The Equality of the Sexes

 

By Annie O’Donnell

 

English

Period 7

March 31, 2003

OUTLINE

Equality of the Sexes

Thesis Statement: The society still does not treat men and women equal although women have gained many more rights over the years.

I. Do men and women have equal job opportunities?

            A. Jobs easier for women to get

            B. Jobs easier for men to get

            C. Earnings

            D. Employment

II. Do men and women have equal rights in the home?

            A. Female Headed Households

            B. Male headed households

                       

III. Do men and women have equal rights in sports?

A.    Women athletes that first start out.

B.     Men’s Advantages in sports

C.     Women advantages

D. Women Disadvantages

           

IV. Do men and women have equal rights to learn?

            A. History

            B. Schools

            C. Private schools

            D. Girls Catching up

            Do you know that the average size of a woman’s brain is much smaller than the size of a man’s brain? Many people seem to think of this as “proof” that women are less intelligent then men (Haughton 6-7).Since the early 1800s men and women have not been treated equally, but throughout the years, women’s rights have been improving. Today men and women are still not being treated with full equal rights although women’s rights are being improved.

            Most people agree that men and women do not have equal job opportunities.  In the past women generally did not work outside of the home. Can you imagine a law stating that women were not allowed to work?  During the Great Depression some governments passed laws either forbidding or strictly limiting the employment of women (8-9). When women were employed, it was often in jobs such as nurses, teachers, social workers, or other low paying jobs, or those that did not require much skill. Although women worked in factories during both world wars, they were asked to leave shortly after the wars ended, because men were in need of jobs (8-9).You might ask why there was not much employment of women in the past? Some of the reasons that men said were that females were less “intelligent”, they had fewer skills, and sooner or later they had to return home to have babies or to care for their families (Peterson 18). Men had many more job opportunities than women in professional careers such as lawyers, doctors, athletes, and managers (18).

            Because of the limited jobs women were able to have, this made an impact on their pay. Not only have men had more career choices than women, but they also have earned more income in those careers.  Did you realize that in 1995 the median income of a male who completed high school was $7,000 more than a female with the same education (Peterson 18)? Many women thought that they weren’t as good as men since the pay wasn’t the same, even though that was not true (18). Also in 1996 women earned 74 cents for every mans’ dollar (15-16). Even though the salaries and employment of men and women have not been equal through the years, there are many more career choices and opportunities for women today. Income differences between men and women are narrowing, although still not completely equal even in 2003. Recently there was a poll taken in which 60 million women over the age of 20 are working (15-16).Today more women are employed due to factors such as rising divorce rates, postponing marriage until later in life and women are seeking fulfilling careers instead of traditional wife and mother roles of years past (15-16).

            Yvette Cooper, an independent newspaper writer once said “Men still do not contribute equally to housework even when their partners are in full-time work. So mothers who go out to work know they will effectively do two jobs, be exhausted and have to pay for child care”(Haughton 12-13). No one will argue that men and women do not have equal rights in the home. Recently there have been many more female-headed households, due to the increasing divorce rate, the decreasing birth-rate, the increasing of unmarried couples giving birth, and waiting for marriage (Peterson 9-10). Because of the increasing divorce rate, of the 16.6 million families in the U.S., 77% are households of women alone with kids (Haughton 13). This leaves women with much more responsibilities than men. Women have a lot of demands in their lives when they are working, raising their children alone, managing a home, including cooking and cleaning.  When men divorce, they have to look after themselves and just go to work. A survey was taken in U.K. of traditional families and found that 80% of women cook versus 20% of men, 68% of women clean versus 32% of men and 84% of women wash and iron clothing versus 16% of men (12-13). Do you think this is equal?

            There are some situations in the home that remain unchanged between men and women. One of these issues is abuse against women. Some men feel that they should have complete control in their home and over all the people in it.  Because they are stronger physically, women are still victims of domestic violence. Do you know that in the U.S. a woman is beaten every 18 minutes by her spouse or boyfriend (12-13)? Women are still struggling in the U.S. from abuse in the home. It is a fact that between 17% and 38% of all women have had a man assault them in their life (15). In most countries, it is very rare when a woman physically abuses a man. For instance, in the U.K. one in five men suffered physical abuse from a female partner (12-13).

            Did you know that in 1996, $2.4 million was spent on athletics programs in college for men, while only $663,000 was spent for women (Peterson 24)? There’s no doubt about it that men have the advantage in college sports. However this is slowly changing due to a law called Title IX.  This law forbids sex discrimination in college sports and is trying to make equal opportunities on campus for women interested in sports (24). Sports have always been dominated by men but through the decades, women have been making advances.  For instance for the soccer in Britain, more than 12 million people watched the men’s soccer FA (Fifa) Cup, while only 50,000 viewed the women’s version (Haughton 26-27). Even in the 1992 Olympics, there were 35 countries that still had no women competitors (26-27).

            Although women’s sports still today aren’t equal to men’s they have improved much over the years. Billie Jean King, a former tennis player, helped women’s athletics to become popular by beating Bobby Riggs, a men’s tennis star (26-27). It was called “The Battle of the Sexes” and brought a lot of media and public attention to the fact that women can compete (and win!) in sports with men. Women are also breaking athletic records every year. Swimming and horseback riding are some of the sports women are dominating men by 10% (22). Women’s college basketball has never been more popular than today with thousands of spectators and fans in the stands that once were empty.  However, women’s professional basketball has yet to catch on and still struggles to gain network television time.

            To conclude, even in 2003, the rights of women are not truly equal to the rights of men, although women have made great strides over the last fifty years.  No one really knows how long it will be before men and women will be equal in terms of job opportunities, salaries or athletics. We can only hope that things will continue to improve and that perhaps in my lifetime, the opportunities for men and women in all walks of live will be treated equally.

Works Cited

Haughton, Emma. Equality of the Sexes. Connecticut: Advision of Grolier 

     Publishing, 1997.

Peterson, Virginia.  Women, New Roles in Society. Texas: Information Plus, 1998.