The Second Shift-Women in Society Essay -- Feminism Feminist Equality

The Second Shift-Women in Society Women have pushed forward in the struggle for equality. Today women are staples in the professional world. More women are attending college than men as proved in recent studies. Women have outnumbered men on college campuses since 1979, and on graduate school campuses since 1984. More American women than men have received bachelor's degrees every year since 1982. Even here on Haverford's campus, the Admissions Office received more applications from women for early decision candidacy than men for the eighth straight year. The wage gap is slowly decreasing and the fight for proper day care services along with insurance coverage for birth control pills are passionate issues for women across America. From the outside, it seems we have come along way. But step closer. Stop looking at the fights we have won and are continuing to fight as measures of our success. Look deeper. Look into the every day life of a working woman today in the United States. What you will find there tells a very di fferent story of a woman's world today. In 2002 the journal "Sex Roles: A Journal of Research" published a study on women and their roles in the family. The study found that "Seven out of ten married parents believe child care should be shared equally, but two-thirds of the moms said they mainly cared for children....[additionally] women continue to spend about three to seven times as many hours as men on cleaning and laundry tasks." This information does not cease with this study alone. The New York Times recently published an article which also explored the inner workings of an American family. The article quotes its own study: "The average working woman also gets about an hour's less sleep each night than ... ... established in the social construct of a more progressive society will our government legislate more feminist understandings of issues such as maternity leave and daycare. Women who are able to answer the question of womanhood in the privacy of their own self will spread this idea to her household. Eventually the private household will become a model for the public sector and eventually, the gradual process of redefining a woman's role will affect the means we organize our own society: laws and legislation. Women must embody the change before society achieves it. Sources Cited: 1)U.S. Dept of Education 2) "Striking a balance between mom and dad. Women are overloaded at home so how can couples better achieve the equality they say they want?" The Seattle Times 8 May 2004 3) "Survey Confirms It: Women Outjuggle Men" The New York Times Sept. 15, 2004