Gender Stratification: Working Women And Men
Gender and social stratification can be seen very clearly in our everyday lives. For example when it comes to your work, or income, you will be able to sense the gender stratification.
“Since 1970, the proportion of all women in the labor force has increased from 43 percent to nearly 60 percent, while the proportion of men in the labor force decreased slightly, from 80 percent to 73 percent in 2007”. In the past people believed that women only job should be in the house to clean, cook, and to take care of the children. Luckily, societies thinking is changing day by day and people are perceiving that a women shouldn’t be forbidden to work and receive an income without relying on anybody. At first it wasn’t usual to see a woman depend on herself and have a job and a regular income but eventually the society began to except it and get used to it. Earning income was always the man’s role “Factors that have contributed to change in the U. S. labor force include the decline of farming, the growth of cities, shrinking family size, and a raising divorce rate”.
The decline of farming was a huge crisis that faced the U. S. when a big amount of people in the society decided that they will not be farmers like how their family were. People grew up the thinking that studying to be a doctor or an engineer is better because it provides them with a better income. Unfortunately leaving the farm jobs generated a lack of the men working hands so job opportunities became available for women. Also, the growth of cities affected how the families are living due the raise of the living expenses and it wasn’t enough to keep up with the city changes with one income. Another factor that helped to open job opportunities for women is shrinking the family size so the women can have more time to focus on their work. Also, the raising in divorce rate forced women to be idependent. Women and men unemployment rate were almost the same for a long time but recently men unemployment rate is rising because of the development that takes place in the factories, mines, farms, etc. , and the replacement of the hands working with modern machines.
Now a days, men accepted the idea of women getting a job and having a regular income, but they don’t feel that their responsible of the house work just like the women. The graph that was made in 2009 above shows that women have a lot more housework than men. Women tend to always have less hard working jobs such as teaching or simply being an assistant and men always get the jobs that needs strength and patience such as managers or first line supervisors of retail sales workers.
There are two main reasons that caused women to have a job with low income, the first reason is that society believes that these kind of jobs which have high pay and hard work are men jobs such as engineering and lawyers. Second reason is that women have a second job at home which is taking care of their children especially on their early stages of life. It’s common in society that women should take care of children whether there is a father or no which takes a lot of their time and energy. Not only that but also, it make women distracted by thinking in more than one area.
In Kuwait women can get a job anywhere they want because the law doesn’t forbid them from any kind of job. Women can work as an engineers, lawyers, teachers, managers, etc. Not only that put also you can find women participating in parliament and getting high positions. Surely there are more men than women in the higher positions but it has nothing to do with the law. This thing happens because of the women role that the society expects form any mother. Kuwaiti Mothers had a responsibility to raise a generation to be successful and strong which is more important for the Kuwaiti women than any higher position. In the past Kuwaiti women didn’t need the job because it was common that the father or the husband will provide them with their needs but now after the raise of divorce rate Kuwaiti women felt the need to be independent financially.
