Women in the 1950s, 1960s, and today

¶ … Women From Two Eras

The Status of Women in the! 950s and 1960s

Education

In the 1950s and 1960s, it was relatively rare for women to pursue higher education. In fact, in many colleges and universities, it was considered very controversial and going "co-ed" was viewed as something of a radical decision when women were first admitted to college programs. At the time, there was a bias among many who believed that females were intellectually inferior to males but most of the difference in higher education had to with social expectations about what the respective roles of the two genders were after their education was complete.

Employment

In the 1950s and 1960s era, women were not represented I large numbers in the American workforce. To the extent they held professional positions, they generally filled support roles such as secretaries and other non-career-track positions. At that time, the most common professional careers held by women were in elementary and high school teaching and nursing. Furthermore, it was often expected that even women in those positions would give them up and become homemakers as soon as they got married/

Financial Dependence

In the 1950s and 1960s, women were likely to be financially dependent on their husbands. That was largely attributable to social expectations that only men worked outside the home after marriage; women were expected to become homemakers and to take care of children. Aside from the obvious lack of comparable opportunities enjoyed by men, this financial dependence also greatly contributed to the relative helplessness of women to escape unhappy marital relationships. It was also the justification behind the alimony system whereby divorced women were entitled to alimony from their former husbands.

The Status of Women in Contemporary American Society

Education

Today, women enjoy the same educational opportunities as men. There is no longer any social expectation that only men will pursue higher education after high school and in many colleges and universities there is approximately an equal ratio of female to male students. In some respects, old stereotypes about the respective gender-based specific aptitudes may still persist, but they no longer dictate social expectations or educational opportunities.

Employment

Today, the vocational environment is completely integrated at all levels. Women graduating from colleges and universities generally pursue identical career tracks to men in similar fields and legislative protection exists at both the state and federal level to prohibit employment discrimination in the workplace. Likewise, whereas women in earlier eras of American society faced considerable sexual harassment at work, contemporary social mores and formal legislation strictly prohibit any such conduct in the workplace. Women may still face challenges and benign discrimination that make it harder for them to rise to levels of professional leadership, but virtually every conceivable field now includes females in positions of power and leadership.