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Casandra Sobczak
Social Media Article
Rough Draft

Patriarchy in the Workplace: A Womans Oppression

Social Media places an extremely significant role when it comes to activism in todays
day and age. The internet is where generations, both young and old, come to check the news,
communicate with each other and keep up with the issues many are facing around the world. One
of these issues is the ongoing Patriarchal society women are forced to live in day by day.
Patriarchy is the idea that we live in a society that is specifically man-based and men are the ones
who hold the credibility, power and respect. Women who try to fight for Feminism, or equal
rights for both women and men, are often shut down because of the way Feminism is looked
down upon by thousands who dont truly understand the meaning or a womens struggle in a
man domineering world.
Everyone knows about the way the world used to work. During 20th century America,
men would go out in grey suits with briefcases and work 9-5 jobs to provide for his family and
then would come home to a home cooked meal, a clean house and a happy wife and kids.
Women didnt have the right to vote before the 1920s and had absolutely no say in politics. They
also were denied access to birth control and abortion rights which only allowed their families to
grow bigger and their roles as mothers and caretakers to grow more stagnant. These aspects
seemed to lighten for women during the time of World War Two. Women took the place of men
in the workplace as men went off to war. They worked in factories and they were the ones
earning wages and providing for their families. It was a rewarding time for women because they

could break out of their roles as homemakers and feel capable of contributing to society.
However, when men came home from the war, women were expected to return to their
household duties acting as if they had never tasted the freedom of labor (Allsion). Well, in the
latter half of the century, womens ideals began to change. Betty Friedan wrote The Feminine
Mystique (1963), and this revolutionized and evoked feelings of dissatisfaction women around
the world were embodying (Radek). The revolutionary book rebelled against the idea of a
nuclear family that was described as a child-bearing woman who cooked, cleaned and fulfilled
other womanly roles while the husband went out to work and provide for his family. More and
more women became business women in order to liberate themselves and find self-fulfillment,
however, they found patriarchy instead. Women faced unfair treatments, lower wages, less
seniority, sexism and sexual harassment in the workplace due to the fact that men held all the
power (Radek).
One would think that because everything else from technology to common ideals about
the world have become more accepting and progressive, women would now face equal treatment
in the world today. Well in fact, that has yet to happen. Women today make 77 cents to every
mans dollar and they occupy just 15% of upper level management positions and less than 4% of
CEO positions in Fortune 500 companies (Ridgeway). Women also only make up around 19% of
all members of Congress and less than 25% of all state legislators. They also make up six or the
nations 50 governors or 12% (Kurtzleben). When we look at the jobs women hold in society, the
highest percentages are jobs were caretaking, patience, being nurturing and lax are the main
requirements a candidate should have. 96.8% are Registered nurses, 89.4% of women are
Paralegals and legal assistants, and 85.4% are Elementary and middle school teachers. 80.7% are
Human resources workers. 74% are Waiters and waitresses and 64.3% are Secondary school

teachers. Lets look at how these numbers compare to dirty jobs, jobs with extensive schooling,
government jobs and jobs in a specific area of trade of skill. Women make up 37.9% of
Physicians and surgeons, 34.5% of Lawyers, 27.9% of Chief executives, 23.9% of Farmers and
ranchers, 5.9% of Firefighters, 13.6% of Police and sheriff's patrol officers and 1.8% of
Carpenters. The differences in percentages are staggering. These are jobs mostly held by men
because they mean power and dominance whereas women embody the opposite. Even a famous,
well respected comedian, actress and author like Tina Fey feels the difference in the way she is
treated because she is a woman. In her book Bossypants, Fey talks about the pressures of
photoshoots and how women are constantly expected to obtain a flawless and feminine
appearance at all times. She explains how even after going into model tight clothing, hair, and
makeup, she is still going to be photoshopped in the end. Because thats all women are is
societies eyes: objects. If we are not stay at home mothers or care takers, if we have actual big
girl jobs, we are expected to wear makeup and wear skirts. We cannot wear suit because as
women, that would mean were trying to much to embody a men. This is something we will never
accomplish because society deems us as weak, superficial and unworthy of a mans recognition.
If by some miracle of chance, we are the bosses at our jobs, we cannot be intense or powerhungry like the men. We cannot show the same confidence.
Overall, it is clearly evident that men and women do not have the same opportunities in
the workplace. Its important as women to fight for equal rights and to not let our voices be
trampled on by the ignorance of men to their power or the content of other women in the lesser
positions they are in. Dont believe you are not oppressed because you are and dont let anyone
tell you otherwise. Its time for women and men to be equal halves of a whole and be treated
with the same courtesy and respect. Bring on the Feminism.

Works Cited

"Feminism: Is Feminism Dead?" History in Dispute, edited by Robert J. Allison, vol. 2:

American Social and Political Movements, 1945-2000: Pursuit of Liberty, St. James
Press, 2000, pp. 72-81. Gale Virtual Reference Library,
dbsearch.fredonia.edu:2048/login?
url=http://go.galegroup.com.dbsearch.fredonia.edu:2048/ps/i.do?
p=GVRL&sw=w&u=sunyfredonia&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE
%7CCX2876200017&asid=1655d700b3762c5ee2cd472ea2fe7296. Accessed 2 Nov.
2016.
Fey, Tina. Bossypants. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 2011.
Kurtzleben, Danielle. Almost 1 in 5 Congress Members Are Women. Here's How Other Jobs
Compare. 11 June 2016, http://www.npr.org/2016/06/11/481424890/even-with-afemale-presumptive-nominee-women-are-underrepresented-in-politics. Accessed Nov. 2
2016.
Radek, Kimberly. Women in the 20th century and Beyond. 30 May 2006,
http://www2.ivcc.edu/gen2002/twentieth_century.htm. Accessed Nov. 2 2016.
Ridgeway, Shannon. Patriarchy and How It Shows Up for Everyone. 5 May 2013,
http://everydayfeminism.com/2013/05/patriarchy-and-how-it-shows-up-for-everyone/.
Acessed Nov 2 2016.