Women 's Role And The Rights Of Women

“By balancing the scales of equality, women and men will have an equal chance to contribute both at home and the workplace, thereby enhancing their individual well-being, and that of society” (About Workplace Gender Equality). Throughout history, women continuously progressed to reach this equality. This is evident with the Women’s Right Movement which pushed to break social and economic barriers. Women went from focusing on domestic responsibilities to working in places normally reserved for men. At this day in age, it seems as though that balance would already be maintained considering how much was accomplished, however this is untrue. Women are predisposed to less opportunities within the workforce when compared to men.

Since the middle of the nineteenth century, women in America have been striving to obtain rights equal to that of men. Before that time, women were viewed as physically, as well as mentally, inferior to men. Men had the upper hand, in all walks of life, including the workplace and at home. Obtaining equality among men has proven to be a difficult uphill battle for women, but, by the mid-1800 's, women began to see the fruits of their labors. It all began on July 19, 1848 when Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Jane Hunt, Martha Coffin Wright, Lucretia Mott and Mary Ann McClintock organized a convention in Seneca Falls, New York. This convention marked the first organized women 's movement in the United States of America. At the time, the rights of

Social standing, and moral values were vital elements in Victorian society, and the fundamental doctrine of establishing this ideology, began at home. The home provided a refuge from the rigour, uncertainty, anxiety, and potential violence of the outside world. (P, 341) A woman’s role was to provide a safe, stable, and well-organised environment for their husbands and families. However, change was on the horizon with an underlying movement of business and domestic changes both home and abroad, with industrialization, and the suffragist movement. Women were beginning to gain autonomy and began to grasp their opportunities, thus significantly curtailing male supremacy and the definable acceptable ‘role’ of the woman.

In today’s society women have acquired more rights than they have had in years. Women now have the ability to do so many things that they couldn’t before, things that they had to fight for such as voting, working outside the home, making family decisions and so much more. This is a constant battle though because there are many people that constantly fight against women’s rights including lawmakers who would like to see their rights suppressed again in the form of child bearing and what jobs are available to women. Women still suffer from unequal pay in the workforce which accounts for a portion of the poverty rate in America. According to http://www.iwpr.org in 2014 women made approximately 79 percent of the wages that men did, equaling a 21 percent pay gap. When you account for the fact that many of these women are single parents supporting a family with no help, you might ask yourself how this is even ethical or right in a society such as ours. According to Utilitarianism we must do what produces the best results for the greatest amount of people. (Mosser, 2013) Since women account for a little over half of the population in the U.S, assuring that they are treated equally and fairly seems like what is in the best interest of the greatest amount of people.

There came a time in the United States where the so called Equal rights amendment has been ratified. Where women were recognized as housewives, defining them as what women are suppose to do and nothing else. Although these women wanted more in life such as freedom to do what they want just like men do everyday. If the men were able to work,vote, speak, and do as they please then why couldn't women do the same? If everyone had equal rights. Women aren't to be defined as what their identity is or what race they are nor the capabilities and responsibilities they are capable of doing.I strongly agree with these women of wanting to be equal with man because if it wasn't for the woman's right movement, our society today wouldn't allow women to work, teach, play a sport. Basically do a man’s job. Additionally having the woman as housewives because that's what the society and men thought of women, being at home to care for the kids and household. That is why we thank the women's rights movement in our past history that started in 1848. Due to that more girls and women have come to think of themselves as the equals of men. Which has transformed our lives in many ways. For example such as equal pay work as well as even being in the workforce,in general. The opportunities that weren't open for them that are now open as possessing more in terms of options and opportunities.It’s done a great impact because women get to educate themselves to become something they want to be such as a

The ideal woman in Victorian Times epitomized the good and virtuous woman whose live revolved around the domestic sphere of the family and home. She was pious, respectable and busy with no time for idle leisure. Her diligent and evident constant devotion to her husband, as well as to her God. She accepted her place in the sexual hierarchy. Her role was that of a domestic manager: wives and mothers. By the time that the industrial era was well under way in Britain, the ideology that committed the private sphere to the woman and the public sphere of business, commerce, and politics to the man had been widely dispersed. Women had to fight for an education equal to that of men, many struggled for suitable,

Although woman had many duties at home, church and in community, they had almost not political or legal rights. Women were seen as dependents of men and without any power. They were often thought just props that enhanced the social status of her husband by making him appear as a trustworthy family man to his community. By the 1840s a great amount of people began fighting for women’s right to be first class citizens. After the fifteenth amendment was passed in 1870 allowing African American men to vote, women felt it excluded them and were disappointed that others were giving the right to vote before them. American women began a movement to gain more power as women and American citizens. The nineteenth amendment is a turning point in history because it granted women the power to vote by prohibiting any United States citizen to be denied the right to vote based on sex (PBS).

Since the 1850s, women have faced challenges about their gender and have conquered an immense amount of stereotypes placed against them. These early women were forced to work in factories instead of being able to work in an office like men. The laws of the time stated that women could not vote and it should be the man 's responsibility to elect the leaders of the state and country. Sadly, these events occurred until a group of monumental women stepped up and decided not to listen to the majority of the people who said equal rights for both men and women were wrong. The ratification of the 19th amendment gave women the positive mindset of further pursuing equal rights with men within the workplace. Despite the victory of obtaining the vote, the equality did not increase in the workplace and women’s wages were still at a level steady pace beneath the men 's pay.

As I consider the experience of women in slavery, I believe they had a less difficult time than enslaved men because in the narratives of the former slaves, Charity Anderson (Mobile, Alabama) and Tempe Herndon Durham (Durham, North Carolina), they portray the scenes that men had a harder time during the slavery rather than the enslaved women.

In the Victorian era, the status of women in society was extremely oppressive and, by modern standards, atrocious. Women had few rights, in or outside of the home. Married women in this period relied on men almost completely as they had few rights or independence. With this mindset in focus,

In most literary works throughout history, the culture and function of a society is expressed through the text and reflects the affairs of that time period. In the Old English epic Beowulf, women seem to be relatively unimportant. Many readers argue that the role of women in Beowulf is minimal and not an essential part of the text. However, understanding the roles of women in ancient Anglo-Saxon culture is critical to be able to discern how significant women are in the epic Beowulf. Women are overlooked because there was such a focus on battle and war, and women did not aid in the fighting, so there was a greater emphasis on men. Renee Yawdaev claims that Anglo-Saxon women were still able to keep their dignity and respect by assuming

Despite being under the rule of a female monarch, women faced many inequalities and suffering during the Victorian age. Examples of these inequalities include not having the right to vote, unequal educational and employment opportunities. Women were even denied the legal right to divorce in most cases. As the Norton Anthology states, these debates over women’s rights and their roles came to be known as the “woman question” by the Victorians. This lead to many conflicting struggles, such as the desire by all for women to be educated, yet they are denied the same opportunities afforded to men. While these women faced these difficulties, there was also the notion that women should be domestic and feminine. There was an ideal that women should be submissive and pure because they are naturally different. The industrial revolution introduced women into the labor workforce, but there was still a conflict between the two identities; one of an employed woman, and one of a domestic housewife.

The family has traditionally been the basic unit of Chinese society where women have long been charged with upholding society 's values in their roles as wives and mothers. Especially in the Qing Dynasty, women were required to balance society 's ideals with the reality of raising a family and maintaining a household. Throughout the imperial period and into the beginning of the twentieth century, the relationship among family members was prescribed by Confucian teachings. The revered philosopher sought order in the ancient ties within a family and codified the position of the male patriarch as the sole authority for the family unit. Confucian values and ideals influenced the declining status of women by popularizing practices such as foot binding, their subservient roles to their families, and widow chastity, which limited Chinese women’s rights.

Throughout time war has been predominantly fought by men, because the idea was that women should stay home and tend to the house and the children. Few women have made a name for themselves in history, fighting in war alongside men. The most notable woman in history that broke all the gender rules of ancient time was Joan of Arc. Joan fought for Charles VII, to take back France from the English. In the end she was captured by the English and burned at the stake. Joan is the most notable women in ancient history to fight in war. Fast forward to the year 2015 in the United States of America, a new fight has been started to open the door for women to fight alongside their male counter-parts in the field of combat. Questions have been raised on

The recognition of equality has come a long way in the last hundred years. From suffrage being granted to Women, to people of different races being able to attend the same unsegregated schools. Yet, equal treatment and opportunities for all is still not assured in our society. A blatant example of this is the controversy around allowing women to serve in combat roles. Many detractors try to make the case of females being mentally and physically unsuited for the harsh trials of combat, therefore wanting to bar them from those roles. These critics fail to recognize the actions already accomplished by our nations women that show their ability to serve and face danger the same as men do, and not to mention the multiple historical examples of women fighting in combat roles successfully. In addition, while every woman may not be capable of doing it, just as every man may not be capable, if they are able to pass the training and standards set by the military, there is no reason why they shouldn’t be allowed to serve in combat.