Gender inequality was deeply rooted in the United States history with advancements towards equality noted in the early 1900s. Women were the disadvantaged groups being considered as inferior to men. The patriarchal society supported the leadership of men, leaving women to bear children and take care of their families. Fight for equality started long before 1900, with women facing humiliation and minimal efforts noted towards their advancements. However, it never discouraged women, and they continued to fight for education, owning property, political representation, and other fields. The timeline between 1900 and 2000 shows the struggles and successes that women gained on the fight towards equality. Modern disparities are also noted and how women in the modern world are still fighting for equal chances in American society.
Men were in control of everything in a marriage, despite the effort the woman. The 1848 Married Women’s Property Act was made effective by 1900, with every state passing the legislation. It was an indication that the struggle for women to control their property had paid off (Treas, & Widmer, 2000). Married women were allowed to be in charge of their property and earnings for the ones who were employed (Therborn, 2004). In the employment sector, women were expected to work for long hours just as men, yet they were paid less because they were considered weak (Caplow, Caplow, Hicks, Hicks, & Wattenberg, 2001). It affected the health of women until 1908 when Muller v State of Oregon, 208 U.S. 412 was passed, with women expected to work for ten hours per day. It shows that women would be able to work without tiring themselves excessively and at the same time enjoy their salary as the law allowed them to control their property.
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Women were not allowed to participate in politics. Men were considered natural born leaders, and women were too emotional to make any decisions. Women could not even participate in voting as their voices were not regarded important in making any decisions (Blofield, Ewig, & Piscopo, 2017). The first effort to political participation was noted on 4th June 1919 with the 19th amendment into the constitution where women were allowed to vote. However, political representation did not take place until 1916, when Jeannette Rankin became the first woman ever to be elected to Congress. Before Rankin, there were other women who had been elected to assist in political activities but never participated in lawmaking. The number of women representing the female in America was still very small. That did not make women to give up, and they continued to fight for more positions in the government (Figart, Mutari, & Power, 2005). By 2000, there were more women elected into parliament and were able to make decisions that helped to promote gender equality.
Sex discrimination in the workplace was another aspect of gender discrimination. Men took advantage of women by sexually assaulting them as they were aware that no justice would be achieved. It made most women quit working due to the harshness they experienced when working. Workers such as waitresses were taken advantage of especially those who worked on the night shift. In 1924 Radice vs. New York passed a law which forbade waitresses from being assigned the night shift. The law was meant to protect women from being raped and assaulted at night (Kessler-Harris, 2003). By 2000, other laws for protecting women had been passed, and any men having sexually abused a woman would go to jail.
The pay gap is another form of discrimination based on gender. Women received less payment in comparison to men, yet holding the same responsibilities in the place of work. Women were considered weak, thus compensated less, and it was a way of expressing inferiority as equal compensation would have indicated that women were equal to men (Safa, 2018). In 1937, the Supreme Court passed various laws which indicated the minimum wage that women would receive. In 1928, more laws were passed where a minimum wage was passed regardless of the gender of the employees. It was an advantage to women since they would be paid equally to men, an indication that discrimination on payment was addressed. Pay discrimination was also based on race (Fernández-Kelly, 2008). African American women received less payment in comparison to white women. Other races such as Asians, Hispanic, and Caucasia are still fighting to equal chances in employment and payment to the present day (Frankema, 2012). Title VII of the Civil Rights Act which was passed in 1964 has helped to promote employment of all races and colors because it prohibits discrimination based on gender, color, nationality, religion or race on employment.
Women were segregated in education. America being a patriarchal society, they believed that the place of a woman was in the kitchen, bearing children and making their husbands happy. Education was thus not a necessity. Women were not even enrolled in school, and mothers were expected to teach the young girls what was expected of them (Barnett, 2004). However, women started seeking for enrolment and getting educated. By 1992, the number of women who were enrolling in schools was getting higher than that of male students (Duffy, 2007). By 2000, women in America could access any education institution. However, discrimination still exists based on degree choice as some courses such as engineering are considered masculine while nursing is considered feminine.
Discrimination against women is still far from over. Despite the effort that women have put over decades to fight for equality, it is yet to be achieved. Women are still facing discrimination in the modern world. The only difference is that the laws which were passed in the past are now effective, thus creating an advantage where women can seek justice. In employment, for example, there are companies which will choose male workers over female (Therborn, 2016). A female applicant can make a complaint against such a business for being denied the chance of applying for the job position.
Women have formed movements which represent them and keep seeking for equality in the society. The movement groups also encourage women to venture in male-dominated fields, such as in STEM studies. In America, the number of women in science, engineering, and math fields has increased. Women are working to show men that they can perform equally or even better (Shaughnessy & Stein, 2018). The political participation has increased with women able to pursue any political position, as was seen in 2016 with Hillary Clinton running for presidential elections. These efforts are an indication that equality will be achieved someday, and men will accept that women are equal to them.
Women have suffered gender inequality more than men, explaining their efforts to fight for equal chances in society. In 1900, the efforts of the fight for equality started to pay off with more women being recognized. By 2000, women had made a milestone in their fight for equality, as seen in education, social, political, and economic representation. In the modern day, women are still pursuing equality hoping that one day; they will be treated equally to men.
References
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Therborn, G. (2016). Moments of equality: today’s Latin America in a global historical context. A moment of equality for Latin America, 13-29.
Treas, J., & Widmer, E. D. (2000). Married women's employment over the life course: Attitudes in cross-national perspective. Social Forces, 78(4), 1409-1436.
