Introduction
Women as a minority group in the United States is one of the most contentious social topics in American history. Essentially, the controversy is stirred by the blur in how the public understands the term minority. Generally, a minority group has less power, privilege, rights, and access to opportunities (Owens & Rietzler, 2020).
In this context, women, as a minority group, are not accorded the same power as men, and neither do they have access to opportunities as men in society. With this definition, it is evident that women have always been a minority group since historical times. However, there have been numerous gains in promoting equal rights for women recently. Through the work of civil rights activists and human rights agencies, women today are privileged to have a fairground in most places to compete with men. This paper hypothesizes that women are a minority group, and there is a need to reinforce efforts for equal women’s rights.
How It Started
The origin of women as a minority group is associated with two separate paradigms: theory and reality. In theory, the concept that women are a minority began with sociobiological theories. One of these theories is the Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. According to Charles Darwin, animal species are biologically wired to fit societal roles (Darwin, 2020).
This theory explains that biologically, the male gender is the dominant gender while the female gender is submissive. It is, therefore, natural for men to exert power and control over women. Therefore, the theory of evolution posits that women being a minority group is a natural order because of their biological makeup. This theory of evolution only emerged to explain why women take a lower place in society while men seek higher places for control and appearance.
Following the ancient Darwinism theory, women’s minority became deeply rooted in the years after the 15th century. It was during the 15th century that the Atlantic Slave Trade became mainstream. In the following years, the United States shifted into the Industrial Age, which was labor-intensive.
During the slave trade, women were assigned fewer menial jobs compared to men because of their biological frame (Darwin, 2020). They were considered weaker than men. This extended into the industrial age, where men got jobs in the industries while most women stayed at home. The gender divisions during these historical periods further fortified the notion that women were a minority, in part because of biological differences and also due to socialization.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, women’s minority took a different turn, becoming a topic of contention. At the center of the debate as to whether women are a minority group or not is the fact that women form over half of the entire United States population. According to the Census Bureau, in 2019, women’s population was about 51% while men’s was 49% (Shrider et al., 2021).
Based on this, the general public claims that women cannot be a minority group due to them being the larger population. Contrary to this, women continued to be a minority group as society became more and more patriarchal. In 1973, Steven Goldberg wrote the book The Inevitable Patriarchy, in which he stated that the minority of women is a social construct.
The idea of patriarchy has increasingly exacerbated the minority of women in the United States. Patriarchy perpetuates the notion that women are meant for domestic roles while the male gender is meant for professional fulfillment. Social constructionist theories have proven that patriarchy is the root course of unequal rights for women. Case in point, before the 20th century, half of the women lacked access to college education.
Conversely, men studied and acquired skills that make them employable in high-income jobs (Khelghat-Doost & Sibly, 2020). Another prevalent manifestation of patriarchy is that women had no civil or voting rights for a long time, nor could they compete for political positions. As more light is being shed on women as a minority group, notable milestones have been made to advocate for equal rights for women on economic, social, and political fronts.
Manifestation of Women as a Minority Group
Socially
In the 18th century, women were the minority group because of the social constructs of the society. Sexism was the key driver of women’s minority not only in the United States but globally. By definition, sexism is the belief that one sex is superior to the other. In this case, and as aforementioned in the patriarchal narrative, the male gender was considered superior. Another form of sexism is the association of gender with specific tendencies. Sexism propagated women’s marginalization by placing unnecessary expectations on women (Jones, 2020).
For instance, the sexist expectation of women was that women should be submissive, gentle, not involved in transactions or political fairs, and conduct themselves in a certain way. These sexist perspectives continued to reinforce women as a minority by confining them to cages. Sexism deterred women from pursuing professional ambitions as they were afraid of coming out as aggressive.
Women Rights
The political dynamic of women as a minority group permeates into the issue of women’s rights. Unlike social marginalization, women were highly marginalized and had no access to their fundamental human rights. The right to bodily integrity and autonomy were violated because women’s voices were suppressed. For example, women were constitutionally required to surrender their autonomy to their husbands once they got married. Women gave up their religious rights and parental rights in a sense that objectified them before men (Jones, 2020). This legal instrument often landed women in jeopardized situations of marital rape and economic abuse out of mere surrender to their husbands.
Women’s rights violated include the right to vote and hold public office. Only in the 18th century could a woman attempt to take public office. Women were chained to the traditional roles of home-keeping as they depended on their husbands to fend for them. What made it worse was that, with a lack of education, women needed to gain civil knowledge to champion their rights and pursue political ambitions (Jones, 2020). This social limitation derailed efforts to demand equal rights for women.
Economically
Economically, women were marginalized in terms of what jobs they would do and what wages they got paid. According to UN Women, economic disparities for women cut across access to education, poverty, and remuneration. Before affirmative action to empower women, women had less access to education and training for workplace skills. Women of all races recorded a higher poverty rate than men in the United States. However, Pakistan and Bangladeshi women recorded the highest poverty rates (Jones, 2020).
Another statistic is that women in households have lower incomes than their male counterparts. These statistics indicated that women performed poorly because of the lack of access to well-paying jobs. Also, there were no policies to promote equal employment and fair wages for women as with men. The economic marginalization often kept women dependent on resources from their husbands, which strained family resources.
How It Is Going
The journey to eliminating the disadvantages women confront regarding civil rights has been recorded elaborately. Central to the milestones are individual activists who experienced marginalization and took action against it. Action against women minority factors has always begun with the sensitization of society. Women of color, white women, Asian women, and all have continued to push for equal opportunities, civil rights, and human dignity in society.
The most pronounced developments in the fight for women’s rights include the Minor v Happersett case of 1875, where the verdict legally defined women as individuals (Owens & Rietzler, 2020). This pronunciation liberated women from objectification and sexualization. The court’s move instilled confidence in women to get married without the fear of exploitation.
A second significant development was the 1920s 19th Constitutional Amendment extending women’s voting rights. This Amendment declared that no individual would be denied the right to vote based on sex. The Amendment had been a long time coming because the political landscape at the time discriminated against women’s role in political formations. Following the ratification of the 19th Amendment, women became more vocal in the political space.
Today, more than 1/3 of Congress is comprised of women, with the Vice President epitomizing the essence of women in leadership (Hamilton, 2023). A third milestone was the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, which granted equal rights to men and women. This policy was reinforced by the UN General Assembly, which adopted the convention for the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women. Subsequent efforts, such as the International Bill of Rights for Women, continue to address minority challenges that women face in modern society.
Famous Women Activists
Ida Wells
One of the most spoken-about milestones in the quest to have equal rights for women was the legislation of the 19th Amendment that allowed women to cast their vote. As discussed, one of the core aspects of marginalization was a denial of the right to civic participation. The work of many women in the 19th century pushed for Congress’s consideration and legislation of women’s rights to vote.
One of the women who went into history for her advocacy was Ida B. Wells. She was born during the slave trade, and she experienced the atrocities committed against women during slavery (Duster, 2021). The grueling experience inspired her fight against sexism, violence, and unfair labor practices. She became famous for refusing to offer her seat to a man on a train. Following this, she joined the National Women Suffrage Association, where she represented black women. As a journalist, she published articles that campaigned for equal rights. She rebuked sexist language and interactions and inspired black women to campaign for equal voting and labor rights.
Susan B. Anthony
Despite the controversy over the existence and gravity of women’s marginalization, commendable milestones have been achieved throughout history to achieve equal rights for women. These milestones are an accurate reflection of the efforts made by renowned activists and women’s rights agencies. Susan B. Anthony continued with Ida B. Wells’ efforts to compel Congress to increase access to economic opportunities. As a champion for equal work and labor rights, Susan led women’s suffrage by walking throughout Massachusetts and delivering speeches highlighting women’s plight.
In 1848, she led the first Women’s Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, where she mobilized women to speak up for their rights. Susan Anthony worked closely with Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who led the National Woman Suffrage Association in 1872. Although Congress only granted voting rights to African American Men and not women, Susan continued their work. These eventually contributed to the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920, where women were given the right to vote.
Rosa Parks
Significant progress has been achieved in elevating the role of women in society, particularly regarding sexism. Traditionally, women were sexualized by men who deemed them valuable only for pleasure and reproduction. The work of Rosa Parks showed vehement resistance to sexualization. As a black woman using train transport, Rosa Parks illuminated the sexual violence that women were exposed to in the public transport system. She took her role in speaking against sexualization and its effects on the social fabric.
Her work drew immense attention to women’s civil rights, especially how women were perceived. Based on her work and subsequent efforts, women have been able to exercise autonomy and personal choice over their bodies (Owens & Rietzler, 2020). Today, women are empowered in terms of their clothing, their conduct, and in defending themselves against sexualization.
Madam C. J. Walker
Madam C. J. Walker exemplifies individuals who provided solutions for the injustices against women in the 19th century. While examining the journey to equal labor rights, both agencies and individuals took action. The lady demonstrated the journey in bridging the gap for women’s employment. Rather than waiting on the federal government and legislation, C. J. Walker set up her plant to train and employ women.
She employed over 40,000 African American Women and also formed the Negro Cosmetics Manufacturers Association in 1917 to cater for the welfare of the employees at her company (Jones, 2020). This effort amplified previous advocacy for equal employment policies. C. J. Walker also set an example for women of color to gain skills and secure jobs to lead a decent lifestyle. The move to set up the labor union set precedence for the 19th Amendment, and today, more women are taking up challenging roles where they earn comparatively fairly when gauged against their male counterparts.
Conclusion
Women as a minority group and a social issue have dramatically evolved since historical times. Women’s minority in the 16th century is starkly different from those in the 21st century. The changes are attributed to the endless work of advocates of equal rights for women and the work of global organizations for equal rights. What remains evident throughout is that women are naturally predisposed to disadvantages in access to work, social services, attaining power, autonomy over their bodies, and even asserting their place in the larger society.
As much as the efforts have greatly helped to eliminate the marginalization, more organizations are still active in defending women’s rights. Eleanor Roosevelt, as one of the activists in the late 19th century, led the League of Women Voters, The Women’s Division of the New York State Democratic Committee, the Women’s Trade Union, and the Women’s City Club, among other emerging organizations that advocate for the rights of women. All these efforts by individuals and agencies confirm the existence of minority disadvantages for women and the need to streamline action to engender equal rights for women.
References
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