In the United States there is a strong constitutional commitment to equal rights. However, just because perceived commitment is there, does not mean equality is put into practice. Many women face hardship, struggle, inequality, and violence daily. When we break this down farther by race or social class, the disparities are even more glaring. Throughout history, women have broken free from bondages that have held them back in terms of societal constraints. Today, women have the right to own property, marry who they wish, can divorce their husbands, vote, join the military, and get an education…yet women still are far from equal.
Women fight a raging battle for reproductive rights, equal pay, safety in relationships, and protection from gender, race, ethnic, and class discrimination. Women still carry an unequal burden in terms of responsibilities like childcare, domestic work, and ensuring the wellbeing of the family unit. Women face societal standards that impose unobtainable measures of beauty and the image of an ideal woman. These pressures create added stress and lead to feelings of inadequacy or failure, as well as physical and mental health issues.
Jeni Klugman, Managing Director of Georgetown Institute of Women Peace and Security is the lead author of the 2019–2020 report that ranks 167 countries around the world, revealing patterns and insights on women’s empowerment, equality, and overall societal standing in diverse settings. The hope of the report is to highlight areas needing reform and give a glimpse of what the world would look like if women worldwide were afforded full and equal rights and opportunities.
While the WPS Index suggests overall progress, it clearly shows there is work to be done. The report measures women’s overall wellbeing in various countries by compiling data representing three basic dimensions; inclusion, justice, and security. In terms of ranking, the United States does not even make the top 12 in terms of women’s overall wellbeing and sense of equality. According to the report, women’s employment worldwide is regressing and estimates that by current standards it would take a minimum of 52 years to reach equality by way of equal representation in politics.
Beginning with the American feminist movement of the 1960s, women continued entering the workforce en masse in the ’70s and ’80s. Even so, women still did the majority of childcare and household work, a trend that has only marginally changed in the time since. In hearing from a few working women in male dominated fields, we begin to get a clearer picture of what’s needed to ensure women receive the same opportunities, recognition, and employment rights as their male counterparts.
Soldier, Mother, Both: Women in the Military
Women make up about 14 percent of the Army. One of them is Annapolis resident Rose Forrest, the Staff Judge Advocate at Maryland National Guard. Forrest reflected on the positives, such as a sense of empowerment, but also the challenges she faces as a female in the military. She recalls listening to her male classmates talk about how grueling their mental and physical workload was and yet she was pulling double duty and completing the same tasks with an infant and toddler to care for. Forrest explains she can only speak on behalf of herself, not the military on the whole, but states, “In my opinion, women in the military often hide their maternal roles to ensure equal treatment. I have personally tried to keep my struggles private because I felt it would reflect weakness for all women in the military.” She speaks about the positive aspect of the military pay structure affording a somewhat level field in terms of salary. While life choices may account for more women in the military serving in lower ranks, there is still in theory, an equal opportunity. Areas in need of reform include VA healthcare, which does not include female centric care such as OBGYNs. Seventy percent of homeless women veterans are single mothers, yet almost no VA shelters offer space for children. While policies have been drafted, the military has not been able to get in front of an ever-present sexual assault problem, made even more evident with recent cases such as the murder of Fort Hood soldier Vanessa Guillen.
Fellow guard member, Air Force paralegal and Annapolis mother Nicole Moore says she too feels empowered being a woman in the military, but there are changes she would like to see. “Female issued uniforms should include helmets and flack jackets that fit our bodies, and exclude pieces that serve only to protect the male genetalia,” she says. She recalls a time when she was removed from a position when partnered with a man known to be a sexual predator. This was deemed easier and safer than removing him. While at training, Moore brought her four-month old, as well as a childcare provider. A co-worker stated, “If the military wanted you to have a baby, they would have issued you one.” Moore used comments like these as further ammunition to succeed.
Qualified, Yet Dismissed: Private Industry Challenges
Elena Mack, a Crownsville resident and mother working in technology, says advice that has stuck with her as a woman in a male dominated field is, “get rid of the idea that the quality of your work will give you the credit you deserve. It’s all about who advocates and advertises for you.” Applying for senior positions she was well qualified for only to be passed over in favor of junior male candidates with less broad experience is something she’s all too familiar with. Mack expressed frustration at being asked in interviews how she would handle raising children, questions never posed to men in her field. She keeps a copy of one, particular annual review from a previous employer. The same skills listed as her strengths were under areas in need of improvement. She keeps this as a reminder that sometimes no matter how good you are at your job, the personal judgement of others can hinder your advancement.
Beth Caro is in the automotive industry, managing the sales department for her family-owned automotive business, and owns a tag and title company. Despite a wide breadth of knowledge in the field, surpassing many of the male employees she works with, she still finds herself in situations where customers and technicians refuse to talk to her or accept her insight and expertise, insisting to speak only with male colleagues. In an effort to promote female confidence in understanding and maintaining their vehicles, Caro has collaborated with others in the industry to create workshops for women wishing to become more knowledgeable.
Retired firefighter Michelle Krause, a single mom for 18 years, considers her career to have been rewarding. Fire school, however, was a tough gig. She had to work hard to prove herself capable. While the physical strain was tough, the emotional turmoil was what felt like it would break her at times. “I once had an officer tell me in writing he would do everything he could to make sure I did not make it through training,” she recalls. “He didn’t think women belonged there. I didn’t complain. I didn’t want to be the girl who couldn’t handle it, I decided to just work harder.”
The Ever-Present Stigma
The struggles women face in the workplace also include the argument and stigma surrounding the question, “Should women be in the workforce at all?” While the presence of women in workplace environments has become commonplace, it is not to say the stigma does not still exist.
A 1979 article titled The Working Mother in Contemporary Perspective published by Ruth E. Zambrana PhD, a professor in the Department of Women’s Studies at University of Maryland and colleagues Marsha Hurst PhD, and Rodney L. Hite MD, shed light on dilemmas working mothers face including childcare, home responsibilities, inflexible work schedules, discriminatory hiring practices, and being stigmatized for placing career over motherhood.
Studies cited show how women are expected to make compromises for their careers including foregoing promotions and ideal salaries to meet the needs of the family. One psychiatrist implied that the women’s movement of the time had encouraged women to value having a career over procreation. Despite the stigma still prevalent in some work settings and scholarly works, Dr. Zambrana and her colleagues found that little evidence supports any claims that a mother’s presence in the workplace has any negative impact on the overall development of her children, if adequate substitute care and satisfaction in her chosen role are present.
In line with working women pulling a double load, Heidi Fritz, Psychology Professor and member of Salisbury University (SU) Women’s Forum, reflected on her realization that it was impossible to continue her tenure track while caring for a son with disabilities. After taking time away, she feared it would be impossible to get back into academia. She is now on a new tenure track doing research on caregivers of children with disabilities. She states that women are engendered to believe they must regulate the emotions of the entire family, placing an invisible burden upon themselves to sustain the emotional wellbeing of those in their care, a difficult thing to unlearn.
SU Women’s Forum member and Director of External Library Services Mou Chakraborty reflects on her dual existence. Growing up in India and raising children in America, she states, “I was fortunate to have a mother who was college-educated while living in a patriarchal household and who stood up for her values of lifelong learning as liberation. I strive to embody her wisdom and courage. Even so, as a mother visiting India, I still feel social pressures to conform to a mostly male-dominated society. When in America, I feel the invisible load on my shoulders, but these experiences continuously shape me as a mother, professional, and woman.”
The Wage Gap Explored
Working women are plagued with an ever-present wage gap. Dr. Heather Rellihan, Gender and Sexuality Studies Department Chair for Anne Arundel Community College, shared that, according to recent census data, on average women make $0.82 to the dollar compared to salaries paid to men. This however represents women unfairly. The progress towards female equality is not shared equally when looking at deeper nuances like race and social class.
Privileged women experience more in terms of progress than those facing additional barriers such as racial inequality, poverty, or discrimination based on sexual identity. If we dig deeper into the pay gap for instance, white women on average make $0.79 to the dollar, Asian women make $0.90 to the dollar, black women make $0.62 to the dollar, and Hispanic or Latina women average $0.54. This indicates barriers and progress are not equally shared. Annette Johnson, who works in diversity and inclusion for Salisbury and is on the Women’s Forum talked about progress tending to affect the upper echelon. When looking at women of color, often regardless of progress and forward movement, they end up being the most underrepresented in the workforce. Johnson finds herself asking the questions, “What does feminism mean for a black woman? Does progress include me? Will it include my daughters?”
Dr. Rellihan explains that a portion of the wage gap is attributed to the choices women make. However, those choices can often be constrained. “A freely chosen choice is not the same as a constrained choice,” she says. She cites examples such as women being drawn toward historically female segregated, lower paying positions such as teaching to help support summer schedules of children, or jobs in childcare, nursing, or domestic duties falling in line with the societal expectations for women to fulfill “caretaker positions.”
Dangerous Social Complexities & Abuses
The workplace isn’t the only social area in need of improvement. Other areas of women’s rights at risk include their ability to control reproductive rights, poverty, lesser education, and inadequate access to quality healthcare (especially for minority women). Additionally, women are constantly confronted with high levels of sexual objectification and unobtainable standards of perfection. The negative impact of the media can lead to health issues like habitual body monitoring, depression, and eating disorders.
Domestic violence and maternal and mental health issues are even more discouraging obstacles needing to be overcome. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States. One out of every four women experience severe violence at the hands of an intimate partner. Dr. Elsie Walker, a professor at Salisbury University and, also, member of the SU Women’s Forum notes the increase in domestic violence occurrences during COVID. This topic hits close to home as her own mother was a domestic violence survivor.
Dr. Walker also reflects on mental health and her own struggle with postpartum depression stating, “I felt like I was falling apart and couldn’t understand why. I had this perfect baby, so why did I feel such despair? I felt like I lost my voice, like I couldn’t speak about my deepest feelings.” She went on to say that, as a society, we often set women up for a sense of failure with motherhood and encourages us, as a whole, to remove the stigma of mental health, to make it more than acceptable to share grief. “It doesn’t have to be pretty, it can be terribly ugly,” she says.
Fellow SU Women’s Forum member Louise Detwiler shared her own experience with sexual assault. She recalls being made to feel guilty it had occurred at all and can understand why the true number of sexual assaults go unreported. Additionally, her own mother was drugged by her husband and transported to a hospital where she was ultimately forced to undergo electro shock therapy without her consent, all because she wanted a divorce and the words of her husband were deemed more valuable than her own. Through that experience, Detwiler learned she could never allow another person to have that level of control.
Achieving True Equality
While there are copious areas in need of change and reform, there are also areas where women can influence forward progress. In recent years in the U.S., we have seen the presence of female candidates for the presidency and vice presidency, but women are still grossly underrepresented in politics. According to an article by Richard V. Reeves, senior fellow in Economic Studies at the Brookings Institution, currently there are three men for every woman in the U.S. Congress. “A step-change in female representation is needed to get close to equality within any reasonable timetable,” he says. Women need more equal footing in politics and positions of leadership. It is especially important that these positions include women from underrepresented communities who understand disparities and inequalities on a deeply personal level. And women must encourage these changes by utilizing their voices through voting; a right that women suffragists valiantly fought for. Voting for policies and politicians who support issues like paid family leave can equalize the childrearing responsibilities and afford better physical and mental health for mothers and families. Only then, will change be possible.
When asked how women will know when they have achieved equality, Annette Johnson replies, “When we no longer have to have these conversations. When it has become our norm. When women are truly protected. That will be when we have achieved true equality.”
