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Jose San State University Department of Technology Tech 198 Technology and Civilization Winter 2000 Section 3 In considering the history of the 20th century, what are the three key events for women with respect to work? By: Robert Chee John Lennon January 15, 2000 Before the 20th century, females were relegated to menial tasks of labor. Tasks which were considered unfit for men were the only ones assigned to the women. Female workers were paid low wages, worked long hours, and were subjected to harsh working conditions. Conditions had to change for the working women. Their efforts at protest for better pay and better working environments were unsuccessful up until the 20th century. It was only during the 20th century when some major events have led to a brighter path for career minded females. These events changed previously accepted views of the woman s place at work and in society as a whole. World War II The entry of the United States into the Second World War marked a turning point for women in the workplace. This event drew millions of American men overseas, leaving their jobs behind. Weapons and other military equipment needed to be manufactured, and the existing male population was not large enough to fill in the void. World War II necessitated Americans to push aside their discriminations with regards to sexual divisions of labor. Many women took on jobs traditionally reserved for men and were able to show their ability to function on an equal level, both physically and mentally, as their male counterparts. With the country desperately in need, the number of women who joined the work force more than doubled. When the war ended, many women faced massive layoffs due to the extensive rehiring of the soldiers who returned from overseas. These displaced female workers found themselves in the same position as before the war -- either unemployed or working low-paying, menial jobs. Women were once again relegated to a "second class" citizen status. Many women enjoyed working outside of the home during the wartime and developed a sense of importance and belonging to society. However, their forced removal from the workforce, led to a collective realization of gender inequality and the need for a women s movement to reform the status of working females. 1960 s Legislation Legislation for equality in the workplace entered new ground in the 1960 s. During this socially active time, President John F. Kennedy issued an executive order to form a Commission on the Status of Women. Three legislative items, indirectly derived from the Commission, greatly enhanced the equality which women sought in the workplace. While changes did not occur immediately, women were given a sense of equality in the eyes of the law. The most far reaching of these was Title VII of the Civil Rights Act passed in 1964. This prohibits sex discrimination for all facets of employment including hiring, firing, compensation, promotions, and other terms of employment. This act covered all businesses with more than 15 employees and included all federal, state, and local governments and educational institutions. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is the federal agency, formed by Congress at the same time as Title VII, charged with enforcement of these laws. Included in this responsibility is the creation of proper interpretations of Title VII to be applied to the workplace. These guidelines have been clarified and interpreted by the courts through the years. It was these Supreme Court decisions which gave the laws teeth. Some decisions dealt with Sexplus categories. Many employers attempted to apply a rule to some women, but did not apply the same rule to any men. In the instance of Phillips v. Martin-Marietta Corp., the employer refused to hire women with pre-school age children, though men with pre-school age children were hired. Not all women were excluded from being hired, only those with pre-school age children. The courts found practice this to be illegal. One other case, Sprogus vs. United Air Lines, Inc., dealt with similar issues when a no-marriage policy was applied only to female stewardesses. This also was ruled an illegal sex-plus policy. Another item of legislation was the Equal Pay Act of 1963. This required employers to pay employees equally, regardless of gender, if the job was substantially the same and required essentially identical skills. This Act is far narrower than Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. It covered only payment issues while Title VII dealt with the whole spectrum of employment discrimination. The Equal Pay Act is administered by the Wage and Hour Division of the United States Department of Labor. The effectiveness of this measure was circumvented by the practice employers used by giving women were the same jobs as their male counterparts, with a different job description. This allowed corporations to skirt this regulation. The third item is Executive Order 11246 issued in 1965 and amended in 1967 to include sex. This barred discrimination in employment by all employers with federal contracts and subcontracts. More importantly, this also called for affirmative action for segments of workers disadvantaged by past discrimination. This was administered by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance. Violators were threatened with the loss of their contracts though this penalty has rarely been used. 1980s and 1990s The Adjusting Workplace The 1980s and 1990s brought about many attitude changes to the subject of women and work. According to a survey by the Washington Post, Henry J. Kaiser Foundation, and Harvard University, interaction between the sexes has dramatically improved within a generation. The work environment has lost much of the locker room chatter and is much warmer and friendlier to women. Also, all employees are much more aware and concerned with sexual harassment. Some do say that the workplace has lost some of the creative energy because of the more restrictive policies. Group speaking and asking a colleague for career advice has become more difficult. Also, men and women have stated that they avoid complimenting coworkers of the opposite sex on how they looked. These changes in attitude and an increase in the numbers of women who receive a higher education have led to more women seeking work outside of the home. Between 1970 and 1995, the percentage of women ages 25 to 54 who worked outside of the home increased from 50 to 76 percent. Women make up half of all entry and mid-level managers in American corporations, which are up from 17 percent in 1972. There are also large increases in women in the professional ranks with double-digit gains in lawyers, physicians, and professional athletes from only 13 years ago. There are still gains to be made. Women in the executive ranks are still very low, with males outnumbering females 10 to 1. They are still doing most of the housework, though much less than they did 10 years ago. Most importantly, women still earn less than males. Additionally, male-dominated ideas still prevail in many industries such as old-line manufacturing and construction. These changing attitudes toward gender will continue with the future looking bright for women in the workplace. Most ideas on gender are more specific to age than sex with the progressive ideas coming from younger men and women, saying these changes to gender roles have made their lives better. These ideas can be summed in a quote from a 22 year old male from Iowa, We value equality, we value everybody wanting to have self-esteem, to get everything they want, and I don t see where imposing a limit on more than half of our population accomplishes that. Cary, Eve, Woman and the Law, 1977, National Textbook Company, Skokie, Illinois. Milkman, Ruth, Gender at Work, 1987, University of Illinois Press, Chicago, Illinois. Washington Post, March 22-23, 1998, Gender Roles in the 90s, Richard Morin and Megan Rosenfeld.

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