Women in the Workplace

Running head: WOMEN IN THE WORKPLACE 1

Women in the Workplace

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ABSTRACT

In recent decades, the number of women in the workforce is steadily climbing. Since the days of the Neanderthals, women have played a secondary role, usually not equal to, but less than a man. Where did this start? Some say it starts in the home, while others blame school and their “hidden curriculums”. “The "hidden curriculum" comprises the unstated lessons that students learn in school: it is the running subtext through which teachers communicate behavioral norm and individual status in the school culture, the process of socialization that cues children into their place in the hierarchy of larger society. Once used to describe the ways in which the education system works to reproduce class systems in our culture, the "hidden curriculum" has recently been applied to the ways in which schools help reinforce gender roles, whether they intend to or not” (Orenstein 211). After considering this, I wondered if I was groomed this way in elementary school. What or who shaped my definition of a woman’s role in society, at home and in the workplace?

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A women's role in society has consisted of raising children, and duties surrounding the household. Many women today want and desire careers and a place in this world. They want to stand on their own two feet, to become self-sustaining individuals, independent and free from others (not just men). A generalization I think I can make is that women in all careers are striving to gain equality in their careers. In 1960, 38% of the workforce was women. By 1995 that number had grown to 59% (Orange County Register, 1997). There are many issues that plague women in the workplace, because women are often put in the position of constantly competing against men in the workplace, the competition being based on gender and not job performance. Women were not always given the educational opportunities that men were...