Finding Women in the American Government - Exploring The US History
Introduction
America has come a long way since the very first women’s rights convention back in 1848. Now, since November 2020, America has U.S. Senator Kamala Harris as Vice President of the United States, becoming the first woman, the first woman of color, the first Black woman, and the first South Asian woman elected to the office. Throughout the years, women have paved a steady foundation involving politics For writhing the US history thematic essay there were many topics, the aim for this paper is to make an investigation in the history of women in the American government.
Purpose
Women are a vital part of the Federal workforce. They hold just about half of the professional jobs in the United States Government. However, these women still hold a small percentage of senior-level and executive positions in the branch. Is the poor depiction of women in higher-rated jobs due to the existence of a glass ceiling? Are there subtle barriers, signifying no relationship to women’s career decisions or qualifications that restrict their furtherance to higher-rated jobs? Do men continue to govern senior positions because they have more experience, more dignified education, and a higher commitment to career advancement than women? To answer these questions, I will be discussing women’s roles in the American Government. The goal is to explain the challenges women face while working in America’s government as well as how those challenges have evolved. The ultimate goal in this research paper is to continue the conversation of gender roles in the American government and to continue the motivation to break glass ceilings.
To prove that there are barriers related to gender roles in the American Government, I would like to introduce The U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). The MSPB has the responsibility to report consistently to Congress as well as the President on the health of the Civil Service and other merit systems. The MSPB undertook an analysis of the career advancement in the executive branch workforce. This study was specifically designed to examine career progression in the professional workforce as well as the nature of any barrier a woman may face in the process. There were findings that women do undertake barriers when progressing in their careers within the Federal Government. To name a few: a poor depiction of women in higher positions, lower promotion rates for women from the general schedule, and differences in the grade level (including pay) that could not be explained by differences in experience and education. MSPB found that this glass ceiling consisted of factors that women could control, such as education, experience, and geographic mobility, as well as factors outside of their control such as subtle assumptions, attitudes, and stereotypes that affect how a women’s potential is viewed as well as their effects on the job.
By comparing the percentage of men and women working in the general schedule (GS) classification and the Senior Executive Services (SES), researchers have found that women are slowly becoming more equally presented in the federal agencies. Each year the percentage of women working in the GS classifications and SES has increased, but women still have a long way to go before becoming equal to men.
To define these real, yet subtle barriers, the term “glass ceiling” was developed in a 1986 issue of The Wall Street Journal released by Hymowitz and Schellhardt. They describe the glass ceiling as an unofficial barrier to opportunities within an organization or company which is perceived to prevent classes of workers, particularly women, from advancing to a higher position. Another definition given to the glass ceiling belief is the 'unseen, yet unbreachable barrier that keeps minorities and women from rising to the upper rungs of the corporate ladder, regardless of their qualifications or achievements'. The glass ceiling reference was made to describe the barriers that women face. When women try to climb up the ladder to advance in their careers, they seem to hit an invisible “glass” barrier that restricts them from reaching their true potential. Because the ceiling is known as “glass” this makes it invisible and not as obvious or as noticeable to see.
To help prevent and study the existence of artificial barriers, the glass ceiling act was established as a part of the Civil Rights Act of 1991. This act amended the laws enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and established the Glass Ceiling Commission to study the existence of artificial barriers to the advancement of women and minorities in the workplace and to make recommendations for overcoming such barriers. The 1964 Act prohibits employers, unions, and employment agencies from discriminating against job applicants and employees based on race, sex, age, handicap, religion, or national origin. The law prohibits discrimination in hiring, firing, discipline, compensation, and other conditions of employment.
Although the world has rapidly changed with modern innovations, there are still some who are not as open-minded to fairness and equality. There are several indicators of inequality including the pay gap. When differences in work patterns, industry, occupation, marital status, and other factors were taken into account, in 2003, it was found that women in the general workforce earned, on average, 20 cents less for every dollar earned by men. Although the pay gap between men and women in the Federal workforce has been closing slowly throughout the years, we have yet to see it completely closed. To help level the playing field for women, the Equal Pay Act (EPA) was established. The purpose of the EPA was to ensure equal pay for women who had the same responsibilities as men on the job. Amended under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, the EPA prohibits federal agencies from paying employees of one gender a lower wage than employees of the opposite sex for performing equal work under equal working conditions. The figure below includes information about the pay gap between men and women in the federal workforce from 1999 to 2017.
statistics show that the movement towards equality for women has continued. Equality is growing in the positions they hold as well as the pay they receive. However, that movement has slowed. For example, although the depiction of women in professional jobs has increased since 1991, the depiction of women in administrative jobs (which are the fastest-growing part of the workforce) has not grown promptly. Likewise, the pay gaps continue to diminish, but also at a slower pace. Even slower than in the 70s and 80s.
Conclusion
Over the past two decades, the Federal Government has made substantial progress. The depiction of women in professional and administrative jobs has increased. We have learned that the “pay gap” has narrowed, the leap of women to the Senior Executive Service has outgrown the past expectations, fewer women believe that they have experienced gender discrimination, and women are now about as likely as men to believe that they have been treated fairly in matters such as pay, discipline, and awards. Women are increasingly competitive in terms of experience and education. More women in the Federal workforce now have more representation, but also at a better stand-point to compete for promotion.
But still, progress toward full equality is not yet complete. Women remain less likely than men to be employed in high-paying jobs and supervisor positions. Women have made great strides in entering high-level occupations, but remain relatively short in careers such as the Federal workforce.
