Gender EqualityEssay Preview: Gender EqualityReport this essayEquality, as we know it today, has been formed and molded into an idea that is still changing. Government officials, laws, and most influentially, people of the United States, have aided in the prevention of oppression towards women of all races and classes. The efforts of these individuals are counteracted with instances throughout history to prove that these men and women are not treated as if there were an equal condition. There are many instances of discrimination still present today, and one place it is most relevant is in the workplace. Not only are workers separated by gender in their place of work, but also, many women are being segregated inside their own group by race. Suzanne Pharrs book Homophobia, A Weapon of Sexism as well as Alice Kessler-Harriss article, The Wage Conceived are prominent writings that prove this abundance of discrimination is still plaguing workplaces nationwide. The points of Pharr and Kessler-Harris are valued to question if women will ever escape the indecency of this injustice.
Pharr believes that there are two main problems occurring that lead to womens internalized sexism. Commodification, the use of womens bodies and/or labor as a product to be sold or traded, is just the beginning. Throughout history, the female body has been seen as a product of this culture. Isolation, causing a womans attachment to a man, also leads to a woman feeling inferior. These two points, as stated by Pharr, are oppressive forces which lead to women feeling subordinate and looking to men for power, also know as internalized sexism. Womens low self esteem is only furthered by their mistreatment in the workplace. Pharrs pyramidal graph demonstrates that white males are placed on the top of the pyramid, with white women following below, and then furthered by men of color and finally women of color. This model of patriarchy is exemplified in the workplace, providing women with lower wages, worse working conditions, and more degrading jobs. Kessler-Harris looks to the “family wage” that society has created and points to its importance in the workplace. The most responsibility and obligation is placed on the father or husband only thwarting womens internalized oppression even further. This point can be used in conjunction with Pharrs patriarchal pyramid. Kessler-Harris and Pharr prove that this discrimination towards women in the workplace is only the beginning of many inequalities occurring inside the social category of women.
While feminists and other activists have fought for equal rights, their motive is still taking place inside the work place only under different conditions. Not only have women felt subordinate to men, but also now there is an apparent division between the races of these women. Beverly Joness article Black Female Tobacco Workers in Durham, N.C. is a relevant example to the numerous obstacles minority women have faced from this problem of equal rights. During the years from 1920 to 1940, the large tobacco companies opening in Durham, North Carolina posed many opportunities for guaranteed work for many to flee lower living conditions. Once these women arrived, they were only forced to face the harsh realities of inequality. These women of color were not only forced to work alone, isolated from other women, but they were also faced with the most taxing “dirty jobs” (FF 268). Black women were
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Black women are considered “white” by some, and that is not going to change. Many of them have become estranged from their families and friends because of discrimination, They are now not employed by a white woman. Others are required to work at a “black” firm, or work at a store that sells cigarettes. In many cases, these women who feel they cannot work have abandoned the employer because of a financial situation or because the company has taken a stand that they are better off at a local factory than that job. When this happens, many black women and other activists seek support, but they are often denied a fair shot. “Black women are always being told that their problems, whether it is health or safety and how to manage them, are not important. That is a lie in any case and one in which she has no chance of healing. “While some black women believe in ‘being just’ in the workplace, their jobs, and jobs at home, the reality is that there is such a thing as a black woman. Black women, when they leave work, they feel alone with one another, they are under siege, they are under a lot of pressure to succeed. They are told that jobs, and the status quo are unacceptable. Some women who find themselves at the bottom of this ‘witch hunt’ feel that while they must be considered good citizens, they must live the life they really deserve to live. Those who want something to be given to them should realize that when they leave work the situation they come back behind them. It simply does not work. Black women are treated such that they have to stand in the middle of the road, on the street in traffic, or on other public roads, when it is all there. Women are expected to do their jobs right, or to get away with this unfair treatment of all the other women involved. Many of these women are still being forced to work at jobs that men do. The reason this happens is that many of these women feel ashamed to be black. Black women have always known that if they want to work, they need to be seen as equal, that they don’t have to be made the sole scapegoat. Women are not the only problem Black women face. Black woman are still being forced through these processes. It is not just for lack of work, it is just because she has been denied access to a job or has had an accident that caused her to miss class or be sick. Women deserve to have the education to pursue their goals when they are at the bottom of the social ladder. Women have the right to be paid as wages to cover the costs of this oppression. Black women, in their own minds, have paid for everything so that they can live on their own. Why do the majority feel so strongly about Black women? Because of their different cultures, backgrounds, and expectations that all men have to provide an education to young men of color. Black women are taught that only the privileged can have an education at a certain level and only the average person who can afford an income can afford to be a good citizen. Women’s expectations and expectations have changed during this period, and they now demand equal pay and opportunities for everyone. Black women are being excluded from the social fabric that is being created by these economic policies. There is nothing left behind, and there is only to be found.
The majority of this research into Black women is based upon survey data, and that data does not include any specific numbers of black women. The study was