Women’s & gender studies
It has been said that, in order to attain fully productive and sustainable societies, women’s position in the workplace and in the economy must be enhanced.
How can societies support women in the workplace and in the economy? Think about the working women in your lives. What are key elements of support that they might have needed to succeed (or just to keep their jobs?)Please post your thoughts. Remember to integrate academic material here.
The challenge is to increase the OPPORTUNITIES that society offers women, and to enhance the ABILITY of women to take advantage of those opportunities.
Both come hand in hand.
Opportunity defined:
A favorable or advantageous circumstance or combination of circumstances.
A favorable or suitable occasion or time.
A chance for progress or advancement.
Social structures and influences, including political, economic, cultural and social systems profoundly affect women’s opportunities. They also impact women’s contributions to, and women’s share in the benefits of economic activity.
Research conducted by Catalyst, an organization dedicating to advancing women in business, shows the following:
In 2001, women earned 57.3% of all Bachelor’s degrees in the US, 58.5 of all Master’s degrees, 44.9% of all doctorates and 47.3% of all law degrees.
In 2002, women made up 46% of the US labor force and 50.5% of management and professional specialty positions.
In 2002, nearly one half (46% of all privately held businesses in the US were either 50% owned or majority owned by women, employing 18.1 million people and generating $2.3 trillion in sales.
Source: Catalyst 2011) In 2010:
Women made up 46.7% of the labor force.3
58.6% of all women 16 years and over were in the labor force, compared to 71.2% of all men.4
Women comprised 51.5% of management, professional and related positions.5 For racially and ethnically diverse women specifically:
African-American women comprised 5.3% (2,751,000) of all people employed in management, professional, and related occupations6
Asian-American women comprised 2.8% (1,437,000) of all people employed in management, professional, and related occupations7
Latinas comprised 3.8% (1,952,000) of all people employed in management, professional, and related occupations8
