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Unit 3 Social Inequality
30%
9%
8%
3% 3%
3%
State Legislatures
10%
13% 12%
U.S. Congress
5% 5% 5%
6%
10% 10%
11%
12%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
21% 21%
22% 22% 22%
14%
17% 18 %
16% 15%
4% 4%
0
1975 1977 1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001
Figure10.6PercentagesofWomeninElectiveOffices. Thisgraphshowsthedegreeoffemalesuccessinelective politics from 1975 to today. Explain why the figures are still so low.
Source: Center for the American Woman and Politics, National Information Bank on Women in Public Office, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University.
“This woman’s place is in the House—the House of Representatives.
Bella Abzug U.S. representative
safeguards against abuse and exploitation of women. However, the end re- sult was that women were denied certain jobs, many of which are better paid than more traditional occupations for women.
Passage of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 nullified such laws, but their practice still lingers. Moreover, the Family and Medical Leave Act (1993), which requires that employees be given up to twelve weeks without pay for childbirth, adoption, personal illness, or caring for a family member with a serious illness, still negatively affects women. Because women are more likely to take maternity leave than men are to take paternity leave, this leg- islation gives employers another reason to give hiring preference to men.
There are differences by gender in criminal law as well. Certain crimes are typically associated with one gender or the other. For example, laws against prostitution are generally enforced against only the female prostitutes, while their male customers go free.
How do American women stand politically? Women appear to be participating in elective politics at an increasing rate. (See Figure 10.6 above.) Recently, the numbers of female governors, lieutenant governors, attorneys general, and mayors have been growing. Some increases have oc- curred at the national level as well. In 1984, Geraldine Ferraro became the first female vice-presidential candidate in the history of the United States; Madeleine Albright was named the first female secretary of state in 1996; Elizabeth Dole campaigned for her party’s nomination for president before the election of 2000.
Still, although women constitute more than half the population, they hold a relatively small proportion of important political positions. (See Figure 10.7.)
Percentage of women in elective offices
“