For many years, women have been fighting for equality and dreaming of one day being as powerful and independent as men are in the United States. Throughout the decades, women have successfully earned the right to vote, attend institutions of higher education, and step into the workforce; however, the idea of how equal a women is in that environment is questionable even today. While women do have the right to work, they are limited by many factors such as pay, positions available, and the general social expectations of women. These restraints are often discussed in great detail by many authors when dissecting the concept of equality and discrimination of women in the workplace. The most well-known limit placed upon women in a work setting …show more content…
Speculators all over continue to ask this question: why do women typically get lower salaries than men? This question is commonly brought up in the writings of many authors, and more specifically, it is addressed by Thompson in her article as well. In addition to discussing the wage gap between men and women in certain jobs, the metaphorical glass ceiling effect is presented as a reason why women are paid less than men. Thompson rationalizes that women choose to pursue careers that have lesser salaries. As an example, women are more likely to get jobs in areas of child care or obtain jobs as cashiers and dishwashers in comparison to careers in business or healthcare (1). The glass ceiling effect explains that women usually put up barriers around themselves, solidifying the notion that they cannot be successful in advanced careers because of their gender. Thompson’s article offers examples to support this effect. Essentially, both Fredrickson and Thompson take on the general concept of the wage gap that still exists within America, but Fredrickson only focuses on the actual gap itself, using statistical evidence to prove that women get paid significantly less than men in any given position. Thompson, on the other hand, offers another key point in determining why women get paid less than men …show more content…
Many women find themselves staying at home rather than returning to their job because their is no paid maternity leave policy set in place. Similar to Sandberg and her article, Jessica Shortall’s TED talk focuses on maternity leave, a key part in why women think they have to make a choice between being a mother and having a well-paying, successful career. In her TED talk “The US Needs Paid Family Leave -- For the Sake of Its Future”, Shortall lectures about a few examples of women who went to work too soon after having a baby because there was no maternity leave available. Her examples included a woman who had a male coworker walk in on her pumping milk for her child in the restroom after returning to work too soon after childbirth, and another example involved a women who had to return to her job because she was not allowed to take vacation days even after having major complications during her delivery (00:02:49-00:03:38). These examples that are exemplified in Shortall’s talk are just a few instances where women have been denied maternity leave; therefore, their health is put at risk. Additionally, the male coworker who intentionally walked in on a women pumping milk for her child is just a small example of why some women chose not to return to their jobs after having a baby; the fear of inequality and discrimination of being a mother and worker is too much. Shortall’s TED talk