A History of Discrimination Women in America

The United States has a long history of excluding certain races and religions due to differing views from that of society as a whole. While many people acknowledge the lack of inclusion and respect for different cultures, some overlook the problems surrounding the stereotyping and discrimination of women throughout the nation. Like other disenfranchised groups, women historically did not have access to the same jobs, schools, or rights as men in society. As time has progressed, laws have been created at different levels of government intended to protect women’s rights and end discriminatory practices against them.

Despite this, there is overwhelming evidence of the historical discrimination and stereotyping of women in American history. They have been specifically discriminated against and stereotyped when it comes to societal expectations of their roles as women, in the workplace, and regarding their physical appearances. This leads one to consider what could be done to prevent these issues or, at the very least, decrease their frequency.

Historically, women have been pigeonholed into a role of being a nurturer in the home, with many men believing that a woman should not work or is ill-equipped to do so. This rhetoric can be found in an article from the St. Louis University Public Law Review, stating, “…in other words, women should have the vote not because they were equal to men, but because they were different and, in some respects, better” (Wheeler, 2017, p.61). This statement illustrates that, in the eyes of most men, women did not belong in politics. Some men might have wanted these differing votes, but this was merely to gain a distinct perspective, which, in most cases, men would typically dismiss, feeling superior to women.

More about the societal role of women is revealed in the text, “Essentially, the Court held that UPS might have accommodated too many other workers to meet its burden of proving a valid reason for excluding pregnant workers” (Wheeler, 2017, p.84). The courts did not believe the company needed to do more to support women. Wheeler argues that this was a practice to keep women restricted to the roles that society had defined for them. The article goes on to discuss the inevitability of women’s pregnancies and suggests that companies should already have systems in place to assist these women, instead of choosing not to care.

The role of women is further discussed through an analysis of the psychological aspects that men in society use to decide their expectations of women. Evidence of this can be found in the Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, which states, “According to Sidanius (1993), human societies are inherently group-based and are usually structured along racial, sex, and class lines. In most Western communities, for example, males are typically viewed as dominant over females” (Bates, 2001, p.44). Bates implies that women will essentially always be confined in their societal roles, as men, especially white men, view themselves as superior and dominant. This aligns with the Social Dominance Orientation (SDO), a measure usually higher for white men who tend to have less compassion for women and prioritize their own advancement without considering the consequences for other social groups.
Ironically, women have a history of persistently fighting for equality and treating people fairly, despite research evidence showing that they are often unfavored by those they treat equitably, and that the system is not effectively advancing towards achieving women’s equal rights. Bates demonstrates how, historically, men have relegated women to roles within the home, such as cooking, cleaning, raising children, and remaining seen but unheard in most instances. The article concludes that for societal changes to occur in favor of women, essentially, those currently in power have to pass, as attitudes have been slowly changing among younger generations.

The workplace is another aspect of life where the persistent discrimination against women has become abundantly clear over the years. The Pew Research Center substantiates this claim of discrimination, as elucidated in an article that states, “When women are asked whether sexual harassment is a problem in their workplace, larger gaps emerge. About half of women who work in male-dominated workplaces (49%) say this is at least a small problem where they work, including 15% who say it’s a big problem” (Parker, 2018). Such statistics reveal the challenges women encounter which potentially impede their work efficiency. This dilemma is not exclusive to any specific industry. Parker further suggests that women often suffer in silence for fear of losing their jobs due to the overwhelmingly male dominated workplace environments. This prevailing notion, that women should be paid less because they aren’t equally capable as their male counterparts, is largely responsible for the wage disparity between men and women, with even larger discrepancies for minority women.

Certain supervisors and firms have attempted to rationalize their discriminatory practices, viewing them instead as pragmatic approaches to ensure business operations proceed smoothly. Aspects of women’s biological makeup, like monthly menstruation and pregnancy, often have little to no consideration from male peers in workplaces, let alone attempts to accommodate them. Insights on this issue come from a writer from Portugal for PLOS who states, “Mandel and Semyonov [99], using data from 20 countries, found evidence that family policies aimed at supporting women’s economic independence, like offering childcare facilities and paid parental leave, actually exacerbate rather than ameliorate gender earning gaps. This counterintuitive effect arises from the fact that family policies are disproportionately availed by mothers rather than fathers, resulting in mothers being relegated to part-time employment, stereotypically female roles, and underrepresented in leadership positions” (Verniers, 2018, p.18). The crux of this assertion is that individuals in power often underestimate the magnitude of the problem, believing they are fostering the right conditions for women yet inadvertently cementing their positions in narrow roles. Women who avail themselves of these policies are often inevitably restricted to part-time work and circumscribed in the traditional role of motherhood and housekeeping. The article underscores that perception and intentions matter greatly; women feel disadvantaged and research attests to this, while men believe they are maintaining order and assisting women.
Appearance is something that, in some ways, matters for all people; however, for women, this fact is that much more emphasized. Psychology-based publications like ‘Psychology of Women Quarterly’ have posted articles that have shed light on the issues surrounding what is deemed to be acceptable in appearance for a woman. According to one article, “Women feel anxious when they interview, feeling that their breasts are too small, they don’t have good teeth, or simply not feeling pretty compared to other women” (McKee, 2013, p. 357). This quote taken from the article shows that women’s appearance matters more, and that this theory is not just one that makes sense in women’s heads. McKee argues that the “more attractive” women are the ones on news stations or billboards throughout major cities. The article shows how these ideas of what is deemed acceptable in appearance have essentially hurt the confidence of women and put them in a predicament where they are being judged more for their physical appearance than their credentials. Men are not voicing similar concerns and, as a result, the problem is not being fixed. In many companies, women stated that they feel inferior due to being outnumbered, sexualized, and not taken seriously. Many women that participated in the study conducted by McKee and others admitted to feeling less pretty than most women and knew that they were only employed in some cases because they were attractive or had large breasts. This stereotyping of the “perfect woman” is yet another example of the pitfalls of being a woman in the United States.

More about the appearance factor can be examined through the writings of Lora Park. She posted an article that shows why women are experiencing more feelings of appearance rejection. For starters, appearance rejection is basically the measuring of how likely a person is to get anxiety about the chance of being rejected simply due to the way they look. More specifically, the article reveals “Men had the same feelings of appearance rejection after being flooded with the propaganda that has plagued women since the 1970s” (Park, 2009, p.111). As the study is performed for this article, 220 combined men and women were analyzed in order to gauge their appearance-based rejection sensitivity. The men’s numbers rose similarly to the women’s numbers after they were exposed to media that told them how to look in order to be deemed attractive. Nonetheless, in general, it is women who experience a stronger feeling of appearance rejection as the media makes them believe they do not meet the standards of beauty. They have an idea of another woman who they feel better fits the mold of a beautiful woman.
Women’s appearances extend past just the look of a woman as what they say as well as what they do is scrutinized and the intentions of some women are merely assumed. The narrative for many African American women is that they are loud and much louder than women of other races. This can be seen through an article that touches on the narrative specifically as it reads “Black women have become the victims of negative stereotyping in mainstream American culture. Such stereotypes include the myth of the angry Black woman that characterizes these women as aggressive, ill tempered, illogical, overbearing, hostile, and ignorant without provocation” (Ashley, 2014, p.27). This idea is something that African American women have had to fight off in some ways by not responding to criticism at all in public or not giving their opinions on anything considered to be a sensitive topic. As mentioned previously, the media and televisions plays a large role in the perception of the black woman as it continues to push the idea of them being overly confrontational. By building this model of what the black woman is, many black woman have stated that they felt attacked when they gave their opinions at a job like other women did or when they became visibly upset it was seen as them being illogical and aggressive.
Appearance of women extends to the point where society is comfortable enough to accept them in the workplace and the subsequent jobs that they are not supposed to have. One such article rom the AAUW website speaks to the stereotype that woman do not belong in either the science or the engineering field as it reads “A female student taking a math test experiences an extra cognitive and emotional burden of worry related to the stereotype that women are not good at math. A reference to this stereotype, even one as subtle as taking the test in a room of mostly men, can adversely affect her test performance. When the burden is removed, however, her performance will improve” Hill (2015). The article is showing that there is a disparity of women in the science and engineering fields due to them getting more severe punishment for under performing. The article alludes to the idea that a woman can fail a test with the same 60 as a male and be crucified in the employment world while a man can get an exercise such as “he was young” or “it happened a long time ago”. Essentially the issue is that women are not being judged on the same scale as men as a method of discouraging them from entering into the science or the engineering field. When a person knows how harsh of a punishment they can face for something there is a certain level of anxiety that is often present that greatly affects their performance. Overall the trend is to make the women feel uncomfortable in all aspects of the field in order to discourage them from pursuing a career in the field for possibly unknown reasons.
It is clear that there is an issue with stereotypes as well as discrimination against women in the United States, however there are some suggestions to handling the issue. One solution to the problem could be hefty fines to jobs that discriminate against women because a lack hair, makeup, breasts, or any other physical features that they deem to be attractive. Businesses tend to only care about consequences when they result in a loss of money. Another solution perhaps to the known issue would be to put out propaganda that exhibits women as strong and capable of the same work as men in the workplace instead of as an inferior worker that could never duplicate the work of the man. Through the understanding of the issue and the development of possible solutions to the problem at hand it becomes truly possible to eradicate the issue or at the very least lessen the frequency of it.

References

1. Ashley, W. (2014). The Angry Black Woman: The Impact of Pejorative Stereotypes on Psychotherapy with Black Women. Social Work in Public Health, 29(1), 2014th ser., 27-34.
2. Bates, C., & Heaven, P. C. L. (2001). Attitudes to women in society: the role of social dominance orientation and social values. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 11(1), 43??“49.
3. Hill, C. (2015). Why So Few? Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Retrieved from https://www.aauw.org/research/why-so-few/
4. McKee, S., Smith, H. J., Koch, A., Balzarini, R., Georges, M., & Callahan, M. P. (2013). Looking up and Seeing Green: Women’s Everyday Experiences With Physical Appearance Comparisons. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 37(3), 351??“365.
5. Park, L. E., DiRaddo, A. M., & Calogero, R. M. (2009). Sociocultural Influence and Appearance-Based Rejection Sensitivity among College Students. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 33(1), 108??“119
6. Parker, K. (2018, March 07). Gender discrimination more common for women in mostly male workplaces. Retrieved from http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/03/07/women-in-majority-male-workplaces-report-higher-rates-of-gender-discrimination/
7. Verniers, C., & Vala, J. (2018). Justifying gender discrimination in the workplace: The mediating role of motherhood myths. PLoS ONE, 13(1), 1??“23.
8. Wheeler, C. L. (2017). Women’s Work Is Never Done. St. Louis University Public Law Review, 36(1), 59??“85.

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