VI. Turning point in history
From my point-of-view, I see that much has happened on the changing role of men and women at home. Both women and men can be found doing the dishes, laundry, cleaning (these were regarded as female work by tradition), and it is their responsibility to maintain vehicles, the lawn and appliances (in the past this was man's work). Marriage has lost its original meaning and nowadays it is more to do with partnership. This is the case because women have made their way to the workforce, the great education and affluence of society, rate of divorce, and the movement by the feminist. Men still top the charts as they still have domination at their places of work in terms of higher degrees for education, higher pays, and leadership. Childrearing is being performed by both men and women something that has never been witnessed in history. Many men find interest in spending most of their time with their children instead of focusing on bread winning and figure that commands authority. The traditional duties are still persistent and dominate the society with people who are poor and uneducated. There is still a call of more male and female duties from television and culture (Burke & Vinnicombe, 2006).
Working class women were discriminated on the basis that they were likely to get married or were married; they were not potential permanent employees. Nevertheless, married women continued with heir jobs and were not undependable, transient, and temporary workforce. From the early 1970s, the traffic of married women employees consisted of half of the total workforce. In addition, married women stayed at the workplace for more hours before they started their families. There was a remarkable increase in the number of elderly employed women. From 1970s, more married women have been increasing in the workforce. This has been a dramatic change especially for married women who have children. African-American women who have children were more expected to work rather than Hispanic or white women who had children. Fifty percent of African-American families who had children were maintained by the mothers, which were not seen in the families of white Americans with children. Despite the increased presence of women in the workplace, the primary responsibility of women remains to be family care and household
World War II
World War 2 significantly changed the American society. Different from Europe this had a positive impact in America. The pressure that faced America to engage in more production of goods made the country opt for women and minorities to fill the employment gaps. During this era, there was a belief that women were not supposed to work elsewhere apart from home. This was the case when it involved denying a man employment because these jobs were to help men fend for their families. Many of the employed women were single, young and held positions traditionally meant for females. Women became very significant and cultural icons in America during the World War 2. Many of these women were employed in the manufacturing plants producing raw materials and munitions. They were a substitute of the males who had gone to participate in war in European theatres and pacific regions. This character has been termed feminist icon in America, and an indication of the power of women's economy in the near future. The "we can do it" slogan was very popular to the women of America and was on magazines, posters and other forms of print media. Women mostly migrated from the homeland to towns in the era of world war. Women were involved in many activities. The then government of America allowed women to feature as stars in films, advertisements, and posters (Bell & Nkomo, 1992).
A. Women in the military
The situation that came after the war slowly transformed; women got admission to the armed forces but still their duties were limited to some functions that include medical, logistics, or administrative support units. For the past years, in other states, women have their recognition, payment, and training and are members of the military fully fledged. They have worked hard and attained top ranking positions that are considered to belong to males. Women have had increasing roles in the military. This is accompanied with the demand more personnel highly qualified as countries are transforming from conscription and become more of volunteering. The progress of technology, sophisticated arms systems development, and organization of management demands the increase of support personnel needed in the armed forces. The recruitment of women is seen to be rising...
The lack of skilled male personnel has forced the army to fill the technical positions using women who if compared to male are well educated (Smith, Caputi & Crittenden, 2012).
B. Women in political roles
Since 1920, women have been given the right to participate in the voting process, but their roles politically were minimal. This continued until 1984 when a woman ran for the post of vice-president. The first woman being elected who was a member of the house of representative of United States was in 1917 (Burke & Vinnicombe, 2006). She went by the name Rankin Jeanette. The first ever-black woman to be elected into the House of Representatives was Chisholm Shirley in the year 1968. The first woman senate elected in the United States was Caraway Hattie in 1933. A female senate named Margaret Chase served in office for 24 years. Others that filled the list include Neuberger of Oregon, Landon Nancy of Kansas, Hawkins Paula of Florida, and Mikulski Barbara of Maryland. Women were engaged more in politics. In some cases, they performed well compared to men who were very corrupt (Persons, 1915).
Women became cabinet members in the federal government while other held the positions of secretary to cabinet ministers. For example, Hobby was the first female secretary of health, welfare, and education. Carla Hills was the secretary of urban development and housing while other held positions of women representatives in the cabinet. These women were the first women to hold elective positions in the U.S. presidential cabinet. Under the reign of George Bush, Dole was appointed as the first secretary of labor before Martin Lynn succeeded her in 1990 (Eddleston, Veiga & Powell, 2006).
C. Women in business
Apart from women being viewed as wives and mothers in the United States, they were still considered the primary producers of products. Many women ventured into entrepreneurship and made positive impacts on the economy of America. Not only did women generate products but they also created job opportunities for the people of America. The number of businesses owned by women grew rapidly. This saw the spearheading of the economy of America by women. From the eighteenth century up to the current day, women have been major players in the growth of the economy of America (Daft & Daft, 2007).
D. Shifting attitudes from new found women's roles
Many business companies nowadays are supporting the efforts of women to become entrepreneurs. In addition, it is not just entrepreneurs but successful entrepreneurs. Other business organization offer a platform for exchange of ideas and offer support to those women who own businesses. Other business associations produce effective and new adjustments to be adopted on the existing business culture whilst promoting sustainable growth sustainable. Women have played a significant power in the shaping of the economy. Currently, it is estimated that businesses owned by women contribute 7.7 million towards the country's economy; and the other 2.7 million come from firms that are jointly owned. Up to now, women have are making great impacts on shaping the economy and influencing business (Klenke, 1996).
VIII. Conclusion
Women have sustained their way into boardrooms. They are expected to exhibit similar representation like their male counterparts. They cover a third of seats in the meetings held in boardrooms for companies that are top ranked among the 100 best companies. This has enhanced the expansion and renewal of directors who were heads of many companies. Although there is a large increase of women in the business world, they have not yet managed to claim the top most senior positions. Among the 100 best companies, only four of these companies have women as their chairpersons while the remaining are chaired by men. A research conducted by Australian Council of superannuation Investors that revealed that 15.7% was the increase on the average wage for the non-executive chairperson. The average director got a relatively modest 3.6% to assist them conform to the increased workload. The number of women who work with the 100 leading corporate moved drastically from 73 to 93. In terms, of percentage, 12.2 up to 15.4%, is in accordance with the research done by ACSI, and is supposed to release a report of the same in the near future. One can never doubt progress has been significantly achieved. Women have done a lot of hard work, and it is paying because as we speak they have started earning the same wages as their male…
