Women in the Workforce
Jason Tebbs
Jason Tebbs
Context
Throughout history men have been known to be the ones to go out and earn money for the family while women stayed home, cooked, did chores and raised kids. This trend can be seen clear back to ancient tribes where men were the hunters and women the gatherers. Men have been made to be the providers for a family. Even in the early stages of our country women were not allowed to hold various jobs. The big changes started to happen around the industrial revolution in the late 1700’s. Factories were producing mass amounts of goods and pay was not providing an adequate living for just a man to provide for a family. Soon man women and children were working full time jobs in dangerous environments. It wasn’t until 1918 that the first national child labor laws started to emerge in congress (Child Labor, 2014). Because of this, children were not allowed to work which meant families were left with even less income, and more women had to enter the workforce. The second boom came during World War II. The war was using up so many resources, women were greatly encouraged to enter the workforce to replace men that were being enlisted in manufacturing supplies for the war. Soon the iconic Rosie The Riveter emerged in common culture representing women in the workforce and equal rights for women. Since then women have been increasing their presence in the workplace but are still at some disadvantages. This section looks to highlight key issues we still see today on the subject of women in the workforce.
Publication: Buffalo News Year: 2014 Cartoonist: Adam Zyglis Title: Ripped Off Cartoon: #1 A common saying "This is the first dollar I've ever earned" is taken into a new context with the wage gap between genders. 1. Negative framing of the issue 2. Framing supports those opposed to wage gap 3. Framing opposes those that do not consider wage gap |
The gender wage gap is a controversial topic among many. The most common number presented is women making 77 cents on the dollar of men symbolized by the torn dollar. At face value, this is startling. What many economists argue is that taking that number at face value is highly inaccurate to what is actually the cause of the wage gap. This cartoon is looking at the face value of 77 cents. It presents a negative tone about the wage gap, which is fair, but provides no other context to the issue. The argument comes when looking at the average earnings of women in America compared to men. On average women only make 75 percent of what men make when comparing all fields together, in 2011. This means every top CEO working 60 hours a week and bottom of the barrel worker working 20 hours a week is being taken into account (Learn Liberty, 2011). This essentially is comparing apples to oranges. What many are arguing (see video) is women tend to work in lower paying fields and work less hours. Women tend to choose majors such as social work while degrees like engineering are dominated by men. There is no way to decide clearly how much comes from discrimination, but many agree that there is some discriminatory influence in the wage gap. Others look at the 77 percent as a face value that women are making less for the same exact work, and even when taking things like career choice into account there is still a reasonable gap.
In 1963 the Equal Pay Act was passed making it illegal to pay workers at different rates. Whitehouse.gov provides an outline of what someone can do if they are being paid unfairly. "In April of 2014, President Obama signed an Executive Order to prevent workplace discrimination and empower workers to take control over negotiations regarding their pay. In addition, he signed a Presidential Memorandum directing the Secretary of Labor to require federal contractors to submit data on employee compensation by race and gender, helping employers take proactive efforts to ensure fair pay for their employees." (Whitehouse.gov)
In 1963 the Equal Pay Act was passed making it illegal to pay workers at different rates. Whitehouse.gov provides an outline of what someone can do if they are being paid unfairly. "In April of 2014, President Obama signed an Executive Order to prevent workplace discrimination and empower workers to take control over negotiations regarding their pay. In addition, he signed a Presidential Memorandum directing the Secretary of Labor to require federal contractors to submit data on employee compensation by race and gender, helping employers take proactive efforts to ensure fair pay for their employees." (Whitehouse.gov)
This video gives one explanation to the wage gap (Learn Liberty, 2011)
Publication: Dollars and Sense Magazine Cartoonist: Barry Deutsch Title: Really Good Careers Cartoon: #2 A woman is looking for a career to provide for her family but cannot find one due to the discrimination in employment that favors male workers. 1. Negative framing of issue 2. Framing supports equal opportunity 3. Framing opposes male dominate workplaces |
In 2015, 11 of the Forbes top 100 wealthiest individuals were female. Granted, all of these people are considered outliers in statistics, it still confirms the fact that really high paying jobs and careers are dominated by men. All 11 of these women on the top 100 either inherited their wealth, or the company that has made them wealthy, from a male spouse or father (Forbes, 2015). This doesn't mean these women have not put any effort into maintaining their wealth, or that every man on the top 100 list is self made and didn't inherit their money. What it says is that the original business and entrepreneurialship was started by a man often in an even heavier male dominated time (Forbes, 2015). Key things to note in this cartoon are the child and the "An equal opportunity employer" poster. The child shows a very real struggle that happens. Women that have children need to provide for those children, but cannot find the opportunities in the job field that they need. The sign says that this lady should have an equal chance as anyone else in order to get a job, but the outline clearly shows the figure of a man, symbolizing male dominance in the workplace, of which she does not fit. There is also no room for the child to enter. Not that the child needs a good career, but the woman needs to make sure the child is taken care of, and that requires her to bring him into her life decisions. If she tries to go in and fit the figure the company is looking for, the child must be left behind. Looking at the clothing of both the child and woman it can be seen that they are not high fashion or fine tailored. The clothes seem a bit ratty with how they are shaded, and fall generic and loose on them. The woman is trying all she can to provide for the child, and these are the only things she can afford. Her right hand is slightly extended in what seems to be a longing reach to have a "really good career." She hopes for something better, get's teased by the two signs, but her dreams are ultimately stifled by the cutout. Looking at the background we see another building that does not seem like a high-end office building, but rather an entrance to maybe a warehouse. The jobs provided may not even be that glamorous, or pay what even the top 20 percent earn, but they pay well enough to provide comfortably. Warehouse work has the stigma of a man's job, thus labeled by the cutout. Taking that thought into account, warehouse work to be a man's job, one may argue that the woman may not be able to perform the tasks required. Maybe there would be a lot of heavy lifting that she (and let's be honest, I'm not the strongest man alive so I probably would not be able to lift 100 pounds over and over again, if that were the required task) can't perform. There is little fault to the employer for not hiring a female if she could not perform the tasks correctly. But that is a huge assumption for a very specific case. The job could be anything, and she very well could have the ability to perform the tasks required. There are also gender assumptions in the cartoon that a woman figure wears a skirt and a man figure wears pants. It can be seen with the analogy of bathroom signs denoting which bathroom is which. It also labels that women are the ones that take care of children.
Publication: The Schwardron Gallery Cartoonist: Harley Schwardron Title: You'll go far... you think like a man. Cartoon: #3 Again going with discrimination in the workplace, this cartoon says that as long as a woman acts like a man, or essentially is a man, she will do well in her career. 1. Negative framing of issue 2. Framing supports equal opportunity 3. Framing opposes male dominate workplace |
Though one of the more humorous cartoons, it has an equally as significant message. It can be seen that a man and a woman are standing at two urinals. It is noted that the setting is a men's bathroom, making it ironic that a woman is there. The bathroom is symbolic of the workplace in this cartoon. With that in mind, the message becomes “women don’t belong in the workplace.” The caption states “You’ll go far in this firm… you think like a man.” The woman has had to change everything about herself in order to be taken seriously at this company. She has had to become something she is not. It is difficult for a woman to use a urinal, but this woman has to because that is what the men of the company expect her to do. They expect her to be like them to an improbable point. Though she may “go far” and though she seems to have a smile in the cartoon, it is easy to see what is wrong with the situation. The urinal symbolizes the expectations of the workplace, the men's bathroom symbolizes the workplace and women must meet the improbable expectations in order to succeed. Rather than the man in this picture allowing the woman to do what is comfortable to her, he is encouraging her to be something she is not and promoting a male centered environment in the workplace.
Publication: Business Cartoons Cartoonist: John Morris Title: Unknown Cartoon #: 4 A more positive approach showing that women are making advances in the workplace opposed to in the past. Women run multi-billion dollar businesses and as this happens more women are prompted to follow suit. 1. Positive framing 2. Framing supports women advancement 3. Framing opposes male dominate workplace |
Even though 11 out of 11 of the top richest women on the Forbes top 100 list inherited a company or wealth from a male, some are still running these multi-billion dollar businesses today. Take number 54 on the Forbes top 100 list Susanne Klatter for example. Most of her initial wealth came from her inheritance of BWM shares. Since then she has worked with pharmaceuticals companies making billions in profits. She has an M.B.A. and is a trained economist. Abigail Johnson, number 85, is the CEO of Fidelity. Her grandfather started the company, which was passed to her father. She did not merely inherit her title. She started working at the company before college at the bottom and got an M.B.A. from Harvard before she worked her way to a position to claim the title of CEO (Forbes, 2015). Women are making many advancements in workplaces and industries globally. For the cartoon itself, a woman can be seen leaving an office and two men watching her leave. The labeling of women only being secretaries is the basis as the joke, and that their only other option was getting married to a man with a real job. The woman has a very exaggerated shapely figure with large breasts and butt and a skinny waist symbolizing the idea of women's beauty is in their figure. The word “chairman” is written on the door labeling that the man behind the desk is the head of the organization. Chairman has been a controversial word that some say denotes sexism. Alternates are frequently used such as: chairwoman, chairperson, or just chair in order to have more equal statement rather than a feeling of patriarchal authority that “chairman” may bring. The second man brings a sort of cult feeling. Had it just been the head of the company thinking to himself, the cartoon would not come off as strong, but the fact he is discussing this topic with another man brings the idea that it is a group idea that men hold power: the “cult” of men in charge. The position of the second man is not known, whether it be vice chair, or regular worker, but it can be assumed it is a position higher than the secretary if he is discussing matters directly with the chair in such a fashion as to call out why the chair’s female employees are leaving.