Occupational Inequality Among Men and Women
Imagine being a woman in 1972 and trying to enter the workforce. In those days, women were (stereo) typically secretaries, nurses, teachers, and in other such jobs where the primary focus was taking care of sick children and injured adults. According to the data given on table 11.1, very few women worked in what were considered “men’s fields.” These fields consisted of civil engineers, auto mobile and mechanical, and dentistry field. In contrast, women tended to work as registered nurses, kindergarten and preschool teachers. Over the past 30 years, more women have migrated into what were once considered men’s jobs, but for most fields, these numbers are still statistically low.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 1972 the vast majority of women worked as nurses and the least amount of women worked as mechanics. Between 1972 and 2003, there was an increase of women pursuing a variety of jobs that were predominantly seen as male positions; however, women have only demonstrated substantial growth in some fields, whereas in other fields only slight growth has occurred. When looking at the data from U.S. …show more content…
Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 1972 only 1.9% of women worked in the dentistry field compared to 98.1% of men. Women working in this field increased 21.8% from 1972 to 2003. However, the men within the dentistry field continue to significantly outweigh the female counterparts. For example, when comparing the dentistry and engineering field to nursing and teaching fields, nursing and teaching has always been a common job for women. The amount of women pursuing a job as a nurse has only decreased by 5.5% from 1972 to 2003, by this change; females are gradually leaving behind the traditional female careers and moving into traditional male careers. As for women having a job as a kindergarten teacher, in 1972 96.8% of women were teachers, however this job did fluctuate. For example, from 1972 to 1983, Women pursuing a career in the teaching field went up 1.4%. 10 years later, some women moved from this job to a different field and resulted in losing .5% of females in the teaching field. However, the teaching career did slightly increase again in 2003 but with only .1% of females. When looking at civil engineering, in 1972 to 2003 the increase in women pursing this field only went up by 8.1%, with that said, over the course of 31 years there was 91.9% of men that dominated over women in this field. It is apparent that women have only had slight growth in this higher paying field leaving the majority of women working in fields that were, and still are considered typical female jobs. In figure 1, you can see that women are increasing in some of the traditional male careers but are still steadily pursuing professions that have been viewed as traditional female jobs. When investigating the statistics and fields that women have heavily pursued, these professions are consistently maintaining its level of female workers, whereas the male positions are gradually increasing. . Figure 1: Females pursuing in both female and male traditional careers (Source: U.S. Bureau of labor statistics) When looking at the data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the amount of women involved in the occupational field of automobile and mechanics has inclined, but not substantially. In figure 2, it shows that in 1972 there were a total of 1,040,000 people that worked in the automobile and mechanical field. With that said, there were only .5% of women pursuing this job. This leaves 99.5% of men over ruling the women in this occupation. Over the course of 10 years, this job steadily stayed the same for the percentage of women pursuing in the automobile and mechanical field. After 20 years women working in this field increased by .8%. Overall, the percentage of females working in the automobile and mechanical field is not presenting a substantial improvement towards women in regards to equality with men. Figure 1: Female percentage over the years in the automobile and mechanical field (Source: U.S. Bureau of labor statistics) In U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in table 11.1, it shows that very few jobs have made progress with women pursing further careers in them. For example, in the field consisting of
Imagine being a woman in 1972 and trying to enter the workforce. In those days, women were (stereo) typically secretaries, nurses, teachers, and in other such jobs where the primary focus was taking care of sick children and injured adults. According to the data given on table 11.1, very few women worked in what were considered “men’s fields.” These fields consisted of civil engineers, auto mobile and mechanical, and dentistry field. In contrast, women tended to work as registered nurses, kindergarten and preschool teachers. Over the past 30 years, more women have migrated into what were once considered men’s jobs, but for most fields, these numbers are still statistically low.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 1972 the vast majority of women worked as nurses and the least amount of women worked as mechanics. Between 1972 and 2003, there was an increase of women pursuing a variety of jobs that were predominantly seen as male positions; however, women have only demonstrated substantial growth in some fields, whereas in other fields only slight growth has occurred. When looking at the data from U.S. …show more content…
Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 1972 only 1.9% of women worked in the dentistry field compared to 98.1% of men. Women working in this field increased 21.8% from 1972 to 2003. However, the men within the dentistry field continue to significantly outweigh the female counterparts. For example, when comparing the dentistry and engineering field to nursing and teaching fields, nursing and teaching has always been a common job for women. The amount of women pursuing a job as a nurse has only decreased by 5.5% from 1972 to 2003, by this change; females are gradually leaving behind the traditional female careers and moving into traditional male careers. As for women having a job as a kindergarten teacher, in 1972 96.8% of women were teachers, however this job did fluctuate. For example, from 1972 to 1983, Women pursuing a career in the teaching field went up 1.4%. 10 years later, some women moved from this job to a different field and resulted in losing .5% of females in the teaching field. However, the teaching career did slightly increase again in 2003 but with only .1% of females. When looking at civil engineering, in 1972 to 2003 the increase in women pursing this field only went up by 8.1%, with that said, over the course of 31 years there was 91.9% of men that dominated over women in this field. It is apparent that women have only had slight growth in this higher paying field leaving the majority of women working in fields that were, and still are considered typical female jobs. In figure 1, you can see that women are increasing in some of the traditional male careers but are still steadily pursuing professions that have been viewed as traditional female jobs. When investigating the statistics and fields that women have heavily pursued, these professions are consistently maintaining its level of female workers, whereas the male positions are gradually increasing. . Figure 1: Females pursuing in both female and male traditional careers (Source: U.S. Bureau of labor statistics) When looking at the data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the amount of women involved in the occupational field of automobile and mechanics has inclined, but not substantially. In figure 2, it shows that in 1972 there were a total of 1,040,000 people that worked in the automobile and mechanical field. With that said, there were only .5% of women pursuing this job. This leaves 99.5% of men over ruling the women in this occupation. Over the course of 10 years, this job steadily stayed the same for the percentage of women pursuing in the automobile and mechanical field. After 20 years women working in this field increased by .8%. Overall, the percentage of females working in the automobile and mechanical field is not presenting a substantial improvement towards women in regards to equality with men. Figure 1: Female percentage over the years in the automobile and mechanical field (Source: U.S. Bureau of labor statistics) In U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in table 11.1, it shows that very few jobs have made progress with women pursing further careers in them. For example, in the field consisting of