ingle handedly and their women, freed from housework by new technology pursued other tasks. If they did work it was felt that it would be temporary and for some immediate need. Their real careers were raising their families. They were encouraged to think of themselves as part-time workers and did not ask for advancement. Their employers also felt they (were tempor-ary and did not advance them nor give them raises (Rothman p. 42-48). It is important to note that the temporary-work attitude is a white middle class one. The lower class minority women generally did not have this attitude and work for them was permanent and necessary.
Throughout history, men have defined when women could work and what work they could do. They hired women to fill jobs that men, because of social class, education, or during war times were either unable or unwilling to fill. In more recent history, women were the first to be laid off during the Depression and the first to be hired during World War II, when it was patriotic for women to work. After the war they were encouraged to return home and make room in the work force for the returning veterans. Many women much to the surprise of their employers, preferred to stay on their jobs even though they were often demoted. Their feelings of independence and self-worth were the forerunners of our contempor-ary women's equality movement (Rothman p. 224).
Characteristics of the Treatment of Women Managers
While women's attitudes about work and careers have changed tremendously since World War II, most men's attitudes about women have not changed as much (Fernandez p. 70). Men whose wives and daughters do not work outside the home have a difficult time ad-justing to women in management positions and do not understand their need for advancement in the corporate structure.
This reluctance to view women in high-level management positions has been translated into lower salaries for women. It has been found t...