Equal Pay Act

The success women had in the workplace during World War II was only the beginning of their fight against sex discrimination. Employers were still unfair when it came to women working, forcing Congress to pass the Equal Pay Act of 1963. The act was an amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act because women were being treated severely different than men when it came to getting paid. The Equal Pay Act allowed women to receive the same amount of money as men for jobs that required equal skill, effort, responsibility, and work conditions. It also made sure that an employer could not discriminate against women when hiring someone for a job. Although this seems like a very positive action for women, there are loop holes similar to many solutions of the government. What was not correctly defined in the act was the definition of "equal work." Jobs did not have to be identical for them to be considered equal. Because of this, "It did not prevent employers from reclassifying certain types of jobs according to a lower pay scale" (Sex Discrimination). This demonstrates that a woman could be doing the same work as a man, but because they are not referred to as the same job, a woman could potentially be paid less. Once again, women were being treated similar to blacks in the way they were cheated when being paid for work. Blacks were taken advantage of because they were willing to do difficult labor for a cheap price. Although women were not doing the same physically demanding work as blacks, they were still being treated as if they were worth less than a white man. Reading this article made me gain much more respect for women that are on the higher end of the working scale. Those are the women that were able to defeat the loop holes of this act, and show the true capabilities of a woman. I believe that because this act is still in affect today, it has only caused a greater tragedy. Any person that wants to base someone's salary off their gender does not believe in the power females have. Even though we have laws forbidding discrimination in the workplace, our society continues to find way around this law due to the lack of appreciation there is for women.

"Equal Pay Act (1963)." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 31 Jan. 2010. .

Equal Pay Act

Sex Discrimination

Although the Ninteenth Amendment was a major achievement towards women's rights, the fight against sex discrimination was just beginning. The government still believed that women were inferior to men, so in 1922, they passed the Married Women's Independent Citizenship Act. This act made women unable to gain citizenship without a husband. The government treated women as if they were second-class citizens, and ignored most attempts they made at equality. However, this perception of women was turned around during the time of World War II. While all the men were busy fighting, it was clear that America would only be able to win if they enlisted a large number of women for employment. They needed women to do very untraditional jobs such as building planes, tanks, and ships in order to fight in the war. It became the "patriotic duty" of women to go out and work, ultimately making them successful in the workforce, and more powerful within the government during the 20th century. I see this as a very crucial time for women because they were able to experience a sense of social and economic mobility. Women were suddenly faced with choices, and by exercising these choices they were able to explore their own individuality and independence. The government was able to change as well seeing the great impact women could have on the economy. Congress passed the Equal Pay Act of 1963, "mandating that women receive equal pay as men for equal work" (Sex Discrimination). Following this was the Civil Rights Act in 1964. Even though women were gaining more civil rights, there were still political groups trying to prevent them from earning anymore. This forced the creation of the National Organization for Women (NOW). I believe one of the most interesting accomplishments of NOW was that, "It stipulated that every federally funded college and university had to provide equal opportunities for men and women in their varsity sports roughly equal to the proportion of each gender in the school" (Sex Discrimination). Because I play volleyball, I think it's imperative that women and men have the same chances when it comes to sports. Schools often feel that that men's sports are more important, but NOW was able to change that by defying any public or private sports program that targeted women for discrimination. Many of these cases were brought to court where women used the Fourteenth Amendment to prove certain laws as unjustifiable. This technique was used during the Plessy vs. Ferguson case when they tried to prove that the law "separate, but equal" was unreasonable. This further proves the connection between women and blacks. They were both treated as inferior to white men, and frequently had to fight for equality through laws that were unjust.

Mansbridge, Jane J., Why We Lost the ERA, 1986; McGlen, Nancy E., and Karen O'Connor. Women's Rights: The Struggle for Equality in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. New York: Praeger, 1983; Shipley, Amy, "Playing Field Levels at Texas," The Washington Post, July 7, 1997.

Sex Discrimination

Women Suffrage Movement

Allowing women the right to vote was a major stepping stone in providing equal rights to all women. This was no easy task to accomplish seeing that everyone considered women inferior to men. In 1848, the first women's rights convention took place in Seneca Falls, New York, where Elizabeth Cady Stanton asked the assembly to vote on a resolution demanding suffrage for women. The assembly made no effort to fulfill Staton's request. However, their unappreciation for women's rights only made them want to work harder towards their goal. After the civil war, Stanton continued with her fight along side of Susan B. Anthony. Susan B. Anthony is one of the most well-known women that fought for women's suffrage for more than fifty years. They strived for equal rights, however when the Fifteenth Amendment was created giving African American men the right to vote, Stanton and Anthony, "felt the amendment merely expanded male suffrage." I believe it is extremely unfair to start giving black men more freedoms, but completely ignoring the proposals for women. It shows the male dominance during this era and the little respect men actually had for women. I could only see this obstacle as motivation for women to work hard to gain their rights, and that's exactly what Stanton and Anthony did. They started the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) in order to try and appeal the Fifteenth Amendment to include women, too. Along with this organization, Anthony tried to vote in 1872, but was arrested and found guilty. This reminded me of Rosa Park's attempt at equal rights when she refused to sit in the white section. Women were treated with the similar disrespect as blacks because they were somehow "inferior" to men. Women had to fight for laws that women today often take advantage of. When I reach the age of 18, there is no doubt in my mind that I plan on voting, and would be offended if anyone ever questioned my freedom to vote because I am a women. I could only imagine the unfairness that women had to suffer through in the 19th and 20th century. Anthony refused to conform to the lack of rights for women no matter what the consequences were. She collected 10,000 signatures from 26 states to present to the Senate. To much disbelief, they "responded with laughter." This demonstrates that even the government had no respect for women's rights. The government during this time was clearly biased and only worked against women in fighting for what they believed it. Although it took many decades, women worked to display their power to the government. In 1919, Congress approved an amendment that would guarantee women the right to vote. Without this amendment, the opinions and power of women would still be looked at as inferior to men. Along with this, Stanton and Anthony are perfect examples of the power women do have to change society and the government.

Graham, Sara Hunter, Woman Suffrage and the New Democracy, 1996; Spruill Wheeler, Marjorie, One Woman, One Vote: Rediscovering the Woman Suffrage Movement, 1995.

Women's Suffrage Movement

Women

My topic for the research paper is women. This topic is interesting because I have to go through the advantages and consequences of being a woman. Over the past years, I have learned about the determination of women to be considered equal to men. Even though we are supposed to be treated the same, are we actually? There's always a silent prejudice against women in the government, sports, and even in every day jobs. Just recently there was an episode of Desperate Housewives that showed one of the main characters, Lynette, being fired from her job because she kept her pregnancy a secret. Had she voiced her pregnancy, the company would have let her go due to the money a company loses with a pregnant worker. Although the company is legally not allowed to fire a woman for being pregnant, they always try to find the loop holes. Women face disadvantages every day, but I find the power women have had in the past to be inspirational.

Response to Obama's State of the Union Address

Barack Obama's State of the Union Address was said to be defiant, similar to Ronald Regan's address in 1983. He admitted to the many problems with our country's economy, however, he had an optimistic tone when referring to our future. One of the main topics of Obama's address was the job crisis in America. Due to the poor economy, finding a job has been a difficult task for those looking for work. One of his solutions was to export more goods because increasing the amount of productivity would give the opportunity for more jobs in America. During the next five years, Obama plans on doubling exports in order to provide two million jobs across the country. He then continued to discuss the need to help small business owners maintain their jobs. The problem with small businesses is that banks are only willing to lend money to bigger companies. To solve this, Obama proposed that thirty billion dollars from Wall Street banks be given to less significant banks in order to support small businesses. There would also be a tax credit for small businesses to hire new workers or raise their wages. I found this topic to be extremely important seeing that my father owns a small business. I know that he was in favor of Obama's proposal because small businesses employ almost half of all Americans. By allowing smaller businesses to expand, Obama is helping to decrease the problem with America's unemployment rate.

Obama continued by describing our country as every day being election day. Since Americans tend to look for embarrassing headlines about the opposite party, they are not playing to win, but for the other party to lose. We feel the need to obstruct every single bill just because we can. I believe this shows the high level of competition in our society today. The poor economy has brought American citizens to work against each other instead of focusing on improving the conditions of our own country. After Obama discussed topics that I was somewhat unfamiliar with, he touched upon the idea that all men are created equal. He insisted that if you abide by the law, you should be protected by it, too. To further encourage this idea, Obama plans on strengthening laws to protect against those affected by hate crimes. This includes the argument over gay marriage. He agreed on working with congress to allow gay Americans to be married. Obama also mentioned the idea of freezing government spending once the country was done hurting, and also touched on the idea of health care. Regardless of the amount of applause President Obama received after each section of his address, there is no doubt that many disagreed with his ideas. Members of the Supreme Court made it very evident that they opposed some of his solutions by remaining silent as the rest of the administration applauded him. Even though the two parties will not be agreeable on every topic, President Obama seems eager to begin the process of rejuvenation of our country.

Clooney Gets Involved

George Clooney recently teamed up with MTV to gain support for relief in Haiti. Clooney, and other celebrities, encouraged the rest of America to get involved by supporting other organizations for Haiti.
For more information Clooney's telethon, click here.

How to Help Haiti

The people of Haiti need our support now! You can donate to relief funds through the following website:
World Vision Support