jobs by showing their individuality but some women wanted to come back to their domestic service. The work force of woman has largely increased in the year 1940 when compared to the work force of women in the year1939. After Second World War the need of education in higher education and technology has been increased for women after 1960, the entire world wanted to bring a change in inequality irrespective of their class, race and religion. The history of the women is the product of time of century old women. It is the growth of the women for the last 25 years, which focused on their memories, testimonies and pointing out women's experience. After events of revolution in 1968, the socialist feminism is possible once again the world, liberation of women in capitalism. At the end of 1960, the emergence of feminist framework and civil rights movement could be seen. In 1980s Thatcher and Reagan have elaborated the same. In both the countries of USA and Britain have contrasts of class, race, ethnicity, along with region, age and disability. The books did not carry a definite socialist analysis of the history of women in 20th centuries. The working class woman has not transformed the liberation of women forward. In 20th century, the women have achieved, in many nations, the right to vote, increased their changes in educational and job opportunities. Women used to feel wifehood and motherhood were most important events in their career. History shows that women is creative source of human life, women are always treated as inferior to men, since olden days. The attitude towards women was favorable in the east. In USA, the women were felt weaker than men as they couldn't do hard work which requires muscle power. In women, the Americans found lack of intellectual development. The women were allowed to attend domestic works such as caring of children, cooking cleaning of house and washing clothes. It was felt that women's main role in the society was to give birth to children. In the present scenario, because of major publicity to follow contraceptive methods control over number children besides legalisations of abortion. The prevailing cultural pressures have prevented women to reach higher education in colleges and universities and pursuing their careers. The girls used to complete their primary or secondary education. In America, the girls are allowed to read and write in schools and they were permitted to sit with boys in masters' school subject to availability of room in the school. In England a spinster can possess property, enter into an agreement of contract, or sue and be sued but a married woman cannot do they things as she lives with her husband and her properties gone under the control of her husband. In the beginning, the man absolutely has his wife and children as his property in the United States of America. The poor families used to send their children attend work in houses. There were no laws, in those days, to stop working of child labor by mothers. If husband agrees in some communities. The law has been modified to suit that the women can practice law in the courts; they can sue for property and possess property in their name. In England, equity law has come into force for application of equal rights. In United States of America, the equity laws have been liberalized to cast more legal rights of women. In case of divorce, the divorced husband has generally maintained the property and children legally. In 19th century women started taking employment in textile mills and garment shops in less ventilated and crowed rooms and worked continuously for 12 hours a day. After some years, the states started passing laws limiting fixed working hours for women. They have further improved working conditions of women. Some labor laws have restricted rights of working women prohibiting women from working eight hours daily. They were prohibited to work during nights, which may need overtime work. Even in some states women were prohibited to lifting weights as much as 7kgs. Federal laws were passed to improve the financial status of women in the society. Equal pay from men and women for doing equal work. Any discrimination against women has been barred as per the Civil Rights Act, 1964, by any company, which deploys 25 or more employees. A Presidential Executive Order has barred federal government contractors to show bias against women workers and employees though discrimination in other fields persisted. It has become a phenomenon that retail stores did not issue credit cards to married women divorced or single woman independently as a result it has become difficult for them to fetch credit to purchase house or car etc., laws resulted to women welfare, crime, prostitution and abortion showed gender bias against women. There is a violation in welfare laws with regard to welfare payments, which were subjected to investigation to find out correctness of welfare claim. Sex discrimination is also prevalent. If a woman kills her husband shooting she would be accused of homicide where as husband shoots her wife, it would be termed as passion shooting. In first three months of pregnancy, the woman has a right to go for an abortion. Many countries lived under the same legal disparities as women in the United States. In England after 1935 the married women had got right to possess property and enter into agreements or contracts on par with unmarried women. In the year 1920, the women were allowed to take up employment and pay equal to men. A law was passed in the year 1960 for equal pay scales for men and women in British civil services. In the year 1980 the women doctors constituted 17 percent of total doctors whereas the same was 5 percent in the year 1890. No woman engineer in the year 1930 in the United States of America whereas the same was 7.5 percent in the year 1989 in total engineers. When we speak about judiciary, only 2 percent women lawyers and judges were available in the year 1930 whereas 22 percent of women lawyers and judges in judiciary were available in the year 1989. The teaching field is more attractive for woman employment in the United States. In 1980, woman more than twice men, were engaged in primary/ elementary and high schools in teaching profession. But in higher education, the teaching staff women are one-third of men. There was more concentration of women in the fields of home economics nursing, library science besides elementary and high schools. Majority of women work in areas of clerical/ministerial positions, retail shops, and service jobs. In factories, women work as machine operators, assemblers and inspectors. In hospitals, they work as cooks, attendants & cleaners. During the times of war, women served in Navy & Army performing non-combatant duties as secretaries, typists and nurses. More than 45 percent women constituted employment sector in the United States of America in the year 1989. They had a little share of decision-making jobs. Many cases were pending with Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 1970 for changing sex discrimination in jobs. Women are paid 32 percent less than men despite the equal pay Act, 1963. Women were not made permanent workers on account of their sex discrimination that they were married or would likely to be married. Reference Sheila Rowbotham. (1999). 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