Human, too | Teen Ink

Human, too

April 26, 2016
By Adrine SILVER, Wyckoff, New Jersey
Adrine SILVER, Wyckoff, New Jersey
8 articles 0 photos 0 comments

                                       Human, too
Women. Female. She. All these words have both the male and female gender combined into one. But, why do we treat them as opposites? Women are stomped on by society. Today, there are 318.9 million people in the United States. Yet, civilization acts as if the only people who matter are the 119.4 million men. When compared to men, women are placed in their own world, where they belong. Women are treated unequally because they are underpaid, they are underrepresented in the workforce, and are found to be weaker than men due to stereotypical mindsets.

 

To begin, women are underpaid. Firstly, according to a women’s equality booster, Margaret Magnarelli, “women have been making only 78 cents compared to the dollar men make on average. Women in services such as financial sales agents, are by far, the most underpaid professions, going along side of the males receiving 55 cents to $1” (Magnarelli). Women are making from 25 to 50 percent less than men are. Also, Mika Brzezinski, the television show host of MSNBC’s Morning Joe, was interviewed to see how she felt about getting paid less than her co-host. She asked, “How is this possible?” It amazed her how a woman, with the same job as a man, could be paid less. Lastly, from a career chart created by Magnarelli, over 61% of the humans in the Credit authorizers, checkers, and clerks business are women. However, women are getting paid a little more than 10% less of what men are getting paid. Men are getting paid a little over $50,000 and women are getting a little over $35,000. The percentage of women’s earnings to men is 68.9%. Some may say that women are contributing less to their companies. They are not as efficient as men and should not receive equal payment. Although such arguments have merit, it can still be argued that women work just as well as men. In a recent study by Bryce Covert, a lawmaker, he states, “It’s true that about 10 percent of the wage gap can be attributed to women having different work histories than men… but there’s evidence that more women would stay in the workforce.” Surveys have shown that, although women leave the workforce, they would chose to go back in a heartbeat. They enjoy providing for their families and do not want to be held back because of their household duties.  Clearly, women are mistreated and underpaid.

 

To further illustrate, women are denied access in the work force. They are shielded from the world’s opportunity. According to Mehroz Baig, “The Bureau reports that the largest gain in women’s participation in the workforce happened between 1970 and 1980 and has since slowed down, averaging an increase of only 0.4 percentage points between 2000 and 2006.” Over the past 30 years, women’s ability in the workforce has slowed down. As well as women’s participation decreasing to .4 percentage. They have not been granted the access to the workforce. Next, many jobs over the years have been created for women. About 96% are dental assistants, almost 96% are secretaries, and and a little over 91% are nurses. There have been many growths and changes in the workforce over the years, but many careers have been denied to women. Men, on the other hand, have been holding the same jobs since 1970, but these jobs are the leading ones that… “make a difference” (Baig). Jobs that maybe are not as “risky” or “daring” as men, have set the boundaries for women . They have been set in this bubble for jobs that would best suit their skill in the workforce. Thirdly, according to Norma Carr-Ruffino, an expert on women in management, claims a large part of the world’s diversity in cultures has not changed very much. Yet the change in such participation from women in the work force began not because of the job opportunity, but because economically, it was needed in the household (Baig). Women have been needed much more in the household, but that does not mean their capabilities are any less. Jobs have purposely been taken away from women. Admittedly, women are not as familiar with these activities, because they do not have enough experience in the workforce from being at home too much.  Yet, Women, are still capable of these tasks. They have the same strength as men, but they are unable to show what they are capable of. All in all, women do not have the same rights as men because they are denied access in the workforce.

 

Lastly, women are found weaker due to stereotypical mindsets. Initially, Lawrence H. Summers, a past transgender president of Harvard,  informed people all around the world “are buying into the notion that minor differences in male and female brains lead some sort of gendered destiny encoded in us. That’s the kind of nonsense that was used to repress women for centuries.” Society has been branding women as weak and as incapable. During the last 56 years, most Americans would never dream about equality. The typical stereotypes, were found as “stay-at-home mothers who could not pursue as a female in the word (Summers). Sure women stay at home to take care of their families, but that has placed an offensive term on all of the women community. By 1977, two-thirds of the United States found it to have a much greater response, if a man ran the business force and the women keep herself busy in the home and family business (Summers). The way women are being treated is completely unfair to the person who makes sure that their is a home cooked meal ready at the end of the day. Women can do more than what is put out in their future. The typical thought to most is that women choose to leave the workforce on purpose because they could not handle both a job and motherhood. Stephanie Coontz, a journalist, found that “there was a significant jump in the percentage of married women, especially married women with infants, who left the labor force. By 2004, a smaller percentage of married women with children under 3 were in the labor force than in 1993.” Women may stay at home, but they are not really given the choice. The man continues to get educated for a career, while they rely on the woman to stay home and take care of the children. Undeniably, women are mistreated because they are looked at as frail from the images of stereotypes.

To conclude, women are treated unjust. They are underpaid, even when men have the same occupation. Also, are denied access in the workforce and are obligated to stay home instead of being the provider for the family. Lastly, they are looked upon as weak due to stereotypical perspectives. Evading women’s importance now is going to prove to a whole new generation of women that they are not worth the success. That they should not try just to be trampled by reality. The more society denies the essential impact that women guide, the more people that are blocked from their full potential. Just give women a chance. Remember… they are human, too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


                                     


The author's comments:

My essay is about women's equality in the United States. Women all around the United States have their dreams taken away and they need to have a say in the world. Women are important, too. They are only human. I hope that one day, women will wake up and realize that they have the power to persue anything they can dream. 


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