PSYC310 Portfolio Project Rollins Essay

In the late nineteenth century women were beginning to find a place in the more public spheres of life. Larger numbers of women than ever were in paid employment; by 1874 twenty percent of females over fifteen were employed. Many

Toward the late 19th century, as more and more women began entering the workforce and emerging from the home, into the

Many women of the early 1900’s wanted to be treated fairly and equally to their male counterparts. For a long time, it was not even socially acceptable for a woman to work. As a woman’s job in society started involving be part of the work force, many

Women made up 49.83% of the nation’s 132 million jobs in June of 2009; for the first time in American history, “Women are on the verge of outnumbering men in the workforce for the first time, a historic reversal caused by long-term changes in women's roles and massive job losses for men during this recession” (Cauchon). Just as the current recession has impacted the way that women exist in the workforce, so too did past national events influence women’s roles in the workplace. In the early twentieth century, it was rare for women to work outside of the home; World War II, with its incredibly high draft rate, left a labor gap in the United States that made it necessary for women to enter the workforce in record numbers. Although many

Another demographic change we are seeing in the labor force today are changes in the men to women ratio. According to the United States Department of Labor, in 1970 women only made around 37% of the working population, leaving men to make up the additional 63% (Women in the Labor Force, 2012). By 2012, women accounted for 47% of the total working population. Although this may not seem like a large increase from 1970, women did account for more than half of all laborers within several of the industry sectors including; financial activities (53%), education and health services (75%), leisure and hospitality (51%), and other services (52%). However, when looking at jobs in the agricultural, construction, mining, manufacturing, and transportation and utilities fields, women are still significantly underrepresented. Over the years we have seen not only the percentage of women in the labor force grow, but the large pay gap between men and women has slowly began to close. As of 2012, women with full time jobs

The economic “market revolution” and the religious “Second Great Awakening” shaped American society after 1815. Both of these developments affected women significantly, and contributed to their changing status both inside and outside the home. Throughout time, women’s roles and opportunities in the family, workplace, and society have greatly evolved.

For many years, women had been subject of increased gender inequality, including restricted access to employment opportunities. However, during the antebellum era, several important changes were introduced to address the rights and roles of women in the society. For about two centuries now, the number of women entering the accounting profession has almost doubled. In the year 1977, females made up 28% of all graduating accounting majors. According to a recent American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) survey, there were more female graduates than male, approximately 52% vs 48%. More so, the gender breakdown of new accounting graduates hired by public accounting firms was 54% male and 46% female (Fisher, 2015). The demand for accountants appears to be growing a lot faster than the supply (Dubois, 2013). In today’s business climate, job opportunities are better now, more than ever for accountants. These opportunities are particularly good for women,

In this paper, I will demonstrate, with the use of examples, that the causal factors which keep women of our society from progressing nearly as much in their professions as men is that the labor distribution in the family household has not made any significant changes in past years. I argue that, in the long term, Kay and Shipman are

Women entered their chosen occupation at the bottom of the business ladder. A very small number of them became entrepreneurs; it took determination, even though they were already part of the workforce. The ones who did strive to become entrepreneurs were known as ‘go-getters’ (White, 104). ‘Go-getters’ were hard-working women who wanted a significant role in American society. Some of these women had a problem with being segregated from men in the workplace. Certain fields were then classified as a male, female, or a neutral occupation. The majority of successful women entered what could be described as neutral or predominantly female careers (White, 51). Most of the successful women had professional and vocational qualifications, having studied business administration. (See Appendix A). Women were then expected to enter one of these fields, if they were to pursue any career at

Paid work for women moved from principally customary female-situated employments to all the more non-conventional and already male-arranged vocations. Ladies ' support in the workforce prompted them to start careers in the field dominated by male in the 20th century. Career yearnings were affected by elements, such as sexual orientation, financial status, race, occupation and instruction level, and parental desires. This paper exhibits how women developed, changed and the challenges they faced in the 20th century in America in the workforce and the advancement of ladies ' careers, improvement and profession goals during the 20th century in United States. Also, gender issues affecting women will be discussed in details during this period and how women played their role in fighting for their rights.

Women can become change agents in their organizations by stepping out of their comfort zones and becoming champions with a set of proven strategies to overcome barriers to Human Resource, structural, political, and symbolic contexts. Disabling negative responses to change such as anxiety, confusion, invisibility, and lack of purpose to the positive actions of engagement, empowerment, support, and training are a few areas to improve employees’ viewpoint toward any modification. Always, the transformational leadership style demonstrated by female leaders uses an enhanced mechanism to enact change as it relies on communication, collaboration, and cooperation. (Bolman & Deal, 2003).

“If one compares a woman in 1900 with her counterpart in 2000, the gains have been significant. There were the obvious changes, such as the right to vote and other governmental policies supporting women in the 1960s and 1970s. The results were women successfully engaging in certain jobs for the first time. Where women were once a minority, or excluded entirely, by 1980, they accounted for more than half of all undergraduate students”,

In 1870, nearly two million women and girls worked outside the home. Domestic work was an important source of income. Some girls even dropped out of school to help make money. One in fifteen American homes employed live-in servants that were mostly immigrants or African American. Working from dawn to dusk, these women cooked, cleaned, washed, ironed, and cared for children. A lot of them supported their own families who lived elsewhere. Most of the women that were working were single because then they did not think that married life and careers for women mixed. Many of the single women workers were between the ages of 16 and 24. Employers thought that they would leave when they got married so they rarely gave them supervisory jobs or advanced training. They also paid women an average of $3 to $5 a week, 30 to 60 percent less than men. Self-supporting women were discouraged from entering the fields that would put them in competition with men. There were many educated young women that wanted or needed work became nurses or teachers where they wouldn?t be competing with men.

During the Industrial Revolution, the discrepancy in gender wages decreased from a 70 percent deficit in the agricultural economy to approximately 50 percent in the manufacturing economy. During the period from around 1890 to 1930, the gender wage gap decreased from 46 to 56 percent of male earnings. Clerical and sales professions began their ascendancy during this period. However, women’s participation in the workforce did not increase significantly in either of these periods. Additionally, the gender earnings gap remained almost constant at around 60 percent from 1950 - 1980 when women’s participation in the workforce increased substantially (Blau and Kahn 2000). Changes in household structure have also made equal pay more of a family issue. There are an increasing number of dual income households and one-third of women who work are the breadwinner of their family.

The changes occurring in the workplace present several sub-trends. One of the most significant is that women are returning to it in large numbers. I use the term returning rather than entering because women comprised a major factor in the workforce during World War II, but was forced out by men returning from the war. Jamieson and O'Mara (1991) project that approximately 50% of the workforce will be comprised of women by the year 2000. Wives came to the rescue of the family in the 1970s and 1980s. Even though male earnings dropped substantially for all but the top 20% of male workers, real household incomes fell only marginally for the bottom 60%, and increased for the top 40%. One third of this increase was a result of a rise in female real annual earnings; however, two-thirds was due to women working more hours per year. Unfortunately, most income earners in the family are now working as many hours as they can. The reentrance of women into the workforce occurred during the transition from the industrial to the information age.