Women In The Workforce

Great Essays
Women have been greatly involved in the workforce since World War II, though they have always played a small part in the workforce prior to that. During the Industrial Revolution, women mainly stayed at home, to watch the children and take care of the home, but were allowed to be employed because they could be paid less – something that still occurs to this day. Women in this day were also known to not be involved in much agricultural or farm work, thus making them more available to work in factories. The late 50’s and 60’s is when women really started to enter into the workforce due to the feminist movement, technological advances, legislation, and access to higher education (Gini, 1998). As the role of women in the workforce has changed over …show more content…
The first of these social policy implications is that of research. There have now been national data surveys retrieved in order to be able to see how often sexual harassment does truly occur in the workplace. Funding has also been specified for the research of sexual harassment. With psychologists, there has also been an emphasis on producing more field research on this topic. The second social policy implication in place is that of legislation. Women’s rights groups have strongly been fighting for the development of clear policies and definitions against sexual harassment. They have also fought for harsher punishment for those who have participated in this horrible act. There has also been a strong push for women who have been forced out of their jobs due to this occurring to them to be able to receive unemployment as compensation for not being able to go back into their original workplace. As a third social policy there is primary prevention, which is concerned with decreasing sexual harassment. A major part of this is to start openly discussing the topic of sexual harassment and spreading awareness of both what it is and the prevalence of it. It is the hopes of millions of women and their families that one day sexual harassment will no longer be seen in the workplace and that women will feel safe once again no …show more content…
Working in this day and age often requires 40+ hour weeks, as the price for living rises. Groceries, housing, education fees, and car prices are skyrocketing and often time’s families have trouble with paying their bills because of this. Prior to the 50’s women usually stayed at home to take care of the children and the home itself. However, because of the expenses of living women have started to work as well as their husbands, often times having to place their children in the hands of day cares, another pricey aspect. Research has shown that 46 to 49% of women are in the workforce and that two-thirds of mothers are in the workforce as well. Although many mothers are in the workforce, they often take off for pregnancy leave, which was enacted in 1993. Females are allowed to take off a minimum of six weeks for unpaid leave. Although some mothers may take more leave, it can be difficult to do this as a mother’s pay is extremely important to have, especially with a new child around. Studies show that 75% of mothers return within twelve weeks of giving birth – a contradicted time period as the children are still so young at that point and need their

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