Historical Forces of Women

Women are a vital part of the workforce. Make no mistake about it. Women have taken on the challenge of striving for equal pay and equal rights in the working world. Sadly, it has been fraught with challenges. But as the saying goes, “You’ve come a long way baby!” Since the time of the Enlightenment in the 18th century, women began to realize that they were just as intelligent and able to learn new skills as men.  There should be no reason that they should not be able to take part in the same activities at work. They wanted to receive an education, have an opinion, and even get into the workforce. It goes without saying, women attack things differently.  They are significantly more emotional, but they are intelligent and can bring as much to a business as their male counterparts. It has taken women centuries to be seen as a force to be reckoned with and they have proven that they can be successful business owners and CEO’s, doctors, and lawyers, and more. During the time of Enlightenment, when women really started to come out of their shells and establish themselves as capable members of the business world, men found it hard to believe that women could make the rational decisions that were necessary to run a successful business.  That thinking has changed exponentially and women are proving themselves daily in monumental ways.

For instance, Irene Rosenfeld  is the CEO and Chairman of Kraft Foods.  She has made a big show of power this year with her decision to split Kraft into two companies, a reversal of her previous strategy of expanding through acquisitions. Indra Nooyi is CEO and Chairman of PepsiCo. PepsiCo has forged further into nutrition-focused products, a business that the company is trying to grow to $30 billion in 2020 from about $10 billion in 2010. Ellen Kullman is Chairman and CEO of Dupont.  She completed her biggest move yet with the $6.4 billion acquisition of Danish food ingredient producer, Danisco, shifting the chemical company more toward food and nutrition. Analysts credit her with DuPont’s turnaround in the stock market: Shares have returned 99%, vs. 37% for the S&P, since she took over in 2009.

According to some of the ancient philosophers, women were encouraged to use restraint, and were certainly given little freedom. They were to be kept in constant habitual cycles in order to keep them from being insubordinate and idle. This is no longer true in 2013. Women really had their work cut out for them to get anything accomplished. It took a lot of work and pressure for women to finally start receiving education and working outside the home like men. During the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century more women were entering the workforce as servants to those in the middle or higher classes. Women were cheaper to hire because men were paid higher wages, therefore giving way to a more female profession. By 1870 the state was providing schools where more working class girls could receive an education. In the late 1870s the invention of the typewriter and the telephone provided more job opportunities for women. Britain saw the first female doctor in 1865 and dentist in 1895. Women were really moving up in the world having more options to work outside the home. In the 20th century women were given even more options pertaining to the type of work that they could pursue. The first woman was appointed to the police force in 1910. The Sex Disqualification Removal Act of 1919 allowed for women to become lawyers, veterinarians, and civil servants. These new opportunities for employment not only helped give women a sense of freedom but it really increased labor participation rates for women.  In the 1900s, there were only about 19% of women compared to 80% of men as a part of the labor force. The 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote but it did not liberate them from all discrimination. In 1970, the law was modified so that women would have equal wages as men for the same work. By 1975, women were emancipated when the Sex Discrimination Act was passed. It made it illegal to discriminate against women in the workplace.

Today, women account for about 46% of the total U.S. labor force, if not more. Women also have to deal with juggling work and family life. It is one of the main problems that women face in the workplace that may deter them from taking a better job. Some women often find that working full-time while raising a family can be expensive, so they opt for working part-time or wait until their children are in school. More employers have started to provide solutions, which will help women keep their jobs and prevent employers from having to hire and train new people.

Discrimination in the workplace has not stopped women from owning their own businesses, or reaching management positions in companies while still raising a family. Women also contribute to the economy by having major purchasing power spending more than $3.3 trillion annually.

Source: “Online Guide to Women in the Workforce: Past and Present.” MBA Online Rankings for 2013. Web. 07  July 2013. Ellen Kullman.” www.CNNMoney.com Cable News Netw