Women and Work

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Women and Work
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In Small Group

• Assume that you are an academic advisor at
  SuperDuper College. A female junior level
  student majoring in ____ comes to you and asks
  for your advice on the career she is considering.
  Answer the following questions in preparation
  for your talk with her.
• What is the average salary for a new recruit in
  that field (give male and female salary
  separately)
• What is the average number of male and female
  workers in that field. Is there gender
  segregation?
• List some potential challenges and opportunities
  for a female in that field.

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An Interesting Topic

• By virtue of your college degree, you will/ are
  likely enter the paid workforce
• variety of issues you will face, so be prepared
• Today, more than 50 of women hold paying jobs,
  so she is not an anomaly but the NORM

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Outline of Presentation

• History of Women and Work
• Where are we today
• Factors that affect women in the workplace
• How the wage gap affects salaries
• Effects of work on a womans personal life

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History of Women and Worksome info from Women
Working by Stromberg Harkness, 1988

• Women are not new to concept of work
• differences we see today were prompted by
  industrial age
• Colonial America-- work roles for men women
  more equitable than today
• frontier conditions, agrarian duties meant
  everyone worked hard

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Colonial America

• Men and women had many shared activities, worked
  as part of household economy, gender roles more
  fluid
• but tasks generally assigned by age and sex
• wives had exclusive responsibility for mgmt. of
  household economy
• women helped with bookeeping, supervised workers,
  collected debts, ordered materials
• men assumed discipline/soc. of children

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Colonial America

• Women typically had 7-9 children
• roles were physically demanding- made soap,
  candles, fabric, clothes, chopped wood, prepared
  meals, cared for children
• many served as midwives, dispensed herbs
• all women operated under constraints of English
  legal system

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English Law in America

• 3 basic assumptions about women
• women depended on men, this was necessary
  proper
• English law dictated that property mgmt. public
  affairs best left to the man
• interests of husband and wife were the same- so
  whatever husband wanted was naturally what wife
  wanted as well
• Surest way to property was thru widowhood

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Industrial Era- early 1800s

• People moving Westward
• agriculture becoming commercialized
• Indust. Rev. dramatically changes relationship
  of individuals to their work
• work and home roles become more separate
• men increasingly work outside home for paid wage
• womens domestic work still exhausting but a
  little better

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Industrial Era

• Women becoming more involved in socialization of
  children
• women also expected to attend to husbands
  emotional as well as physical needs
• gradual but perhaps biggest change
• the absence of men from the household also
  reduced the social visibility of womens domestic
  work

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The (de-) value of domestic work

• Women at home perceived to be in leisurely role
• men associated home with rest, relaxation, place
  of seclusion from stress
• because men didnt associate home with work, they
  also failed to associate women with work

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Women and work during 1800s

• Yes, some women in paid labor force
• 1890 estimate to be 5
• most worked in textile factories
• those who remained in the home often took on
  laundry, sewing, piecework for others
• By end of 19th C. large corporations beginning to
  form, govt. expands, increase in immigration,
  transportation, communication

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Expansion of work roles

• Late 19th C. changes meant gradual increases in
  work opportunities for women
• greatest expansion 1890-1940
• women in clerical sales jobs
• 1900 - 8
• 1940 - 29
• women also move into teaching
• most opportunities only for white women

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Early- Mid 1900s

• Despite high unemployment rates, men did not
  displace women employees. WHY?
• Despite public ambivalence, women in workforce
  rose rapidly after 1940s
• WWI and WWII - mass media campaigns to get women
  into traditional male jobs
• then 1950s - mass media campaign to urge women
  back into the home

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Mid- late 1900s

• 1950s and 1960s - social pressure to stay at
  home, increase in childbirths (also marriages and
  then divorces)
• 1964 - Title 7 Equal Pay Act of Civil Rights Act
  passes and reinforces women in work
• since 1940s women increasingly entering the
  workforce in all age brackets, with fastest
  increase in 20-34 year-olds

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So Where Are We Today?

• 1st quarter 2002
• 54.1 million men and 42.9 million women (16
  yrs) in the paid workforce
• 70 men and 57 women in civilian labor force (US
  Dept Labor Stats)
• unemployment rate about 6 overall
• higher for women with children and minorities in
  general. If interested go to
  http//data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/surveymost?lf

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Factors that Affect Women in Workplace

• Stereotypes
• token employees
• queen bees
• Access Discrimination
• Evaluation Promotion Bias
• Job Leaves
• Sexual Harassment
• Occupational Segregation
• Salary Differentials

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Why do these factors occur?

• In large part because of our social construction
  of gender!!

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The Wage Gap in 2000http//feminist.com/fairpay/f
actsheets.htm

• Women make 73 cents to mans dollar, hovered
  between 70-74 cents thru 1990s
• Median earnings
• men 37,339
• women 27,355
• Earnings for others as of White Men
• men women
• black 78 64
• Hispanic 63 52
• Asian 105 80

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2 primary causes of Wage Gap

• Job Segregation - few jobs are held by 50 men,
  50 women. Those held by women usually not
  valued nor paid as highly
• Entitlement - individuals sense of what s/he is
  entitled to receive in pay.
• Examples of entitlement theory by B. Major

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Sex-Segregated Occupations

• Over 80 female
• Secretaries, stenog 98
• Health care 85
• Financial Records 91
• Priv hshld maids 90
• Hairdressers, child care workers 83
• BLS (1990). Employment Earnings, 37(1), Table
  20.

• Over 80 male
• Mechanics repairs 97
• Construction labor 97
• Engineers 92
• Health diagnosing 83
• Protective srvs 85
• Farm operatorsmgr 85

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http//www.apaclassics.org/profmat/PS2001_figure4.
html
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The Wage Gap By Education 2001 The following
avg.figures reflecting the median earnings in
2001for FT, YR workers, 25 yrs
Total H.S. Grad. Bachelor's
Master's ALL MEN 40,706 33,037
53,108 66,934 White
41,317 34,792 55,307
67,423 Black 32,180 27,422
42,999 51,336 Hispanic
26,502 26,944 44,778
60,661 Total H.S. Grad.
Bachelor's Master's ALL WOMEN
30,504 24,253 39,865
48,343 White 30,890
24,736 40,192 48,615 Black
27,351 22,341 36,253
43,884 Hispanic 22,192
21,600 34,060 46,169 Data
Source US Census Bureau, Current Population
Survey, March 2002, Table PINC-03 "Educational
Attainment" - People 25 years old and over by
total money earnings in 2001 'Work' experience in
2001, age, race, Hispanic origin and sex.
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• Women of Color in the Workplace
• The wage gap is most severe for women of color.
  Consider these facts about the paychecks of black
  and Hispanic women in the workplace
• In one year, the average black woman earns
  approximately 12,000 less than the average white
  man does. Over a thirty-five year career, this
  adds up to 420,000!
• Black women account for 30 of all female-headed
  families in the U.S. They have a median income of
  18,244 annually, while families headed by white
  males (no wife present) have a median income of
  39,240.
• In one year, the average Hispanic woman working
  full-time earns 17,837 less than the average
  white man does. Over a 30 -year career, that adds
  up to 510,000!
• Hispanic women with a high school diploma earn
  22,469. That is 33 less than white men with the
  same level of education.
• From National Committee on Pay Equity Fact Sheets

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More stats on women work

• 1993 - women without HS degree earned 14,700,
  compared to men at 21,402
• women with HS diploma earned 19,168, compared to
  men at 26,820
• women-headed households are worst
• married couple 43,129
• male head, no wife present 29,849
• female head, no husb. Present 18,545

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BLS. http//www.stlcc.cc.mo.us/ccdocs/instres/ite
m5.htm
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Wage Gap by Education 1997 all FT workers, 25
yrs. (US DoL,Census Bureau)

• HSGrad BA/BS MA/MS Doctorate
• Men
• White 31,195 47,220 60,081 71,423
• Black 25,790 35,962 42,125 61,573
• Hisp. 24,021 37,725 44,702 42,082
• Women
• White 21,602 33,896 41,884 52,653
• Black 19,993 31,010 40,589 40,342
• Hisp. 19,247 31,993 41,554 55,956

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1999 UD College Grads from UD Career Plans
Survey

• Male Female Ratio
• Agric. Sci. 33,905 25,667 0.76
• AS Human. 32,463 27,984 0.86
• AS Soc Sc. 29,694 26,538 0.89
• AS Life/Hlth. 30,000 27,827 0.93
• AS Phys. 35,504 34,331 0.97
• BE 36,215 33,049 0.91
• Engineering 41,211 41,993 1.02
• Hlth Nursing 24,458 33,370 1.36
• CHEP 27,527 28,470 1.03
• Average 34,336 30,170 0.88

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2000-01 Faculty SalariesPublic 4-yr universities

• Male
• Asst Prof 46,859
• Assoc Prof 55,384
• Full Prof 78,083
• ACHE Survey Salaries.
• http//www.ache.state.al.us/00Abstract/TABLE38.pdf

• Female
• Asst Prof 43586
• Assoc Prof 49,185
• Full Prof 65,614

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Have women broken the glass ceiling yet?

• What factors affect the glass ceiling?
• See Table 7.2 in Hyde women are 6.6 executives,
  minorities 2.6
• http//www.ilr.cornell.edu/library/e_archive/gov_r
  eports/glassceiling/?pagehome
• http//glass-ceiling.com/

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Global Connections of Poverty(B. Lott in Primis)

• Although women are 50 of population, they own
  only 1 of worlds property and 10 of worlds
  income
• conditions of womens lives provide markers of
  poverty and hunger
• Women comprise two-thirds of the worlds
  illiterate
• even a little education for women pays dividends
  in every index of social progress and development.

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Effects of Work on Womans Personal Life

• Marriage
• Household Tasks
• Children
• Personal Adjustment

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Marriage

• Employment delayed marriage for many
• Sure, its getting better but still the
  predominant ideology is that mans job comes
  first - i.e., job transfers
• hard for some dual career couples women more
  likely to choose job to fit family
• 3 kinds of marriage
• traditional, modern, egalitarian

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Marital Bliss

• In general, marriage not as satisfying for women
• Jesse Bernard- studied mental physical hlth of
  single and married men and women
• found married men healthier, likelier to get
  better-paying jobs higher pay than unm.
• Married men commit fewer crimes, get fewer
  traffic tickets, live longer than unm m.
• married women - 2 to 3 x more likely to report
  physical emotional problems

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Household Tasks

• Household chores generally not fun for most
• dissatisfaction with inequity in household tasks
  perhaps one if not greatest difficulties
• In 1971 38 men did little/no housework
• today changing, but after last 25 years still
  not equal efforts
• the double disadvantage
• women who work outside the home the most
  dissatisfied with task division

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Household Tasks

• Keep in mind--housework generally not a seen, and
  therefore not a valued task
• J. Birnbaum (75) found homemakers to have lowest
  SE (women who had BA)
• social isolation, lack of reward for job well
  done, financial dependence create feelings of
  frustration, little control

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Children

• 1980s was 1st time more than 1/2 all mothers with
  children under 6 yrs in labor force
• much stress, guilt, mommy wars
• big debates about quality of child care
• 1993 Family Medical Leave Act
• time off can be costly for many years

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Children in Day Care

• Early research said separation of mother child
  had negative effects
• findings from early studies (some argue) based on
  poor methods, biased samples, misleading
  statements
• other studies show preschoolers in day care not
  signif. different from those at home
• Belsky Steinberg (78) day care may
  intellectually benefit some children

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Day Care

• Some argued that day care impersonal trtmnt,
  aggressive behavior, more illness
• others report day care children show better
  social adjustment, no difference in later school
  achievement, girls may have advantage seeing mom
  role model, encourages independence, daughters of
  working moms less gender stereotyped

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Personal Psychological Adjustment

• 2 hypotheses on women in work
• scarcity - work makes one feel tired,
  overwhelmed, unable to do all tasks
• enhancement - work gives one more energy
• certainly many experience role strain, but that
  can be minimized (some good, some bad ways)

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Physical Health

• Role strain could lead to poor health, but some
  studies show that employed women are healthier
• WHY?
• Many find work mentally stimulating, encourages
  social interaction, meet/work with people with
  similar interests, increases self-esteem
• read A. Hochschilds The Second Shift

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So whats the right answer?

• there is no perfect/right answer its an
  individual decision
• those women who can CHOOSE their role and
  decision of whether or not to enter the paid
  workforce are the happiest.
• keep these points in mind as you enter or move to
  next level of your career