Women's Ideal Role in Society

I agree that gender inequality is slowly improving in the workforce; however, I would say that women's mere access to and participation in the workforce does not suffice. We are only taking one first step towards reaching gender equality in the workforce. What gets forgotten and overlooked is the subtle sexism that occurs in the workforce. I can think of some examples where the use of sexual stereotypes still prevails. If you were a woman, this could be said to you..."You're really good at [doing x] for a woman" or "Tim will help you with your boxes" or "can you bake for our staff meeting next week?"

Oftentimes these little subtle actions are displayed beyond all our consciousness. Women just naturally accept it, thank the complimenter, and internalize it. Men just naturally, often never from a malicious place, act on what it is they feel the need to contribute. It is a continuous process, thus making true and full gender equality in the workforce a challenging one to achieve.

This reminds me of Dorothy Smith's discussion on how Sociologists impose, through a privileged and determinate perspective, "sociological versions" on what they are studying. We can take this idea to look at how men create "sociological versions of women" that they impose on the women.

I agree with Barbara that gender inequality is so normalized in society that often times the subtlety of actions feeding into this inequality goes unnoticed and becomes internalized. Sexism in the workforce is extremely common and yet this inequality is brushed off more than it should be. Friedan's description of suburban wives and women in general during the 50s was quite interesting and we can see how society came to be one in which women's femininity was all they were credited for. Women who questioned their lives, asking "is this all?", felt as though they had a problem and that something was wrong with themselves. Although the progression of women today is significant, there still remains the stigma that single women without children must be selfish or unhappy. Women who decide to pursue successful careers in the workforce and those who delay marriage and childbearing are discredited for pushing the boundaries and standing up against what society so heavily imposes upon them.