Let me just confess: I dream a lot. I dream at night and on long car rides. I dream about medical school and about research and about everything exciting that can happen in my life. I dream, with satisfaction and gratefulness because these magical images aren’t something anyone should take for granted. Especially not me. I am a woman, so dreaming is something I really cherish. The fact is that we haven’t always been allowed to dream about whatever we wanted. Just look at how things have changed:
Early Roman law described women as “children, forever inferior to men.” In the 4th century, St. Jerome of the Christian church proclaimed that “woman is the gate of the devil, the path of wickedness, the sting of the serpent, in a word a perilous object.” The life of a woman in colonial America was much better, but still markedly different from contemporary times. Girls attended dame schools, separate from boys, and a married woman gave up her name and virtually all of her property. During the 19th century, home nursing was considered “proper” even though nursing in hospitals was done almost exclusively by men. The American Medical Association began admitting women only in 1915, and in 1890, only 5% of total doctors in the U.S. were women. Not until the 20th century did we begin to see a large movement towards change, manifested in legislation such as the Equal Pay act of 1963 and Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The 21st century has brought with it great things for everyone, women included. Tense debates and the sheer magnitude of the push for greater equality between men and women, if nothing else, is a sign that we are making progress, and that if opportunity is what you are seeking, then the United States is the place to go to. In a sense, women and men do have equal rights. Women can do almost everything men can. Yet, women continue to be a minority. Men hold more leadership positions and are much less likely to drop out of work to care for their children. Jobs too, attract either a majority of males or
females. Do you know more female physicists or biochemists? Which gender dominates the fields of physical therapy or dermatology? What about astronauts and rocket scientists? This gradient is discouraging; it makes you feel as though you can’t be anything you want to be after all. But if laws are not the reason for this, what is?
I think it’s an attitude thing.
I was lucky. I was born to a mother and father who encouraged me to reach beyond the stars. They enforced the idea that I should find a career, find a way to be independent, and be confident that I could do things on my own. My friends were raised the same way. School was really competitive, not just among the guys, but equally so between girls. Everyone strived to hone something as their own. Everyone was reaching for the stars. In college, I’ve experienced the same thing – an inspiring community, a floor of 19-year old girls who push each other to believe that the next big break is theirs.
Not all girls get this. Not everyone has parents and friends who inspire them to reach higher and think bigger. I know a lot of women who aspire to do great things, to be “successful” and to establish themselves as the best in their field. With that being said, I can name many more men who want the same thing. Maybe it’s just that they are more outspoken about it. Maybe, women suffer because they believe, without even realizing it,
that men are more likely to achieve these goals. Yes. There is Hilary Clinton. And Sheryl Sandberg, And Marie Curie. But there are also more than 3 million women secretaries today. Huffington Post published an interesting article in 2013; the most common job for women is secretary. It was secretary in 1960 too. According to the American Society of Colleges and Universities, women in 2008 received 27% of PhD’s in mathematics and statistics, 20% in computer science, and 18% in engineering. I don’t think the female brain has 20% of the capacity of a man’s and I don’t think that the majority of women in today’s society can blame other men or unfair legislation for this inequality. We are our own worst critic. We are often our own greatest enemy. Whether we are conscious of it or not, I think that women are effected by past societal restriction, more than they are aware of.
For some women, the attitude problem kicks in later. The New York Times essay “The Opt-Out Generation Wants Back In” is about high achieving, career women. Sheilah O’Donnel, Carrie Chimerine Irvin, and Kuae Kelch Mattox, are examples of women who set their sights high – all the way up to $500,000 job at Oracle, educational-policy researcher, and NBC News producer. Each decided to take a break from her demanding career and found the return to be difficult. It’s an indication that women are still largely influenced by societal norms and pressures. When the family demands get high and something needs to be done, it’s striking how common it is for the female to be the one to sacrifice her career. All three women had decided to opt-out during a times when choosing to do so was “fashionable.” It’s important, I believe, for women to have the mental confidence to guide themselves through challenges, without letting societal norms be a factor.
In the end, I think that getting women to believe is half the battle. If only, somehow, women could erase the unconscious, old ideas they have about the role of women in society, maybe we would see the number of women in all areas of society increase. The power we have within us is incredible. “You are braver then you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”
Sources:
http://www.wic.org/misc/history.htm
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/01/top-job-for-women-secretary-same-as-1950_n_2599560.html
Your opening paragraph does a great job of drawing the reader in. A first sentence like, “Let me just confess…” is intriguing, but also appropriate, as it emphasizes and ridicules the stigma that was once associated with women who dream. Well done.
I think you restrict your essay a bit when you cite only girls’ attitudes as the reason for the pay-gap and unequal distribution of authoritative distributions, especially because you argue that men and women really are equal in opportunity. Perhaps you could develop your thesis a bit more if you included more about the social constructs that make women think that way in the first place.
I had a hard time being convinced that men generally feel like they can do more than women, especially with all the women’s rights activist groups and outspoken feminist outlets (when have you seen an outspoken outlet encouraging more opportunities for men?–women are absolutely more outspoken than you seem to give them credit for).
However, your use of evidence and presentation of a vast array of information greatly help strengthen your points. Also, your conclusion was a really nice summary of your main point, so perhaps you could go back and reinforce that idea in your thesis.
I thought this essay did a good job showing many statistics about the development and problems many women are facing today. I couldn’t really identify a clear thesis, and having one would provide a lot of structure to the essay.