Title: (Women and the Society)?

Thesis Statement: The Participation of women in Politics, Legal Profession, and Environment has
affected the perception of people on their societal roles.
Topic 1: The Participation of women in Politics
Topic 2: The Participation of women in Legal Profession
Topic 3: The Participation of women in the Environment
Topic 4: The perception of People on the societal role of women
Now that the great barricade has long fallen, what is it now for women?
The twenty first century has been a meaningful era for women. Women are taking up important
positions in the political, social and economic field. They have been able to divert from traditional role as
house wives and excel areas such as media, IT, armed forces or civil service.
The bright side for modern women
The truth is that there is a vital movement of women of color in America. Despite continual
resistance to women of color defining specific issues and organizing around them, it is safe to say in
1982 that there was a movement to these women. It has been struggle every step of the way and it can
be said that women are still in the beginning stages of developing a workable politics and practice. Yet
the feminism of women of color, particularly of Afro-American women, has wrought many changes
during these years, has had both obvious and unrecognized impact upon the development of other
political groupings and upon their lives and hopes of countless woman. (4)
On the opposite pole
However, many writers still believe that although many things have improved for women but
they are still far from being equal with men. This is the center piece of Nikki van der Gaag in her book
entitled Feminism and Men. According to her, although more women are working, they are often still
worse paid than men, in part-time jobs or in the huge informal employment sector with little protection
and few rights. In many places, the increase in women working is simply driven by the necessity of
having two wages to make ends meet.
And at the top of industry and government, the faces remain stubbornly male. In fact, there is some
evidence that the numbers of women are actually decreasing. It is true that progress in terms of gender
equality is uneven, but the proponents of the argument that women are taking over the world at work
need only look at statistics on employment, equal pay and political representation of men and women
to see just how wrong they are.
An International Labour Organisation (ILO) study of 83 countries found that women earn 10%-30% less
than men. Even in the US in 2010, women working full-time still earned only 77% of the male wage. In
sub-Saharan Africa and east Asia and the Pacific, young women aged 15-24 who are working earn only

82% and 84% respectively of the amount young men earn in an hour. According to the ILO, if present
trends continue, it will be another 75 years before the principle of equal pay for work of equal value is
achieved.
(http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/sep/29/women-better-off-far-from-equalmen , September 29, 2014)

In the article issued by the Time Magazine, it featured an interview with Enlightened Sexism
author Susan Douglas about the plight of women today. According to her, on one side the society saw
high-powered women who have made it to the top. On the other side, there is The Bachelor and The
Real World and Jersey Shore and The Swan and makeover shows, in which women are cast as obsessed
with men, obsessed with relationships and their bodies, jumping into catfights over men they barely
know and focused on hotness and shopping. It was pointed out that media has a big role on how the
society perceive women now. The media continue to suggest that full equality for women is a done deal.
It makes it look like feminist politics is no longer necessary, which is not true. Surely, women have come
a long way but there a lot more to be done.
( The New Sexism, By Laura Fitzpatrick, Mar. 16, 2010
http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1972425,00.html )

http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1930277_1930145,00.html