Modern Day Gender Roles

Many have suggested that modern day gender roles have become the norm during the Napoleonic Wars where men and women began to occupy different spheres; men were expected to provide and protect while women were expected to provide nurture and support (Manson). That sort of belief carried over and integrated itself into American customs and traditions. From the foundations of our great nation, our society has been a patriarchal society. For example, in the Declaration of Independence, only people with land could vote. Meaning only white men were allowed to vote, since women were considered property. Women who had property before had to forfeit their possessions on their wedding day; women had no right to sign contracts, to do business, and could …show more content…
Currently in the United States, women’s voices and opinions are being marginalized, but around the world many nations are making progress in increasing the presence of women in politics. However, the United States has not. The United States ranked 91st in a world-wide, with women ranking in the National Legislature with a score of 16.9% (Lawless and Fox). As a first world country, how can other nations look up to us when third world countries, such as Rwanda and Uganda ranked higher than the U.S. (Figure 4)? Jennifer Lawless, who is a Government Professor at American University, and Richard Fox, who is a Political Science Professor at Loyola Marymount University, studied the under-representation of women in politics. In their study, they found that in both 2001 and 2011, there was a “profound gender gap in interest in seeking elective office. Women of all professions, political parties, ages, and income levels are less likely than their male counterparts to express interest in running for office” (16). Why is that when women perform the same task as men, they do work just as fine as men? Figure 5a lists some obstacles women face, such as being held to a higher standard than men or that women are not tough enough to handle politics (“Obstacles to Female Leadership”). In order to close the gender gap and increase women’s representation in politics society must continue to raise awareness about the …show more content…
Ann Morrison published a book, titled Breaking the Glass Ceiling, in which she describes the problem: the glass ceiling is a barrier "so subtle that it is transparent, yet so strong that it prevents women from moving up the corporate hierarchy." From their vantage point on the corporate ladder, women can see the high-level corporate positions but are kept from ‘reaching the top’ (qtd. in Breaking the Glass Ceiling 190). Although women make up half of the workforce in the United States, on average, women are still only earning 77% of what the average working man makes. For women of color, the wage gap just continues to widen. This discrimination that women face is not fair or right. Feminists have used the slogan “equal pay for equal work” which has since caught on. There should be no reason for a wage gap if both men and women are doing equal