Women Roles in the United States Essay Example

With the popularization and diversity of the American population, gender roles are not the same from one cultural group to the other. However, there are certain characteristics that describe all women irrespective of the cultural group. The roles of women have significantly changed over the years in the United States. The aim of this essay is to examine how the roles of women have changed in respect to the short story Cinderella by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grim. In this essay, I will argue that unlike a few decades ago, today many women have joined the paid workforce; there are more women today in different professions such as military, education, and leadership.

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The roles of women have significantly changed in the past few decades. As Chu and Charles explain in their analysis of the status of women in about fifty states in the United States, women made up only about one-third of the workforce in 1969 (1). Many women today have become more integrated into the society; they have taken up the roles that were previously dominated by male. In the past, women were considered inferior just like the character, Cinderella in the Grimm brothers' text Cinderella. Women were expected to be obedient and loyal and never ask questions. Like Grimm and Grimm writes "dear child, be good and pious, and then the good God will always protect thee" (1); women were perceived as inferior and dependent for centuries. Feminist movement started about four centuries ago, but until the 1960s after the Great Depression and the Revolutionary War that the roles of women started to drastically change. More women have become involved in the professions that were previously known to be male domination. As Lewis explains in "How are Gender Roles Changing in the U.S" young women and men alike challenge the traditional gender stereotype associated with the employment (1).

Research survey shows that women under 29 years of age are much likely as men to seek jobs with more responsibility (Lewis 2). As Lewis explains, today, women who are employed are widely accepted contrary to what was there before in the 1960s and 70s. Even though the pay gap still exists up to date, but more women are today involved in different sectors of employment, contrary to what was there in the 1970s. Like Cinderella in the Grimm brothers' text, women were confined to suppress their ambitions. Lewis compares how women's career ambitions have changed over the last decades. According to Lewis, as compared to 1992 when only about 60% of childless mothers wanted more responsibilities, today about 78% of childless mothers are focused on their career ambitions (5). Lewis further explains that these trends suggest that today's woman is on a similar footing with her male colleagues, especially when it comes to career ambitions and life expectations (7). Women today are equally ambitious to achieve success just like their male counterparts.

Unlike the 1960s and before then where the majority of those who served in the military were men, today, the military is filled with women who serve in different ranks. George Cohan argues that during the 19th and early 20th century, women started to get involved in the military service as nurses or war support (2). He argues that women were eager to portray their patriotism for the country. And for the first time in the early 1900ss, women were allowed to enroll in armed forces serving stateside to enable their male counterparts to go overseas (Cohan 2). However, this has changed since World War II. In the 1990s, more women got into military serving with distinction in the war. Even though there were times that women suffered a great setback; for instance, in 1994, the Secretary of Defense Les Asprin refused to let women serve in ground combat units (Norwich University 8). In January 2013, the Secretary of Defense by then, Leon Panetta lifted the ban on women combat roles and enabled them to enroll in ranger school (Norwich 9). Looking at the historical developments about women's role in the military, it is important to note that there is a favorable momentum towards high positions in the military held by women in the future. Like Cinderella in Grimm brothers' text, women are striving to fight the obstacles in their way to achieve success. Despite the setbacks like her step-mother and step-sisters' attitudes towards her, Cinderella moved against all odds to become the bride of the prince (Grimm and Grimm 13). Women in the United States have also moved against the odds of stereotype to advance in their roles in the military. Just like the way the "bird threw down to" Cinderella the dress to wore for the party, lifting the ban on women's combat roles in 2013 was groundbreaking because it expounds on the roles that women can take in the military as well as opened up more opportunities for them to advance to higher ranks (Grimm & Grimm 11).

Women have also broken the stereotype and showed their commitment and capability to lead just like their male counterparts. In the recently concluded midterm elections, more women took part with vehement commitment to serve their people against the challenges in politics. As Rapp and Anne explain despite that women are trying to overcome the challenges that they face in politics there is still a low number of women in leadership. Saskia Brechenmacher explains that women generally win elections at the same rate as their male counterparts (2). However, they are less likely to vie for the offices due to the majoritarian electoral system, gender-specific fundraising hurdles, and party weaknesses, which limit their competitiveness with men in the political arena (Brechenmacher 2).

However, despite the obstacles that they face, women have strived to remain adamant in their pursuit of leadership roles in the society. A good example is the last presidential election, where Hillary Clinton, a Democrat candidate showed tremendous progress in terms of women involved in political and societal leadership. Hillary Clinton like many other great American women set the pace for other women that it is possible to overcome the gender stereotype that has confined women to more discrimination and inequalities. She is a representation of Cinderella's mother in the Grimm brothers' short story. In the story, Cinderella's mother in her deathbed motivated her that she has to "be good and pious" and then she will have all that she wants (Grimm & Grimm 1). Similarly, this can be represented and equated with Hillary Clinton's competition to Donald Trump in the 2016's presidential election that women have to stay focused and committed in their fight against gender stereotype. If Hillary Clinton could go that far and win the popular votes, any woman is equally able to overcome their own stereotypes.

Unlike the women in the 1960s and 70s who were denied education opportunities, today's women are more concerned and committed to becoming successful in education equally like their male counterparts. Cinderella was denied opportunities to achieve the best by the step-mother and step-sisters who saw her as a threat. As Grimm and Grimm write "she had to do hard work from morning till night......carry water, light fires, cook and wash" (2). These are the same responsibilities that women in the U.S were associated with in the 1970s and before then. The role of a woman revolved around kitchen and house chores; thus, denying her the opportunity to pursue education and compete with her male counterparts. However, this has since changed. As Lewis explains, men and women agree on gender roles today; men can equally do the house chores today (9). Lewis further explains that unlike older generations who historically held more traditional views on gender, today's generation is more open to non-traditional gender roles than ever before. Women today are pursuing education to the highest levels that they can; for instance, PhD, Masters, and Degree.

Conclusion

In conclusion, despite the challenges that they have faced, women have strived to become successful. They have had to face the societal obstacles created by gender stereotypes. Unlike women in the 1960s and 70s who were denied opportunities to pursue their career ambitions, education and join any profession that they desired, today's women have achieved much more in terms of career progress, leadership participation, and the pursuit of educational goals.

Works Cited

Brechenmacher, Saskia. Tackling Women's Underrepresentation in U.S. Politics: Comparative perspectives from Europe. Carnegie Endowment for Internal Peace, February 20, 2018. Accessed on November 5, 2018 from https://carnegieendowment.org/2018/02/20/tackling-women-s-underrepresentation-in-u.s.-politics-comparative-perspectives-from-europe-pub-75315

Chu, Anna, and Charles, Posner. The State of Women in America. Center for American Progress, September 25, 2013. Accessed on November 5, 2018 from HYPERLINK "https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/women/reports/2013/09/25/74836/the-state-of-women-in-america/" https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/women/reports/2013/09/25/74836/the-state-of-women-in-america/

Cohan, George. Women During World War I. Delaware Division of Historical & Cultural Affairs, 2018. Accessed on November 5, 2018 from https://history.delaware.gov/exhibits/online/WWI/Women-roles-ww1.shtml

Grimm, Jacob, and Grimm, Wilhelm. Household Tales: Cinderella: The Harvard Classics 1904-14. Batleby, 1993. Accessed on November 5, 2018 from https://www.bartleby.com/17/2/12.htmlLewis, Katherine. How are Gender Roles Changing in the U.S. The Balance Career, June 19, 2018 from https://www.thebalancecareers.com/gender-roles-changing-in-the-us-3545177

Norwich University. How Roles have Changed for Women in the Military. Norwich University Online, July 2016. Accessed on November 5, 2018 from https://online.norwich.edu/academic-programs/masters/military-history/resources/articles/how-roles-have-changed-for-women-in-the-militaryRapp, Nicholas, and Anne, Vandermey. How America Ranks when it comes to Women in Politics. Fortune, January 24, 2018. Accessed on November 5, 2018 from http://fortune.com/2018/01/24/percentage-of-women-congress-politics/