Women’s Occupational Distribution in the US Essay

The United States has witnessed improved economic activity in the last two centuries owing to the contribution of the large pool of American citizens. The economic prosperity in America has resulted in mixed fortunes for women. Disparities in economic and social life have revolved throughout this period buoyed by the differences in opportunities among the races and nationalities. To get a glimpse of the women occupation distribution in America, one needs to understand the interconnection, major development in the labor market, and the contribution of society in shaping the economic contribution by women. The experiences by women are better understood in the context of the exploitation and politics of gender and race (Amott & Matthaei 11). The essay will look into the importance of understanding the role played by gender, race, and nationality in the occupational distribution of women in the United States.

American economic history has been characterized by exploitation, insubordination, and inequality which have been explained by racial and gender theorists.

The theorists are in consensus that no single phenomenon can be used alone to describe the economic contribution by women. There have been improvements in the working conditions, wage work, and role of women in the economy as witnessed from the colonization period to the era of immigration. The population of working women increased from 18.2% to 45.8% between 1900 and 1990. This comprised 35.9% white women while 11.2% comprised women of color. These are mainly the African Americans and Latinos (Table 10.1 318).

The period between 1900 and 1990 offers the greatest opportunity of understanding the status and improvements in women’s contribution to the economy. The number of women involved in the domestic workforce plummeted from 35 percent to about 1%. This was due to the availability of new jobs in the expanding service sector where nine million women were employed in 1990. This was more due to the realization of equality and aggressiveness on the part of some racial groups which were oppressed in the early twentieth century. The African Americans and the Indian Americans constituted 45 percent of the women workforce which was previously dominated by the European Americans (Table 10.4 329).

The 1980 census unearthed the racial-ethnic hierarchies in the service sector which was predominantly women-dominated. The census noted that racial-ethnic typing in some cadres and the likelihood of whites and Asians acting as supervisors while the blacks were more likely to work as janitors and cleaners. This shows the role race and nationality played in influencing the occupational distribution with some groups receiving preference over others (Amott & Matthaei 327-328).

This period of increased participation by women resulted in dire and unpleasant consequences which were diverse and influenced by racial and social classes. These consequences included “… discrimination, sexual harassment, and double pay.”(Amott & Matthaei 316). Despite these setbacks, the women were more financially independent and enjoyed the freedom of choice on living conditions.

Disparities existed between the married and unmarried women contribution to the economy especially in 1900 when the former accounted for 3% of the labor force. This was due to the fact that women were more involved in unpaid work which entailed looking after their homes. The white married women “were the most affected by these trends: their labor force participation rate rose from 3 percent in 1900 to 58 percent in 1990.” (Amott & Matthaei 304). The African Americans were more likely to seek paid work than the other races due to their family obligations. In 1970, the women’s entry into the labor market increased on the backdrop of declining wages for the husbands particularly in 1970 (Table 9.3 306).

Gender, race, and social class have been the main determinant of the role each group of people played in the American economy. These determinants have led to various consequences for the respective groups. For instance “…disempowered groups have been concentrated in jobs with lower pay, less job security, and more difficult and dangerous working conditions.” (Amott & Matthaei 318). Moreover, discrimination and favoritism based on gender and racial differences were rife leading to intense lobbying and fighting by the disempowered groups. The women were mostly treated as fallbacks particularly after industrial strikes or boycotts where they ended up receiving meager salaries. This yielded fruits with more involvement of women in the last three decades.

The American economic history has witnessed tremendous growth patterns in the labor market during this period. Gender, race, nationality, and social class have helped shape the occupational distribution across the racial divide with the whites and Asians receiving preferential treatment while the blacks took backstage. This period was instrumental in shaping the future of women where they left unpaid work to join the paid work category. Despite this achievement, women found themselves faced with discrimination and harassment from their superiors. Lastly, it is worthwhile to note that the gender, race, and nationality differences have helped shape occupational distribution while assisting women to diversify into various sectors of the economy.