One of the big problems that can be seen in the workplace is that women are not found in executive positions as much as they should. Since they make up approximately half of the population, they should at make up around half the people in executive positions. According to catalyst.org, less than 15 percent of fortune 500 executive officers were women, and women filled less than 17 percent of board seats in fortune 500 companies. This is clearly a problem. Although the trends show these numbers increasing slowly over the past 4 years, it is not enough. The change in percentage is in the single digits for both categories. It would take about another century for women to be represented in these companies, as they should. Not only do we see this problem in the workplace, but also in the government. There has yet to be a female president in the United States. In addition to this, according to nwpc.org, women only make up 18.5 percent of Congress. Since they make up half the population it would only make sense that they make up half of the government. This currently is not the case. We need to facilitate the current growth of women in both Congress and in higher positions in companies.
Another large problem that is seen in gender and economic growth is the culture that women are exposed to. They are taught ever since being young that men are better. The one child policy has brought many parents to hope that their child is a boy, and creates a world where boys can be seen as better than girls. In our culture, the men are considered to be the provider of the family while the women are the ones who stay home and just take care of the children. This culture has changed slightly over the years, but it still is not enough. Little girls are still taught to play with little baby dolls and easy bake ovens while boys are taught to play with cars and toy guns. Little girls are accustomed to having the idea of becoming a mother in the back of their minds. This continues all the way until they get married. This mindset is only going to hurt these women.
People doing the same job should be paid the same amount. It would only make sense because the same type and amount of work is being done. This, however, is not the case. According to payscale.com, women are being paid less than 80 cents for every dollar a man would make for the same job. This represents an average for every job, but some professions have a four percent difference in wage between men and women. Considering that these jobs, like software developing, would give you approximately 67,000 dollars annually, women would be receiving 2,000 dollars less than they should. In addition to this, women appear to stop receiving pay increases around the age of 40, while men continue to receive increases in payment until around 50. There is clearly some sort of bias in the system that needs to be resolved. Women are clearly not receiving the proper compensation for their work.
Sources:
http://www.catalyst.org/knowledge/statistical-overview-women-workplace
http://www.nwpc.org/statistics
http://www.payscale.com/gender-lifetime-earnings-gap
I agree with your argument that one huge problem is the way that young girls are exposed to female stereotypes that promote a passiveness not conducive to the current work world. While I acknowledge that gender roles are thoroughly implanted in society, I do not think that they need to have the negative impact that they currently have on young girls and women. Currently, the perception of women as child caregivers has a negative impact because it is often associated with women not being able to provide for themselves. However, if this were to shift to the perception that women in child raising roles are strong and independent then this could change its affect on young girls. Right now, the emphasis of this stereotype and others like it are based around perceptions of women from an earlier time when the country was much more sexist. The sooner that this is recognized and society adjusts accordingly, the sooner more women will succeed because of higher self-confidence as well as evaluators being less sexist themselves. The later is very important because while many people think they aren’t sexist, they are if they automatically associate someone with a trait because of their gender.
Interesting that you should mention that boy children are more desired than girls. Numerous studies show that having boys as opposed to girls reduces the likelihood that a couple will get divorced (Newman). Furthermore, mothers with only boys have happier marriages than those with a mixed group of girl and boys (Newman). It is believed that this is because when fathers have sons, they take a more active role in child-rearing than they do with daughters (Newman). This means that with male children, child-rearing responsibilities are more equitably distributed between the mother and father, which makes the mother feel more content than she would in a marriage with daughters, where the majority of child-rearing burdens fall on her. This probably has a noticeable impact on divorce rates, since US statistics show that 73% of divorces are initiated by the wife (Kelly).
However, I think the implications of men taking a more active role in child-rearing with their sons go beyond marital stability for the parents. This means that young boys have a leg up over young girls by having two parents that are very actively involved in their upbringing as opposed to having only one. When fathers participate more in raising their sons than their daughters, those boys gain a knowledge and support base at an early age that girls – maybe even their sisters – lack.
Kelly, Anita E. “Why Parents of Girls Divorce More.” Psychology Today. N.p., 29 Aug. 2010. Web. 31 Mar. 2015
Newman, Susan. “Are Boys More Desirable Than Girls?” Psychology Today. N.p., 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 31 Mar. 2015.
I agree with your comment that there are not enough women in administrative positions especially in the corporate world and in the government. While I agree that this has to be modified, I wonder how we as a society can promote women into many of these fields of work, when women are not encouraged by their families or society to enter into these positions. Part of the problem is the lack of encouragement and initiative taken by the larger world to make room for women in these fields. The problem therefore will be a difficult one to resolve, considering that it would take a shift in societal consciousness in addition to promoting women’s own initiative into competing in these fields.