Social Costs of Women Seeking Economic Equality

The early 1960s saw the beginnings of a revolution that had been in the works for a long time, Through a number of factors all coming together within a span of a few years women finally saw the opportunity to become equal with men in the labor market while envisioning that the sexes would become equal partners on the homefront with childcare and housework.

During this period, birth control methods, such as the IUD and the Pill, were perfected and distributed to an eager market, one that for the first time could have control over pregnancy. In addition, the Civil Rights Act of 1963 was passed by Congress outlawing discrimination in employment and was quickly followed by the Equal Pay laws, all of which encouraged employers to hire women (Fuchs, 1988, p. 27). Lastly, the economy began to dictate the need for women workers both through the expansion of the service industry and because the competit

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h the prediction that there will be a labor short fall in the 1990s, women will comprise half of that scarce commodity and most will be well-educated mothers who plan to continue working. Economist Claudia Goldin says: "Companies seem to respond to the really large and dominant group of women in the labor market" (Nasar, 1990). The social costs to these gains, however, may not be as bright for the 1990s. In 1960 most women and men ages 25-44 lived in what was described as the traditional household. Married, the couple had at least one child and the man worked while the woman stayed home and took care of the family and house. While it appeared each role was equal in what it brought to the marriage, the husband typically bad more control over major decisions and enjoyed a greater degree of freedom (Fuchs, 1988, p. 73). Much of the man's control was also sanctioned by religion and enforced by law. Today, with the disappearance of the traditional family, the balance of power that most couples grew up under has changed and is still changing and the resulting impacts affect single working men and women as well. For many women, the heaviest costs come in the conflict between career and family. As statistics have shown, the gre
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Approximate Word count = 1870
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)

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