Imagine a society where men and women had very different roles, but specific ones with certain expectations.
In this society, the man is always the one who brings home the money and food for the family, and women stay home to do laundry, cook, clean, and take care of the kids.
We’ve come a long ways from the 40’s and 50’s, and today we are lucky and fortunate to have transformed our ideas of how men and women contribute not just to family life, but the workplace as well.
“As women take on leadership positions, we are then recognized for our talents in
the workplace and how well we can perform our job, and not so much focus on whether someone is male or female,” Stacey Allen, sociology professor said.
It is because of the women’s movement in the 60’s and the demand for higher income that lead women to pursue an education, Allen said.
“In 1996-97, females earned 61 percent of associate’s, 56 percent of bachelor’s, and 57 percent of master’s degrees. In 2006-07, the percentage of associate’s and bachelor’s degrees earned by females increased to 62 and 57 percent, respectively, and the percentage of master’s degrees increased to 61 percent,” according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
A recent example of how far women have come is Hillary Clinton’s run to be the President of the United States, and there are many more as well, Allen said.
“We’ve had several women as the Secretary of State, one of the most powerful positions in the country and advising the president on foreign policy,” Allen said.
Education for women hasn’t just leveled the playing field for the workplace. It can also reduce overpopulation, illiteracy, and encourage children to pursue a higher education as well, Matt Cheung, English professor said.
“If you educate a girl, she grows up and becomes a mom, her children are more likely to be educated. And that mom has more job opportunities, which allows her kids to have more opportunities,” Cheung said.
More of these opportunities are opening up, like the possibility of a women serving in a submarine and even in combat, Cheung said.
“Recently, the military is rethinking their policy on allowing women to serve on submarines and even women to serve on combat,” Cheung said.
And while women haven’t always been on the forefront, especially in politics, Dara Gray, 18, computer science major knows that great women have been behind great men.
“We know there are women back their supporting them with their decisions,” Gray said.
Some students believe that women history month, which is March, may no longer be needed in the next couple of years, because in their view, like Sunmin Choi, 25, business major, women are just as equal as men.
“I think it should go on for a few more years because I know women have been fighting for equality, but the sexes are pretty much equal now,” Choi said.
