Women and work

 Alanna Martinez, Staff Writer

Ruth Bader Ginsburg once said, “Women belong in all places where decisions are being made.” Although she recently passed, her legacy as the first Jewish woman to be in the Supreme Court will remain. People deserve to be taken seriously in various workplaces and jobs, regardless of who they are. They deserve to believe that they are capable of amazing things. Why are some people still deprived of opportunities because of their gender?

For the longest time, women were meant to clean, cook, reproduce, and keep their husbands happy. In many countries, those things are still expected. According to an Oyez article, Ruth Bader Ginsburg still went to work when she was fighting cancer and went to work on the day of her husband's death. Though women like Ginsburg have made huge strides for women, a Pew Research Study showed 29% of women still stay home. That is 6% more women staying at home than in 1999. 

For some time, women were not meant to work. When they did, the most popular job initially was working as a secretary. A CNN article found that men hired women as secretaries because the position required a lot of paperwork and they could pay women lower wages for the work. Since then, women have made progress. For example, in an article by USA Today that was taken in 2018, there was a 25% increase in veterinary work for women since 2000. Women work in every field now, and have the ability to move up in their occupations. However, even though there is more female representation, men still make more money in many jobs.

It is also important to consider where women are in terms of leadership. Who would be the better boss? It shouldn’t matter, because everyone should be equal, but considering there are more males in higher positions, it does raise the question. A study by the Harvard Business Review shows women scored higher than men in 17 out of 19 leadership capabilities. If studies show that women are just as capable, if not more capable than men in higher positions, why do studies still show that men still run the show (with the help of women)?