How Are Women’s Rights Affected in the United States?
Women have been fighting for their rights for many years. Particularly in the United States there are many historical events connected to women fighting for rights such as the right to vote, right to abortion, and right to be a part of any political affairs. Women’s rights are overlooked in the United States and a difference has to made quickly because it is discriminatory.
Tamara Gausi author of “And Still We Rise: The Global Struggle for Women’s Rights” addresses many of the saddening but real issues women face daily. Women fight for protection and basic human rights when that should be a thing that is just naturally given to them. Gausi writes about how incredible it is that the world has discovered amazing things that require so much effort, intelligence and money but somehow women are still suffering and facing discrimination:[“When you really think about it, the fact that women all over the world are still fighting for equal rights defies all logic. Humans have mastered flight, walked on the moon and created the internet but women still can’t be trusted to make autonomous decisions about their own bodies, be guaranteed freedom from violence or harassment or get paid the same amount as men for doing the same damn work.”(Gausi, Page 1) Women have had to go spread awareness and get everyone’s attention on their own. With their own blood, sweat and tears they had to make moves so people would listen and see what was going on behind closed doors and right before their eyes but were too blind to see: [“When we look back on this decade, it will, in part, be defined by the multi-pronged fight for women’s rights and the incremental mainstreaming of feminism – that most revolutionary of ideas, that all people, regardless of gender, are equal. From Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s rallying cry “We Should All Be Feminists” to the galvanizing success of the Me too Movement to the global impact of the intersectional feminism practiced by gallant women and girls such as the Honduran indigenous and environmental rights defender Berta Caceres… the movement for gender equality has taken center-stage.”(Gausi, Page 1)writes about this to emphasize how feminism has developed over the last couple of years due to the unjust treatment towards women and the many things women are doing by taking things into their own hands and creating the change they want to see. Feminism has really been rising in the United States in the last couple of years because of the awareness being spread and the effectiveness of these campaigns.
Alia Dastagir author of “What do men get that women don’t? Here are a few things” written for USA today writes a small list of the unfair differences between men and women. Dastagir writes about the small steps that have been taken for change to happen for women today in the United States but that it does not amount to what it needs to. Not enough has been done.
“Women have made undeniable advances — from American boardrooms and courts of law, to universities and sports arenas — but disparities remain, especially in poor or rural areas and in communities of color.” (Dastagir, Page 2) Alia lists some things such as Health: From gains to wait-and-see, Sexual and domestic violence: Still too common and ‘Equal pay for equal work’ and goes into detail about some of the things that have been done to fix these issues, but in reality they are not enough. For women’s health Obama signed the Affordable Care Act to expand health coverage to millions of women all over the United States prohibiting denial of services and coverage based on gender and guaranteeing access to birth control, maternity care and breastfeeding supplies. Trump and Republicans later vowed to repeal and replace the act. Just when we were taking a step forward, we are now going backwards. For sexual and domestic violence there is now a lot of awareness, but statistics say another thing. One in three women have been a victim of some form of domestic violence by an intimate partner according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence and also one in six American women will be a victim of rape or attempted rape according to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network. Rates are higher for bisexual and trans women. Now for equal pay for women there is still a gap. Women earn 80 cents for every dollar a man makes. Black women earn 63 cents and Latinas earn 54 cents. People say it has to do with occupation, but it does not. Comparing a female doctor and a male doctor, the male doctor makes approximately $20,000 dollars more than a female doctor. These are only a couple statistics of the many that support and reflect the inequalities between men and women. These also are not just statistics these represent the heart wrenching situations women face.
Women face so many inequalities it is so easy to list the differences between men and women. “18 Ways Women Still Aren’t Equal to Men.” By Megan Friedman, Jenny Hollander and Ineye Komonibo is an article that lists those many differences backing them up with statistics.
Women are unequal to men and we see this every day. These statistics highlight many of the inequalities and are eye opening for everyone. This article also highlights how the pay gap is even worse for Hispanic and black women. Black women have to work nine-teen months to make what white men do in a year, and for Hispanic women it is even worse. Minority women are affected greatly and unfairly and sometimes targeted much more than white woman. When women enter mostly male industries women usually get paid less. Women are the minority in the news media, administration, and government. There is not enough representation of women in any of these very significant ways. Women are always represented the most disgusting ways. Women are mostly used as models and seen in bikinis, but it is very hard to find women in a suit being represented fairly. Still today men are the ones you see represented in the best way, with the most power and as superior, while women are thrown in the background to not even be acknowledged. This is seen a lot in the United States. Although women are overlooked in the workplace they are never overlooked at home. Women carry most of the household burden and are responsible for cooking, cleaning and taking care of the children. Forbes reported that 54 percent of women take maternity while only 42 percent of women take time from their jobs. Also, women are taking 10 times more leave then men to take care of their newborn children. Women are most likely to work from home or even just quit their job to take care of their children creating financial burdens as well. This article also highlights the scary truth that women are overall at a greater risk of rape and domestic violence. Reported by The National Domestic Violence Hotline younger women of 18 to 34 experienced the highest rate of intimate partner violence. Women everywhere experience harassment, rape and domestic violence whether it is in the workplace, at home, school and even women who are in the military serving their country experience it. A Smithsonian study reported 66 percent of women service members experience sexual assault. This is only a small list of the issue’s women face and only a glimpse of their daily lives.
“Citizenship and the Right to Birth Control” by Linda Gordon is about the importance of birth control and how it’s not necessarily only for women. It’s important for everyone’s safety in the United States. It’s almost like citizenship in the United States, it needs to be respected and available to everybody. Birth control is essential for everyone and it’s a way to protect women from pregnancy and everyone from sexually transmitted disease. “True, birth control does affect women disproportionately, because women still take primary responsibility for raising children. But everyone needs access to birth control. It is, first, a matter of public health, in that unsafe and irresponsible sex affects us all. More fundamentally, it is a requirement of modern citizenship. I mean by citizenship not a set of documents but the power to participate in democracy, to defend and expand it. “(Gordon, Page 1) Gordon is explaining the universal importance of birth control, not only women need it and it should be a right for anyone to have it. Women fight for so much and birth control is definitely one of the things that creates the most issues and problems for many women all over the United States and people usually just make the assumption that its only beneficial for women and its women being selfish. Gordan emphasizes that the republican party is trying to defund Planned Parenthood and this will affect everyone and will impact the whole United States negatively. The Republican Party overlooks the fact that this is beneficial for everyone not just women and this is why they are looking to do this. Defunding planned parenthood isn’t just going to affect the women of the United States, both women and men will be affected.
Women are thought of taking on the role of staying home while their husband works, but the fact of the matter is women work too. Women are sometimes the only source of income in their family. The number of women working in the United States has changed drastically in the last couple of decades. Women are immediately who shouldn’t be working and are considered to not have a career. “Attitude Towards Women’s Work and Family Roles in the United States” talks about the enormous changed in the women’s work and family roles in the United States. In the last couple of years women have become more supportive or working mothers while men did not. Women of lower income communities and low income have to work much more than middle class and upper class women and they have to work as well as their partner.“Many feminist scholars have pointed out that the majority of Black women have always worked and thus did not shift in their attitudes as much as White women did (e.g., Landry, 2000) or that racially distinct stigmas may exist towards women’s work (Boustan & Collins, 2013). SES could also affect changing attitudes over time. For example, intensive mothering, which may suggest less egalitarian attitudes, is more prevalent among middle-class families than poor or working-class families (Lareau, 2003). Finally, whether or not one’s own mother worked outside the home could influence perceptions and attitudes towards working mothers (Goldberg et al., 2012; Jacobs & Gerson, 2004).” (Donnelly, Page 1) Women are still to this day stereotyped and believed to not be the ones who should be bread winners. People still believe that women should not have a career or a good paying job. It’s sometimes difficult for women today to get a job in a male dominated field. Women face many hardships when it comes to careers and employment still today!
Violence against women is not a rare thing. Unfortunately, domestic violence happens daily to women all over the United States. It’s unfair that women are still facing this violence and inequalities today. After many years of struggles and inequalities it’s still hard to get the proper protection and support. The Violence Against Women Act drafted by former senator Joe Biden drafted by former senator Joe Biden and signed into law by former President Bill Clinton in 1994 provides a critical support to survivors of violence. This article is about this act being due and needing to be put into effect as soon as possible. All women are vulnerable to violence this act helps those facing poverty and many other influential factors such as race, ethnicity that can heighten women’s vulnerability and make them a bigger target. Its saddening that today there has to be laws protecting women from these attacks and violence but they need to be put in the correction action and taken very seriously for them to be effective and truly keep these women safe and provide a big help.
Women’s rights movement in the United States have been on a rise since 2013. Women have been fighting for gender equality including pay equity, sex discrimination against women; reproductive rights, women’s healthcare. “Demanding Women” by Laura Flanders talks about the difficulties for many lower income women being that they cannot afford healthcare and the struggles women face on a daily basis for just basic human rights. Many women are unable to pay for healthcare and get access to reproductive services, women need help and coverage. Women are demanding coverage and services for whatever and everything they need.
All of these sources have provided an in-depth description and examples of women’s rights being violated in the United States. This last source provides direct and quotes responses from Kerryanne Bell, a woman born in the Bahamas and raised in the United States. I asked her some personal questions based on discrimination and struggles women face on a daily basis. My first question was: Is there one specific moment that you remember that you experienced discrimination just for being a woman? Women experience a lot of discrimination just for being a woman. Women are seen with many stereotypes and assumptions. Kerryanne answered saying that she experienced most of her discrimination as a woman in her personal relationships. She said that men in her community did not value her as an educated woman just because she is a woman. This made it very difficult for her to find a relationship with a man in her community. She grew up in a Caribbean household where the man worked, and paid bills and the mother cooked and cleaned. This demonstrates how women are mostly viewed in the United States: “Definitely in relationships. Employment was not evident as personal relationships. A lot of men in my community saw me as educated, but never valued my experience as an educated professional just because I was a woman. I grew up in a very Caribbean based family, raised here and born in the Caribbean. The man runs the home. My stepfather worked and paid bills while my mother cooked and cleaned.” I then asked her: Has there been a time where you wished you weren’t a woman? Sometimes being a woman is so difficult and you experience discrimination so much, women have sometimes said they wonder how it would be to be a man and they want to experience something other than being a woman. Kerryanne told me that she loved being a woman. She appreciates the characteristics of being a woman and how precious it is to be a woman: “No, women are built differently. Different hormones and bodies. Women offer unique perspectives and different views. I think being a woman is actually pretty amazing.” I also asked her: What is one injustice you face on a daily basis as a woman? Women are undergo different treatment from men on a daily basis. It’s very difficult to experience this pressure and inequality daily. Kerryanne answered by saying that she feels more responsible for the children sometimes and takes on more of the household burdens. “As a mother I feel like I am more responsible. Everyone looks to the mother for most of the responsibilities. I remember one time, school called the house and asked for my husband and I said this is Mrs. Bell. Teachers seemed surprised I picked up because they thought mom wasn’t present. Now they contact me all the time.” My last question for Kerryanne was based on harassment and fear women feel because of their gender and them being a target. Do you feel that you’re afraid more often because you’re a woman? Women report harassment daily. Kerryane explained one time she experienced harassment herself: “Yeah, sometimes especially if I see a group a guys. Society sees women as weaker sex. I’m seen as more of a victim because I am viewed like that. I remember that I was coming home late one night, and a guy slapped my butt. I was younger, around 19.” It’s important to remember that the statistics that are shared about women being harassed, inequality between men and women and women’s rights being overlooked are absolutely true. Here we have direct quotes from a woman who has experienced these things, and most likely has experienced all of this more than once in her life. Discrimination of women and violation of women’s rights is very real, and it needs to stop.
Women’s rights are overlooked in the United States every single day. Women face discrimination like it’s a normal thing. The United States is one of the most advanced nations and somehow women and men still don’t have the same rights. All of these sources highlight this and make it very clear that women don’t have the same treatment as men. There are many statistics and information supporting the fact that women are greatly discriminated against in the United States and something needs to be done.
Work Cited:
News Paper;
DASTAGIR ALIA D. “What do men get that women don’t? Here are a few things.” USA TODAY. Web. March 23, 2017.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/03/01/2017-womens-history-month/98247518/
Magazine;
FRIEDMAN MEGAN, HOLLANDER JENNY, KOMONIBO MEGAN. “18 Ways Women Still Aren’t Equal to Men” Marie Claire. Web. August 9, 2019.
https://www.marieclaire.com/politics/news/a15652/gender-inequality-stats/
Scholarly Article;
KRISTEN DONELLY, JEAN M. TWENGE, MALISSA A. CLARK, SAMIA K. SHAIKH, ANGELA BEILER-MAY, NATHAN T. CARTER. “Attitudes Toward Women’s Work and Family Roles in the United States, 1976–2013” Psychology of Women Quarterly. Web. 2016.
https://journals-sagepub-com.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/doi/pdf/10.1177/0361684315590774
Scholarly Article;
LAURA FLANDERS, “Demanding Women” The Nation. Web. February 18, 2013.
Scholarly Article;
LINDA GORDON, “Citizenship and the right to Birth Control.” Dissent. Web. Fall 2013. https://web-a-ebscohost-com.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=16&sid=dee4e502-0a17-4393-9959-d7d004162f5e%40sessionmgr4006
Scholarly Article;
MONTGOMARY BROOKE E. E., “Human Rights: The Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Is Due” AJPH Prespectives. Web. November 2018.
Website;
TAMARA GAUSI, “And still we rise: the global struggle for women’s rights.” EQUAL TIMES. Web. September 8, 2018.
https://www.equaltimes.org/and-still-we-rise-the-global#.Xkdfci3Myu7
Interview;
Morales, Maria. “How are women’s rights overlooked in the United States?”, April 2020. Interview with Kerryanne Bell.
