Sexism: Then vs.

Now
How has it changed?

2/7/16 1st hour

Julianna Bland
Aisha Fayyaz
Sara Lin
Sarah Leszkowitz

Corinne Southard

Women were not always allowed as many rights as they are today, which many people
have read or, at least have heard of from older books and even movies. How has sexism changed
in the workplace since World War II? In today's modern day society sexism is still alive,
especially in the workplace. Women were often treated as if they were smaller and weaker than
men, but mostly treated for their appearance. Even today sexism in the workplace is still alive
and through their paychecks is an example of wage inequality between the two genders. Before
researching the group only knew a handful of information that had to do with women in the
workplace and the sexism in society. Women earn $0.79 for every dollar a white man makes in
the same job (Pearsall, "50 Years after the Equal Pay Act, Parity Eludes Us."). That amount has
slowly been rising over the years as gender equality continues forth. Women also dont get
mandated paid maternity leave in the U.S, which is one of about a handful of countries that dont
enforce the paid maternity leave. Although in some states they do have paid maternity leave, but
not many out of the fifty states (Morgan, "U.S. One of Only Two Nations without Guaranteed
Paid Maternity Leave.". There is also luxury taxes on tampons in almost every state in the U.S,
an item that is used for periods that people with female reproductive systems cannot control
which happen monthly. On that topic, some employers wont cover birth control, although
Obama care does cover one type of birth control that has been approved by the FDA
("ObamaCare Birth Control - Obamacare Facts."). In the workplace, some women are often
harassed or get sexist comments on how they dress, and even how they do their work. These are
sometimes everyday struggles for women. All the events listed above can happen to any women,
but it's worse for women of color. Overall some women arent treated right, but for women of
color they probably struggle a bit more than a white woman would, for their ethnic background

along with skin color, theyre not only faced with sexism but also racism. Girls are also told at
young ages to look a certain way and to act. These are often shown through the way they dress
to the toys they play with, along with the shows they watch. The reason for all this research on
this topic was to learn more about how women were/are treated in the workplace and the sexism
that takes place there too. Also, the research was to find more about how sexism has changed
over time and how it hasnt.
First, credible sources were needed for the research. The group went on easybib.com, a
website that helps people properly cite sources. It is known that it has a search engine that brings
up results from credible sources and started from there. The group already had the book, Rosie
the Riveter, by Penny Colman as the source for all information needed for World War II and what
sexism was like during that time. As the group clicked on different websites and gathered more
information, and more things that needed to be researched. For instance, when someone learns
about a famous event and learns that there was a certain well-known person involved, that person
wants to learn more about that person. This is what happened in the research process, the more
information acquired the more questions that needed to be answered. The group looked at
various search engines to find the information, searching keywords and phrases, like sexism in
the workplace. The most interesting sources to use were articles on events and stories about
things that happened to real people. For instance, throughout the book Rosie the Riveter, it
contains experiences and interviews with real people that had information to share. This was
interesting because it was different to read things from an actual persons perspective and read
about their experiences. Some problems that were met were that sometimes there wasnt a way to
tell if a source was credible. Using easybib.com didnt always solve the problem, so if a source
didnt seem completely credible, the group just found a different source that was credible and

had similar information, and used the information of that source instead. The questions that were
asked had changed and expanded during the research process. Like previously mentioned, the
more information found, the more the questions expanded. Not only did the research expand, but
it also narrowed. Sometimes the questions expanded, but other times the key points that were
being researched were clearer and straightforward. This led the group straight to needed
information. This might seem like the best option while researching, but expanding the research
and the questions is also important, because information may be found that wasnt acknowledged
before and questions may arise that didnt seem important or relevant before. This is very
important while researching, because researching is not only for finding information about the
key points, but also expanding your knowledge about things related to that that may help the
point. All in all, the group learned a lot about finding good credible and safe sources with lots of
information while doing this research project.
The first way sexism in the workplace has changed since World War II is that, women can
be entrepreneurs and start their own businesses. This is a HUGE change from World War II
because back then women could barely get jobs let alone be bosses of companies (Lipner, "What
It Was like During World War Two; from the Perspective of a Teenage Girl"). A famous president
and CEO is that of Yahoo.com, her name is Marissa Mayer and she is the boss of many people.
Marissa Mayer was the highest-paid CEO in the equilar/AP pay study. She has been serving in
this job since July 2012 where she makes millions of dollars running this giant company. When
Yahoo.com hired her their stock price climbed 177 percent making Marissa Mayer a very
accomplished business woman (Biography.com Editors, "Oprah Winfrey"). Another self-made
woman is Ellen DeGeneres who has been hosting a popular talk show since 2003. Ellen is a
comedian who started off doing small stand-up comedy performances, and by 1981, she was in

New Orleans doing larger gigs. In 1982, she was named Showtimes funniest person in
America. Now Ellen is a famous well-known talk show host who has made her way to the top
through lots of hard work (Biography.com Editors, "Ellen DeGeneres"). The next accomplished
woman researched was Serena Williams who is a well-known professional tennis player.
Williams was born in Saginaw, Michigan and started very intense training at age three. Serena
Williams father exposed her and her siblings to the gangs and bad possibilities of what could
happen if they didnt work hard to get a job. From then on, Williams worked very hard to
become a good athlete, she trained every day and made sure she was equal to other male
teammates in school tennis. Now Serena Williams is an amazing tennis athlete who is paid a lot
of money to do what she loves (Biography.com Editors, "Serena Williams"). Another example of
a successful self-made women is Oprah Gail Winfrey. Oprah Winfrey is a self-made billionaire,
actress, entrepreneur, philanthropist, producer, publisher, and woman of color. She was voted
most influential woman of her generation in Life Magazine, she was also the worlds only black
billionaire for three years. Oprah established Oprahs Angel Network, a charity, in 1998. It has
raised over $51,000,000 for a variety of charitable programs. Oprah came from very poor family
and was raised during a time of segregation in America. Oprah was born in Kosciusko,
Mississippi, where she was raised by her single mother. She was sexually abused by multiple
male relatives and friends of her mother. After suffering years of abuse from her mother, she
eventually moved in with her father for the second time. She became an honor student in high
school and got a full scholarship to Tennessee State University. Oprah hosted her first TV talk
show in 1976, People Are Talking, and then launched her own very successful TV talk show in
1986 (Biography.com Editor, "Oprah Winfrey Biography").

Next, women can do the same jobs as men. They can be firefighters, work in all parts of
the military, and be police officers. Those jobs were all originally performed by men, and now
they can all be performed by women. All in all, women are slowly but surely becoming equal to
men.
Another way sexism has changed from World War II to now is, wages and hire-ability.
Now, this is still a very controversial topic because women are not paid as much as men today.
However, they are getting paid more than they were in World War II. Back in the 1940s women
were paid $0.59 on average for every dollar a man makes, today, women are paid about $0.79 on
average for every dollar a man makes, this is an increase of $0.17 for every dollar (Pearsall, "50
Years after the Equal Pay Act, Parity Eludes Us."). Even though this isnt an increase of very
much, it is still and increase. Using this information, people can calculate that it will take about
until 2057-2058 (30 years) until equal wages between men and women are seen. This is only 30
years, so by the youngest generation of women are all grown up, they will have equal wages to
men making this topic of sexism in the workplace just a tiny bit smaller. Hire-ability is
something that HASNT changed very much. Men used to be hired before women and still are
today. This chart shows some people's opinion about women's hire-ability:
Graph 1:

This graph is saying that men are better at everything than women, it's saying that women can't
be taught and are not capable of working with others. All together, this is an example of how
wages have changed and how women being hired has not changed since World War II.
During World War II, society told women that they had to be ladylike, they were told to
wear dresses and skirts, they were told they werent strong, they were told could not do the
things men could do, they were told they had to wear makeup, they were told they had to be
feminine, they were told they had to serve men, they were told they had to dress for men, they

were told they had to stay in the kitchen, they were told that they are women and they are not
equal to men. In todays society, women are criticized on what they wear based on how
revealing it is. Women and girls are called sluts or whores because of what they wear.
Females are shamed for their bodies and showing them at all, even though it is society who
sexualizes and objectifies the female body. While during WWII many women were told to still
maintain the feminine image while they worked (Rosie the Riveter book by ) Girls cant even
show their legs in public these days without someone criticizing them. Even though its society
and the media who make it so hard for people to like themselves. The media photoshopping their
models and giving people unrealistic expectations, saying that this is real and that people must
look exactly like this to be beautiful. Anyone and everyone is beautiful, and they deserve to
know that. So many people struggle with insecurities the media or people around them have
given to them, so when society tells females that is is shameful and unladylike to show your
skin or body, it is just promoting the insecurities that these people already struggle with. Girls are
told from a young age to be modest and that they have to cover up their bodies if they want
respect, and that if they show any skin that they dont deserve respect. This is a big issue many
girls face in school. Most schools have dress codes that say things such as no strapless tops or
no low-cut tops, and other things that suggest not to wear clothes that are revealing because
it creates a distraction, usually aimed at girls. This is suggesting that revealing any part of a
girls body is distracting, usually to male students. But they are the ones being distracted and
inappropriately sexualizing the girls. So, young girls are being sexualized by other people, and
told that if they dont want this to happen then THEY should wear less revealing clothes, because
boys will be boys. Also, sexist jokes are still being made almost always aimed at women
following the lines of women belong in the kitchen (because that is the only place you can do

anything) and make me a sandwich (because your a women and that is what you were meant to
do), followed by laughter, but when the person who made the harmful joke is called out on
for their sexism, they always get defensive and say it was only a joke and stop being so
sensitive. So, how much has sexism in society changed since World War II? The answer is not
much.
Women's right to vote was a big deal and still is today. This amendment gave all american
citizens the right to vote and no official worker can deny you the access to vote based on gender.
This was the 19th amendment passed on June 4th 1919 and was ratified on August 18th, 1920.
Having this change really helped move the fight to end secism along. Before this women would
stay at home opinionless and not get to elect leaders, but now women can elect their leaders and
even run to become one. All in all, women's right to vote has affected sexism greatly and will
continue to do so in the future.
A lot of STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) jobs are opening up for
women. This is a new and big change from World War II because back then women could barely
get jobs let alone a traditionally male job. STEM jobs opening up for women is great because it
gives the female gender a chance to prove they are just as much deserving of an engineering job
as a man is. One problem with this is that women have a hard time finding mentors that are
women which would help them to understand the challenges of having male co-workers who
think they are smarter. On the other hand, if women are mentored by male or female gender soon
enough there will be enough women for the new generation of STEM workers that it wont
matter who mentors them or what gender theyll be because theyll be equal to each other, but
this is not certain. In the STEM workplace, men often get hired before women. This creates a

problem in getting a job for women because the male bosses will not want to hire them. A chart
here shows that women are the same if not higher performing than men:
Chart 1:

All of this connects back to the question, has sexism changed from World War II to now?.
Some would say no according to the information gathered from this chart. It is very clear sexism
is still alive today, and impacting people every day, but with the help of everyone in the world
including the STEM world, this could change.
Lucy Lipner is a woman who worked in America during World War II that the group
interviewed. Lucy moved from Poland to the United States during World War II. Lucy stated
that when she worked she was treated kindly and even had the stockroom she worked for ask her
to stay when she was quitting. At her first job in America she worked in a stockroom putting
price tags on shoes. The reason why she was placed at such a low position was not because she
was a woman, but because she had no real education. Lucy dropped out of high school six
weeks after enrollment at her new school, but later she got a better education to get a better job.
After learning english and stenography she got a job at an insurance company to do office work
such as writing letters for people, filing and typing. Lucy Lipner provided the information that

not all women were treated poorly during World War II, although a great number of women

were, and what it was like to get a job and work in the United States during World War II
(Lipner, "What It Was like During World War Two; from the Perspective of a Teenage Girl").
Although women are getting better opportunities for jobs, and job positions a study taken
in May 2015 showed that there are more men named John and David than women as CEOs out
of 1500 companies. This is the result of sexism in the workplace, such as not hiring women,
women having to work even harder than men to get to the top as CEO and more. Even though
some women work just as hard and maybe even harder than some men, theyre often dismissed
and arent given the opportunities they deserve. Though some women may not be able to reach
the CEO title because of possible harassment in the workplace. Though this can happen to any
gender, it has been more common in the workplace for it to happen to women. Being expected to
be lower than men despite being just as good as them and maybe even more, women face the
challenge of trying to get higher job opportunities . Here is the graph of the percentage of men
who are named CEOs compared to how many women CEOs.
Chart 2:

Sexism in the workplace does not only affect women, it also can affect men or people of
all genders. Sexism, in general, can affect anybody, but it affects some people more than others.

Sexual harassment in the workplace is a serious issue that can affect anybody. It can come from
a co-worker, boss, client, customer, or anybody in the workplace. Sexual harassment is when
unwanted sexual advances are made or indecent comments and remarks are made. This does not
define all sexual harassment, scenarios can vary. At anytime someone feels uncomfortable and
feels that someones actions are inappropriate and unwanted, it can be considered harassment.
Just because somebody's experience does not fit a definition, does not make their experience or
feelings invalid. Famous singer/songwriter Kesha has experienced these things. Kesha was
raped and verbally, emotionally, and sexually abused by her producer, Dr. Luke. Dr. Luke has
complete and total control over Keshas career and almost total control over her life. His abuse is
partially responsible for driving Kesha to develop an eating disorder, which got so bad she went
to rehab. She is now pressing rape charges and requesting to break her contract with Sony. She
was denied the permission to break her contract with Sony, and she must work with her abuser
(Park, "What You Need to Know about Kesha's Court Battle with Dr. Luke"). Kesha is accused
of lying about being raped and abused, because apparently in this country the government
decides whether someone was raped or not. Another serious issue that has to do with sexism is
rape. Many rape victims feel that it is their own fault that they were raped (Not Alone
notalone.gov), and this is terrible. It is never the victims fault. Victims of rape were not raped
because of what they were wearing, where they were, what they said, or if they were under the
influence of something, they were raped because of the rapist and it not okay for anyone to think
otherwise. If they did not consent, it is rape. The reason so many rape victims are scared to tell
people is because they are afraid to be blamed, and many people will try to tell them it was their
fault and this is not okay. Sexual harassment can also be when someone is discriminated for their
sex, like if they are not treated equally, taken seriously, or are made fun of for their sex and

stereotypes of their sex. An example of this is what happened to an all-female russian astronaut
crew. This crew had six members that were all women. They were testing a simulation that
would simulate an eight day trip to the moon and back. This was one of the first simulations like
this, and it was going to be tested by one of the first all-female astronaut crew. Before the crew
entered the simulation, they held a press conference where they were asked questions by
reporters. At this conference, questions were asked such as How will you deal with being
without makeup for eight days? and How will you cope with not being around men? all asked
by male reporters. Also, the director of the institute said It will be particularly interesting in
terms of psychology. They say that in one kitchen, two housewives find it hard to live together
while talking about the experiment, all the crew members are experts in medicine, biophysics, or
phycology (Richards, "Russian All-female Space Crew Trying out for Moon Mission Are Asked
about 'men and Make-up'")(Hale, "All-Female Flight Test Crew Asked How They Will Cope
Without Make-Up Or Men In Space"). Most women must face these kind of sexist questions all
the time in the workplace.
Another example of sexism in the workplace is the the pay difference between men and
women. Women in the workplace earn substantially less than their male colleagues, even if both
of the workers are doing the same job. Men make 21% more money than women and it needs to
stop (Pearsall, "50 Years after the Equal Pay Act, Parity Eludes Us."). Unequal pay for men and
women should not be accepted, and something needs to be done about it or else this
discrimination will keep on going for years to come. This graph (www.washingtonpost) shows
men and women pay difference in the restaurant industry. Though some of these differences are
far from major, but over time it makes a huge difference.
Chart 3:

In conclusion, while researching, the group learned many important things that have
helped the learning process in becoming more in depth researchers. The group has learned many
things such as learning how to find credible sites and how to search for keywords. Being able to
find credible sources would then make the paper more credible. People don't want to read a
paper that uses sites that arent credible, because then the paper might not be entirely true. By
searched keywords like Rosie the Riveter or WWIIwe founds useful information. If the
group didnt search these keywords, then it would have taken much longer to research the paper.
If the group had taken more time to research one thing they might have missed some important
information. Since this paper has a certain due date the group would not be able to research more
things that would help our paper develop. This is why it was a good thing that we researched
keywords. These methods helped the group develop more skills as in depth researchers. There

are some things in the paper that our group would have liked to do or to do better. If this project
was done over again, it would include more primary sources, such as women/men who lived
through the war. These people could provide unique information for the groups presentation.
More informative sources would also have been used. This would mean putting in the same
amount of time and getting more done because the group would have been working more
efficiently. Our group enjoyed learning about many things while researching our topic. One of
the things the group liked learning was womens right to vote. Another thing found while
researching was learning about when the 19th amendment (the law that granted womens right to
vote) was passed. The group found learning how life was like for women in WWII to be
intriguing. The group also enjoyed learning about men and women's pay difference, how they
worked, and the topic of feminism. The group liked expanding our learning on these topics.
Since researching this topic, the group will be able to recognize sexism better, and the group
might even look into this more.

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Richards, Victoria. "Russian All-female Space Crew Trying out for Moon Mission Are Asked
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