Equality Paper

Equality Paper

What has been the status of women in the United States throughout history?

I think the status of women in the Unites States has been evolving throughout history. “A century ago, it was objectively true that the social standing of women was far below that of men. In 1900, nine out of ten adult men worked for income, and nine out of ten adult women stayed home doing housework and raising children. Women didn’t even have the right to vote.” (Macionis, 2012, pp.5). Many things have been done to change the status of women and their rights but it has lead to other problems. “Today, women and men are far closer to being socially equal than they were in 1900. Yet awareness of a “gender problem” in the United States has actually become greater. Why? Our cultural values have changed, to the point that people now see the two sexes as mostly the same, and so we expect women and men to be socially equal. As a result, we feel even small cases of gender inequality as a problem.

What is the status of women in the U.S. today?

The status of women in the U.S. today is much different than it was in the 1900s. As mentioned above the awareness of a “gender problem” in the United States has become greater because our cultural standards are constantly changing. According to the text “The social power of women in relation to that of men varies around the world. In general, women are closer to equality with men in high-income nations, and men have more control over women’s lives in low-income nations.” (Macionis, 2012, pp.90). The text also reads “For centuries, U.S. society defined women as little more than the property of men. Women had to respect the authority of their fathers and, later, their husbands. To some degree, times have changed: A large majority of U.S. adults now say that they would support a qualified woman for president (NORC, 2007). In 2008, Hillary Clinton came close to winning her party’s nomination for president, suggesting that a...