A Man’s World
Scientific estimates place hominins (our ancestors) on the earth approximately six million years ago. Since the dawn of time, humans have lived in a man’s world. Men protected women and children from predators and hunted to provide food. Women prepared food, gathered roots and berries if available, fetched water, raised children, sewed, tended to the sick, and kept living spaces clean. The most dominant and powerful males had their choice of females. The females competed among each other for the attention of the dominant males in order to secure protection, food, and status provided by the male’s position within the social group. Sound familiar?
When the United States was founded and the Declaration of Independence signed in 1776, we were still living in a man’s world. Women were considered property. When a woman married, she lost her legal identity. Women were not allowed to own property, control their own money, or sign legal documents. If a woman was unmarried her father, brothers, and other male family members assumed control over her affairs. It would take 144 years for women to secure voting rights, the last 70 years of that fight very divisive and destructive.
Prior to the second World War women in the work force were employed primarily as domestic servants, nurses, teachers, and clerical workers. Given the devaluation of these jobs, women earned less and received fewer benefits than men. There was much societal stigma about married women working. The argument was they were supported by their husbands and did not need to work and they would be taking jobs away from men who needed to support their families. Prior to the start of the war only 15% of married women were employed while half of single women were working. That all changed as the United States entered World War II. (Rotondi, 2019)
Women were recruited to fill manufacturing positions left behind by the men who entered military service and joined the fight. Women also took many jobs created to support the war effort including ship building, munitions assembly, and farming. Here in the Pacific Northwest Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington became a hub for American shipbuilding between 1941 and 1944. During this time the area absorbed close to a quarter of a million migrants to support this effort. Approximately 25 percent of those employed were women who worked as burners, welders, shipfitters, and electricians. Women were admitted into labor unions, were well compensated earning equal pay for equal work, and were supported by the creation of government funded on site childcare facilities that operated around the clock to accommodate shift work. Pre-cooked meals were also available for purchase at these centers so providing dinner at the end of a long shift required much less effort. While women benefitted tremendously from these work opportunities, helping to fill the employment gap and contribute to the war effort, discrimination in the workplace was alive and well. (Blair, 2001, pp. 158-179)
Women were ridiculed, ogled, and whistled at on the job. Rumors were circulated that welding caused sterility in women. Strict regulations on work attire, while focused on safety, were also meant to camouflage the female body lest it be a temptation to men in the workplace. Because training was short and welding was an early step in the shipbuilding process, there was an overrepresentation of women in welding but they were underrepresented in other major crafts like loftsman, electrician, and rigger and as supervisors. A significant number of women were hired as helpers, jobs that were necessary but not of interest to men. Despite their job title, many women actually spent much of their time sweeping and cleaning up. Women over the age of 35 were thought to lack the strength and stamina to perform welding and the majority of “older women” were assigned helper jobs. There is some evidence to suggest that discrimination existed even within the same job category. Women welders were more often tack-welders, temporarily securing pieces that would later be permanently joined by production welders who were predominantly men. Although women entered the man’s world of shipbuilding temporarily, the gendered division of labor maintained the status quo. (Blair, 2001, pp. 158-179)
Many women who worked in the shipyards wished to maintain their employment after the war ended. There was strong pressure from men for women to return to their domestic roles and employment opportunities declined dramatically. Not much thought was given to the needs of the large number of women who became unemployed quite quickly at the end of the war. It was assumed they would all be very happy to return to domestic bliss. If they needed or wanted to continue working the only options were the low paying jobs that had traditionally been filled by women prior to the war. (Blair, 2001, 158-179) As always, women stepped up when they were needed, but never quite received the respect, recognition, and validation deserved for their contributions. And as usual, when they were no longer needed, they became invisible again.
How much progress have we made towards equal pay for equal work in the last 80 years? Not enough. In 2023 women working full time earned 83.6% of their male counterpart’s salary. Women made less than men in the top 20 male dominated occupations including software developers, construction workers, carpenters, chief executives, cooks, and technology employees. Women also made less than men in the top 20 female dominated occupations including teachers, nurses, managers, secretaries, accountants, maids, housekeepers, receptionists, and education and childcare administrators. (Institute for Women’s Policy Research, 2024) Women professional athletes earn substantially less than their male counterparts. Looking at basketball, the highest paid men’s basketball player earns a salary of 59.61 million dollars for a single season. This does not include endorsements. (Sports Reference, 2025) The highest paid women’s basketball player earns $249,244 for a single season. This also does not include endorsements. (Her Hoops Stats, 2025) In the entertainment industry, women authors, actors, directors, musicians, and artists earn less than their male counterparts. When it comes to compensation, we are still living in a man’s world.
What about women in leadership? Only 10.4% of Fortune 500 companies had women CEOs in 2024. (Women Business Collaborative, 2024) The current United States Congress is made up of 26% women in the Senate and 29% women in the House of Representatives. (Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP), 2025) Twenty six percent of governors in the U.S. are women. (Navarre & Kronenberg, 2025) In US cities with a population over 30,000 residents, 26.8% of mayors were women in 2024. (CAWP, 2024) Only one woman has ever been elected vice president of the United States and we have yet to elect a woman president. Among United Nations countries, 78 have had women serving as head of state or government. (Warnes, 2024) Why do women continue to be under-represented in leadership positions in this country despite no evidence to suggest they lack the intellect, skills, or motivation to excel and succeed? To answer this question, we need to examine long standing cultural beliefs and behaviors that lead to the devaluation and oppression of women.
Women’s work has always been devalued, whether it is in the home or the workplace. Depending on the study, women spend between 37 to 67 percent more time than men engaged in unpaid household and care-taking work. (Hess et al., 2020; Robins & Mason, 2024). There have been many attempts to attach monetary value to this work and these calculations vary significantly. When women provide childcare, transport children to and from school, activities, and appointments, keep track of and schedule medical, dental, and eye appointments, perform house and yard work, shop, cook, and manage finances, the cost savings to the family are tremendous. The toll it takes on the woman’s health can also be quite significant. Adding caretaking of adult family members or children with special needs and the woman working part or full time magnifies the stress level dramatically.
The contributions of women are often not recognized or validated by male partners or society. If a woman decides to focus on family she is often considered lacking in intellect, skills, and motivation and judged harshly for not contributing to the family income. If a woman decides to combine work and family she is often considered lacking in maternal skills and judged negatively for neglecting home and family. Juggling work and family may require choosing part-time work, increased use of sick days to attend to the needs of children or other family members, and the inability to work long hours, overtime, weekends, or shift work. All of these limit a woman’s earning potential and advancement opportunities over the course of her lifetime, things that don’t interfere in the careers of most men. If a woman does not have children, either by choice or fertility issues, negative assumptions are often made about her femininity and nurturing abilities. The bottom line seems to be that whatever choice women make they will be judged as inadequate. This judgement comes not just from men but sadly from other women as well.
This long-standing gender discrimination in the professional realm is but one form of societal oppression of women. Additional cultural influences keep women divided and force them to compete in line with the idiom “divide and conquer”. While this may seem coincidental it is a deliberate strategy used by men in positions of power in industry. Although women spend more money on fashion and beauty products these industries are still dominated by men. (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025; Llewellyn-Waters, 2022) Marketing, design, and media are fueled by male-driven expectations of the expression of femininity. Women far exceed men in spending on cosmetic surgery. In 2024 women accounted for 97-100% of breast procedures, 90-100% of body procedures, 66-93% of facial procedures, and 84-97% of minimally invasive procedures such as Botox, fillers, and other skin treatments. Women in the 40 to 54-year age bracket topped spending in 2024 with $572,819 spent on cosmetic surgeries of the breast, body, and face and $10,793,639 spent on minimally invasive cosmetic procedures. (American Society of Plastic Surgeons, 2024) For decades women have outspent men in the diet and weight loss industry. In the 2024 Gallup Annual Health and Healthcare Survey, 49% of women believed they were overweight compared to 38% of men. (Brenan, 2024)
The truth is women outspend men on clothing and accessories, hair care, skin care, make-up, nails, cosmetic surgery, and diet and weight loss. Part of this is due to the “pink tax”, a gender-based economic strategy inflating the price of products and services for women but not men. This covers a wide range including cosmetics, hair care, and clothing. A larger culprit is the messaging women receive from multiple sources throughout their lifetime that they are not pretty enough, thin enough, feminine enough, sexy enough, or just not enough. Our world is obsessed with looks but this is only a superficial measure of a person. Bodies come in different shapes and sizes. Bodies age. Tissue loses elasticity, skin becomes lined, muscle mass declines, and fat is redistributed. These are normal age-related changes. Instead of shaming, blaming, altering, and covering up can we focus on making changes that lead to optimal physical and mental wellbeing?
Optimal mental health includes feeling good about your body, your looks, your personal strengths and talents, your contributions, and the way you present yourself to the world. Given the long history of male control of the fashion and cosmetic industries, are women’s choices truly independent or have they been shaped by men for so long that we can’t tell the difference anymore? This masculine dominated picture of femininity creates constant comparison, competition and judgment among many girls and women eroding their self-esteem along the way. How do we begin to alter the story and edit the narrative to include women’s voices and views?
In order to affect any kind of change, women need to value, nurture, and support themselves and each other. Focusing inward first, validating strengths and worth, nurturing the soul and creating space to reflect are important steps for all women individually. This can lead to the extension of respect, validation, and nurturing to other women, ending the constant comparison and competition. When women come together as a community with the common goal to advocate for the rights of all women, we will have the power to move mountains.
Photo by Jeff Barreca. View of Mt. Rainier from Pinnacle Peak. Mt. Rainier National Park, WA. July 2014
Until next time sisters stay safe, be well, be kind to yourself, support each other, and spread the love.
Photo by Kathy Kroening. Seattle, WA. May 2025
References:
American Society of Plastic Surgeons. (2024). Procedural Statistics Report. https://www.plasticsurgery.org/documents/news/statistics/2024/plastic-surgery-statistics-report-2024.pdf
Blair, K. (Ed.). (2001). Women in Pacific Northwest History (rev. ed.). University of Washington Press.
Brenan, M. (2024). 43% of Americans Say They are Overweight; 55% Want to Slim Down. Gallup. https://news.gallup.com/poll/654425/americans-say-overweight-slim-down.aspx
Center for American Women and Politics. (2024) Women Mayors in U.S. Cities in 2024. Rutgers-New Brunswick, Eagleston Institute of Politics. https://cawp.rutgers.edu/facts/levels-office/local/women-mayors-us-cities-2024
Center for American Women and Politics. (2025) Women Serving in the 119th Congress. Rutgers-New Brunswick, Eagleston Institute of Politics. https://cawp.rutgers.edu/facts/levels-office/congress/women-serving-119th-congress-2025-2027
Her Hoops Stats. (2025) WNBA Salary Cap Database. https://herhoopstats.com/salary-cap-sheet/wnba/players/salary_2025/stats_2024/
Hess, C., Ahmed, T., & Hayes, J. (2020). Providing Unpaid Household and Care Work in the United States: Uncovering Inequality. Institute for Women’s Policy Research. IWPR #C487. https://iwpr.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/IWPR-Providing-Unpaid-Household-and-Care-Work-in-the-United-States-Uncovering-Inequality.pdf
Institute for Women’s Policy Research. (2024). Women Earn Less than Men Whether They Work in the Same or Different Occupations. IWPR #C521. https://iwpr.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Occupational-Wage-Gap-2024-Fact-Sheet-1.pdf
Llewellyn-Waters, H. (2022). Looking in the Mirror: Kickstarting the Conversation on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Beauty Industry. The MBS Group. https://www.thembsgroup.co.uk/internal/looking-in-the-mirror-kickstarting-the-conversation-on-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-in-the-beauty-industry/
Navarre, B. & Kronenberg, A. (2025). Here Are the States with Women Governors. U.S. News & World Report. https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/slideshows/states-with-female-governors
Robins, K & Mason, J. (2024). Americans’ Unpaid Caregiving is Worth More than $1 Trillion Annually – and Women are Doing Two-Thirds of the Work. National Partnership for Women and Families. https://nationalpartnership.org/americans-unpaid-caregiving-worth-1-trillion-annually-women-two-thirds-work/
Rotman, A. & Mandel, H. (2022). Gender-Specific Wage Structure and the Gender Wage Gap in U.S. Labor Market. Social Indicators Research, 165(2):585-606. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9842568/
Rotondi, J. (2019). Underpaid, but Employed: How the Great Depression Affected Women. History. https://www.history.com/articles/working-women-great-depression
Sports Reference. (2025) Basketball Reference: NBA Contracts Summary. https://www.basketball-reference.com/contracts/
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2025). TED: The Economic Daily. Apparel Data in Fashion. https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2025/apparel-data-in-fashion.htm
Warnes, S. (2024). The US Still has not had a Woman Leader – Here are the Countries that have. Cable News Network World. https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/22/world/women-global-leaders-countries-dg
Women Business Collaborative. (2024). Women CEO’s in America: Changing the Face of Business Leadership. https://wbc-a4i-2024.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/2024-WBC-CEO-Report-092304-0658pm-web.pdf
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