The 20th century has greatly furthered the progress for women in the United States. It is staggering to think that 100 years ago, women in the United States had little rights. They could not vote, most higher educational institutions excluded them, and opportunities for work outside the home were limited. Ending the 20th century, American women have gained the right to vote, have flown in space, are winning gold medals in the Olympics, are serving in the military, and are recognized leaders almost everywhere in government and industry. However, this commendable record of advancement, except the right to vote, is obtained by only a few women. Most are still marred by the glass ceiling, unequal pay scales, and many vestiges of the old order.

Dramatic social and legal changes in regards to women¡¯s rights have been accomplished and are so accepted that they go unnoticed by people whose lives they have changed. Many people who have lived through the recent decades of this process have come to accept what has transpired and young people, for the most part, can hardly believe life was ever otherwise.

Discrimination against women, such as glass ceilings and wage gaps, are not isolated features of corporate world; rather, they are held in place by the altitudes of society at large. A change of attitude towards women is needed in our society for women to obtain true equality. The change of attitude cannot be forced, dictated, mandated, or legislated. Several important law have been made to protect women from discrimination, however, women are still discriminated against. Law are in place to eliminate the glass ceiling, but the glass ceiling is still in place. Laws are in place to eliminate the wage gap, but the wag gap is still there. Discrimination against women is still there because women have been stereotyped by society as being less intelligent, less dedicated, and less valuable than men. Women need to give society an attitude adjustment.

¡ñ The wage gap is expressed as a percentage (for example, in 1996, women earned 74% as much as men) and is calculated by dividing the median annual earnings for women by median annual earnings for men.

¡ñ Divorce and child custody laws favored men, giving no rights to women.

To confront this problem, the Federal Government established the National Committee on Pay Equity (NCPE) to research the issue. The NCPE did extensive research and published ¡°The WAGE GAP: 1997.¡± The findings of the report are as follows:

Some topics in this essay:
Cady Stanton, National Committee, Alexis Herman, EQUAL TIMES, Rights Act, Stephen Gaskill, Hispanic Women, Margaret Mead, Department Labor, Mail Carrier, glass ceiling, wage gap, ¡ñ women, median annual earnings, median annual, annual earnings, national committee, discrimination women, federal government, women women, women allowed, ¡ñ women allowed, 1997 median annual, ¡ñ married women, ¡ñ wage gap,