Analytic Entry on Background

The role of women in our society today has significantly changed throughout the course of our history. In the past, they were forced through a difficult path of unfair laws and were also deprived of many civil rights that men had. This period for women is not often discussed because of the equal opportunities women have now. However, reviewing these events demonstrates the progress women have made leading up to their significant role in our society today.
In the nineteenth century, women did not even have the right to vote. No one questioned this until Elizabeth Stanton and Susan B. Anthony became two of the most well-known activists for the women’s suffrage movement. They began to challenge the government after the Fifteenth Amendment was created, giving African American men the right to vote, but not women. The two women felt that, “the amendment merely expanded male suffrage” (Graham). As a result, Stanton and Anthony 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 collected ten thousand signatures from twenty-six states to present to the Senate. To much disbelief, the Senate “responded with laughter” (Graham). This demonstrates that even the government had no respect for women’s rights. They disregarded the effort Anthony had put forward only creating a bigger obstacle for women to overcome. 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. This finally gave women a voice in the government, and showed their determination to change their role in society.
Even after the major breakthrough of the Nineteenth Amendment, women still had to continue their fight against sex discrimination. The government considered women as second-class citizens, and ignored most of their attempts for equality. However, this perception of women was soon turned around during World War II. While all the men were busy fighting, it was clear that America would only be able to succeed if they enlisted a large number of women for employment. Women were needed to do the very untraditional jobs such as building planes, tanks, and ships to even have a shot at winning. They proved to be just as capable as men at completing their jobs, however when the men returned home from war, women were forced to give up their jobs. The government viewed women as "a labor reserve that would be used only in times of crisis" (Mansbridge), and wanted them to go back to the jobs they were accustomed. Even though women illustrated the necessary skills to maintain their jobs, the government chose to ignore their efforts. This shows the little authority women had in their own society. They were not trusted with responsibilities that the government believed only men could handle, thus leading them to have little significance within their communities.
The struggle women had in the workplace continued even after Congress enacted the Equal Pay Act in 1963. The act was an amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act because women were being treated much differently 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 than a company could not discriminate against women when hiring someone for a job. Although this seemed like a very positive action towards women's rights, employers worked hard at finding the loopholes in the amendment. 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" (Equal Pay Act). A woman could potentially be doing the same work as a man, but paid less due to the title of the job. This goes to show that women were taken advantage of during this time because of their lack of recognition in the workplace. The skills women had were not valued as much as a man's, so companies wanted to avoid spending more money on paying them.
The lack of respect women received was evident during this time. It took several laws and amendments to give them the equality that they deserved. Through this long process, women were able to advance into a much greater role in society. It took these even, though, to show the rest of the world that women were ready for change.