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WOMEN IN U.S. HISTORY Equality in Work 1950’s to 2000

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WOMEN IN U.S. HISTORY. Equality in Work. 1950’s to 2000. Paid Work: 1945-1963 Have to or Want to?. The war is over; what do we do now? Some women quit their jobs; some were fired; some were demoted to lower skill jobs for less pay. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Page 1: WOMEN IN U.S. HISTORY

WOMEN IN U.S. HISTORY

Equality in Work

1950’s to 2000

Page 2: WOMEN IN U.S. HISTORY

Paid Work: 1945-1963Have to or Want to?

The war is over; what do we do now? Some women quit their jobs; some were fired; some were

demoted to lower skill jobs for less pay. Public judged whether a woman should work by her

reason – support the family or make extra money…..Which was acceptable?

Although many employers stopped the practice of firing women when they got married, they limited female ambition to dead-end, low paying jobs, usually “pink collar” service and clerical.

Page 3: WOMEN IN U.S. HISTORY

Sexism is a social disease!You cannot …

Be anything but a teacher, secretary, nurse

Expect to earn as much as menStill work if you are pregnant

Serve on a juryApply for a credit card or loan

without your husband’s permissionEnroll in an Ivy League college or

get into med or law school.

Page 4: WOMEN IN U.S. HISTORY

Commission on the Status of Women

Student groups protested unequal work status while others worked through government channels.

In 1961, President Kennedy formed the Commission on the Status of Women.

In 1963, the commission found the workplace was profoundly and intentionally unequal …

In 1963, Congress passed the Equal Pay Act that required equal pay for equal work --- it didn’t work! Why?

Men and women worked at different jobs.The law was difficult to enforce.

Page 5: WOMEN IN U.S. HISTORY
Page 6: WOMEN IN U.S. HISTORY
Page 7: WOMEN IN U.S. HISTORY

Who am I?

What should I be?

What are my choices?

Why not?

Page 8: WOMEN IN U.S. HISTORY

Women Protest (Again?)What were characteristics of women’s activism regarding suffrage? Did it work for them? Why?

• Be heard! Be seen!

What did women learn and adapt from the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960’s?

• Be heard! Be seen!DID IT WORK?

Page 9: WOMEN IN U.S. HISTORY

PAID WORK ISSUESEqual Pay for Equal Work

Affirmative Action

Sexual Harassment

Page 10: WOMEN IN U.S. HISTORY

EQUAL PAY: WHAT DID WE THINK?

IS THIS SEGMENT A REALISTIC PROTRAYAL OF THE WAY ALL PEOPLE FELT ABOUT EQUAL PAY FOR

WOMEN? GIVE YOUR OPINION IN ONE PARAGRAPH GIVING TWO FACTS FOR YOUR ANSWERS.

Here is one opinion

Equal Pay

Page 11: WOMEN IN U.S. HISTORY

LEGALITIESEQUAL PAY ACT OF 1963

SEC. 206. [Section 6](d) (1) No employer having employees subject to any provisions of this section shall discriminate, within any establishment in which such employees are employed, between employees on the basis of sex by paying wages to employees in such establishment at a rate less than the rate at which he pays wages to employees of the opposite sex in such establishment for equal work on jobs the performance of which requires equal skill ,effort, and responsibility, and which are performed under similar working conditions, except where such payment is made pursuant to (i) a seniority system; (ii) a merit system; (iii) a system which measures earnings by quantity or quality of production; or (iv) a differential based on any other factor other than sex: Provided, That an employer who is paying a wage rate differential in violation of this subsection shall not, in order to comply with the provisions of this subsection, reduce the wage rate of any employee.

CIVIL RIGHTS ACT 1964

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 USC 2000e, makes it unlawful for an employer to hire or discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his/her compensation, terms, conditions or privileges of employment, because of an individual’s race, color, religion, sex or national origin. This covers hiring, firing, promotions and all workplace conduct.

Page 13: WOMEN IN U.S. HISTORY

The bill amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 stating that the 180-day statute of limitations for filing an equal-pay lawsuit regarding pay discrimination resets with each new discriminatory paycheck. The law was a direct answer to the Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 550 U.S. 618 (2007), a U.S. Supreme Court decision holding that the statute of limitations for presenting an equal-pay lawsuit begins at the date the pay was agreed upon, not at the date of the most recent paycheck, as a lower court had ruled.

Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009

Page 14: WOMEN IN U.S. HISTORY

What qualities make Lilly a hero?

Page 15: WOMEN IN U.S. HISTORY

AFFIRMATIVE ACTIONWHAT IS IT?

… an active effort to improve the employment or educational opportunities of members of minority groups and women; also : a similar

effort to promote the rights or progress of other disadvantaged persons

MERRIAM WEBSTER DICTIONARY

Page 16: WOMEN IN U.S. HISTORY

Working Girl and discriminationWatch the film clips for the following

information:Examples of discrimination by men and women

How does Tess triumph?What steps did Tess take to create her success?What changes did she make in the work place?WRITE YOUR ANSWERS AND HAND THEM IN AT THE

END OF THE CLASS.

Page 17: WOMEN IN U.S. HISTORY

Executive DiscriminationIn the movie, Baby Boom, discrimination is more subtle but still

present in the workplace. Give examples in relation to the following situations:

Partnership Conversation: “…I can have it all…”(Clue: What did she do to fit in?)

Job Loss: “…you’ve changed…”(Clue: What was different?)

Home Business:”…I am a cold, career woman…”(Clue: How did her executive skills translate to new work?)

Negotiations for company sale: “I don’t want to make sacrifices and I shouldn’t have to…”

(Clue: What is the underlying message of the film? Is it true?)

HAND IN ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS AT THE END OF CLASS.

Page 18: WOMEN IN U.S. HISTORY

Workplace Discrimination Challenged

• Women’s lobbying resulted in federal actions in the early 1970’s:

Women’s inclusion in 1963 and 1964 Acts was clarified.1971: unconstitutional to legally favor one gender over anotherPatterns of segregated labor were overturned.1974: legislation prohibited discrimination by gender for credit

transactions.1978: pregnant women received explicit protection under the 1974

Act.

• Local women’s activist groups demonstrated against companies, picketed newspapers and staffed telephone hot lines to offer advice on workplace discrimination.

• Women organized in their work places and made demands; grassroots efforts were effective nationally.

Page 19: WOMEN IN U.S. HISTORY

HEROES

THEN AND NOW!

Page 20: WOMEN IN U.S. HISTORY

SEXUAL HARASSMENT EXAMPLES

• Pre-discrimination laws:Some examples:

What is acceptable?

• Post-discrimination laws:More examples

What is acceptable?

What has changed? Why?

Page 21: WOMEN IN U.S. HISTORY

Sexual Harassment at Work• Sexual harassment is a form of discrimination, in the United

States, that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.• Sexual harassment occurs when one employee makes

continued, unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature, to another employee, against his or her wishes.

• According to a current issues update from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), sexual harassment occurs, "when submission to or rejection of this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual's employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual's work performance or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment.” http://humanresources.about.com/od/glossarys/a/sexualharassdef.htm

Page 22: WOMEN IN U.S. HISTORY

Anita Hill and Clarence Thomas

• In 1991, Clarence Thomas was nominated to a place on the Supreme Court by President George H. W. Bush. Thomas had been Reagan’s chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). He had proven to be very conservative and opposed to Affirmative Action.

• During the hearings, Anita Hill, Also an African American lawyer, charged that Thomas had sexually harassed her when she worked for him at EEOC. Thomas denied all charges and equated it to a lynching.

• Senators did not appreciate the gravity of the situation and approved Thomas’ nomination.

BACKLASHSexual harassment became part of the public consciousness.

Polls revealed 4 of 10 women said they faced unwanted sexual advances at work.

RESULTSThe power, assertiveness and participation of women in electoral politics increased

Page 23: WOMEN IN U.S. HISTORY

The Current SituationPositives

• By 2009, women’s wages averaged growth to 80% of men’s.

• By 2006, 49% of medical and law degrees were earned by women.

• By 2002, women were 25% of highly paid executives.

• Barriers have fallen in many male-dominated occupations and professions.

• Female unionization increases helped raise pay rates for female-dominated professions.

Negatives

• There is still a 20% wage gap.• The majority of women still work

in female-dominated jobs that pay less (clerical and administrative support, domestic and institutional health service.

• The clout of Affirmative Action has bee decreased by new laws and the rescinding of old ones that banned discrimination. Opponents charged “reverse discrimination”.

Page 24: WOMEN IN U.S. HISTORY

Where are we now?

Is this the truth?

Page 25: WOMEN IN U.S. HISTORY

Is this the truth?

Concession speech: Hillary Rodham Clinton, June 7, 2008

Page 26: WOMEN IN U.S. HISTORY

Where do we go from here?

Let’s change Hillary’s focus on little girls to … “every person can dream and his/her dreams

can come true in America…”

How can this happen?What must you do?How will you do it?

Why?