Women’s Changing Status in the 70-80’s to Today

By: Ellen Morris,  Stephanie Whitridge, Yasmin Moez

 

Women in Politics

Feminism had started to change the role of women in society drastically. Before the feminist movement, women were rarely if never present in the male world of business and politics. With feminism, many women started to hold positions such as heads of state outside of monarchies and heads of government in a number of countries across the world during the 1970s. There was the president of Argentina, Isabel Martínez de Perón, the prime minister of India, Indira Gandhi and the prime minister of Great Britain, Margaret Thatcher. Also, both Gandhi and Thatcher remained important political figures through the 1980s.  Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was added in 1970 and marked a great accomplishment in the feminist movement gave women the right to vote. Because of the books such as, Sexual Politics and Sisterhood is Powerful being  published in the early 1970s, feminism began to reach a much larger audience and gained a lot more supporters than before. Gloria Steinem, Betty Friedan, Betty Ford, Shirley Chisholm, Bella Abzug, Robin Morgan, Kate Millet, Elizabeth Holtzman, amongst many others, led the movement for women’s equality. Feminism started popping up in pop culture, shown when a song called “I Am Woman” was recorded by Helen Reddy. With the failure of the Equal Rights Amendment in 1982 the original feminist movement largely ended.

Women in the Corporate World

In the 1970’s many women did not have job opportunities and worked at home with their husbands to contribute to the family’s economic support. In colonial America women were often associated with clothing trade. Although women were part of labor unions since the early 1800’s, there were poorly represented in all medical fields until the 1970’s. In the 1970’s and 1980’s women’s share of labor force increased and by 1990 the work force was 47% female and 53% male.

 

 

 

Women’s Change In Income

The Wage Gap Over Time

Year    Women’s     Men’s       Dollar          Percent

            Earnings     Earnings    Difference

2010     $36,931      $47,715      $10,784      77.4%

2009      $36,278      $47,127      $10,849      77.0%

2008      $35,745     $46,367      $10,622      77.1%

1972      $21,185      $36,614      $15,429    57.9%   

1971      $20,691      $34,771      $14,080    59.5%   

1970      $20,567      $34,642      $14,075    59.4%   

Ever since the 1970’s and 80’s women’s pay has increased as their rights have. Still today the women’s income is not completely equal to the man’s but the range has significantly decreased. Now women make $0.78 cents when a man makes $1 dollar from working.

Since the Equal Rights Amendment, ERA, has not been passed that remains to be the only thing keeping women from being fully equal to men. It has not been passed due to the fact that it will then put women on the front lines of war.

According to Catalyst, “In 2008, of the 33,905,000 dual-career couples, wives earned more than their husbands 26.6% of the time, up from 17.8% in 1987.”  The past exert proves that women’s pay has improved over time since the 1980’s.

Overall it is obvious that over the past 30 years women’s has significantly increased. The respect women have received have earned them more rights making them closer to complete equality with men.

Bibliography…

http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/encyclopedia/Val-Z/Women-in-Business.html

http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/10/the-mancession/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1970s#Society

http://news.yahoo.com/photos/world-s-largest-outdoor-pool-slideshow/largest-pool-photo-1337710429.html#crsl=%252Fphotos%252Fworld-s-largest-outdoor-pool-slideshow%252Flargest-pool-photo-1337710429.html   

http://www.catalyst.org/publication/217/womens-earnings-and-income

http://www.pay-equity.org/info-time.htm