Mini-Document Essay
Students
enrolled in English 1102 classes taught by VSU Instructor Diane W. Howard
during spring 2004 semester, read “Going Through the
Change,” Janice Daugharty’s first collection of short
stories. After reading the collection, the
students explored topics in the stories, relating them to their hometowns or
communities. Simply put, the students related the ideas in a literary piece to
their own lives, finding points or areas of similarity as well as areas of
disagreement. Once they identified points—in agreement or in contrast—the
students researched and wrote a mini-documented essay on the subject “Regional
Identity.”
Multi-Tasking Women
by Sarah Sikes
Businesses today are growing at a fast rate. As businesses grow, the need for workers increases as well. However, in the beginning, men dominated the workforce, while their wives managed the home. However, in changing times, women have become very involved in the work field and have taken over management positions at their jobs. Over time, women have proven themselves to be hard workers, not only at home with their children, but in a business environment as well.
The Industrial Revolution was made in part by the change in the role of women. Women were needed to help the growth of textile factories, mills, and mines. They also found themselves helping out in domestic services. However viewed, women were becoming-industrial minded and were paving the way to a new Revolution. Negatively, however, the working conditions in which women worked were not safe or sanitary. Families were enjoying the extra wages, but the extra wages came with a high cost. Another negative aspect of women working outside the home was the effect it had on home life. Women were no longer able to keep their homes clean and tend to their children as they had previously done (“The Plight of Women’s Work”).
In ancient days, work was distributed equally between men and women. Together, they hunted wild animals in order to provide food for their families. However, times began to change, and women were thought to only deserve the job of rearing children and taking care of the home while their husbands worked. Domestically, women would sew clothing for their families, cook the food for the nourishment of their families, and tend to the fields at their homes. However, times again began to change. Women became more involved in industrial work as cities expanded and marketplaces appeared. Women sold their goods in the marketplaces and began to realize they enjoyed being involved with people and businesses (“Women, Employment of”).
In Daugharty’s short story, “Dogs in a Pack,” Mamie exemplifies women enduring domestic work. Mamie and her three girls live on a farm on which they grow tobacco and vegetables. During the day, instead of being in a workplace, Mamie scatters corn for her “Rhode Island Red Chickens,” gathers eggs, and loads tobacco in the barn so it can be sold at the market. Mamie does not work in an office, but works hard domestically to support her family (“Dogs” 1-3).
A new workplace evolved in 1814 and paved a way for new products to be produced. In the new cotton factory, women inhabited one fourth of its volume. Producing shoes, clothes, and other accessories, women still only made a small amount of income to take home to their families. The majority of the female population in the factories was age twenty-five, and they did not have families at home to support. At the end of the 1800s, approximately four million women worked in factories and received money for their labor (“Women, Employment of”).
Many women began to work in an office setting in the start of the 1900s. Women occupied three fourths of typist jobs and worked in the education field. Although these women had a high education, they still were not paid as much as an uneducated man working in factories. However, government was beginning to show compassion toward women and began to pass laws that would increase their pay and improve working conditions. For example, in 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act was passed. This law established how many hours a woman can be worked and how much money she should make. Women were discriminated against because of their sex, and the federal government wanted to prevent further exploitation of these hard-working women. As well as the Fair Labor Standards Act, the federal government passed the Civil Rights Act. In 1964, women no longer had to worry about receiving a low classification, an unfair assignment, or not receiving proper education at their workplace. The Civil Rights Act prohibits sexual harassment or discrimination in a work environment (“Women, Employment of”).
In Daugharty’s short story, “Looking To Miss Sara,” Miss Sara serves as the homemaker for those mothers who decide to work instead of rear their children. Her days are filled with, “Miss Sara, I’m hungry,” Miss Sara, can we go out to play?” The parents in the story rely on the well-equipped Miss Sara to watch their babies as they take on new jobs that pay well. This short story portrays how times have changed regarding the role of women. Women no longer wanted to be domestic engineers, but rather well dressed, highly educated business women (“Miss Sara”105).
Now, many jobs have a prerequisite of higher education after four years of high school or training in the field of work a person desires. It is estimated that twenty-three percent of women lack proper literacy ability. However, there are organizations that want to further the education of women so that they can hold high titles in businesses and work for a higher pay. “Wider Opportunities for Women, an organization that seeks to expand employment opportunities for women through training, placement, and advocacy, developed a program model based on case studies of five literacy programs that focus on the needs of low-income single mothers.” This program offers job training and literacy enhancement to women in need. It helps elevate low self-esteem and self-doubt, and it improves the way these women feel about themselves. The program also helps women become more comfortable in a work environment, lends money when an emergency occurs, and helps them with their everyday needs (Kerka).
It is hard for some women to work all day and come home to take care of their families. Men are thought to be the “breadwinners” who work extended hours and for their families. They do not often think of the pressure and stress a woman endures as she works all day at her job and comes home and works all night at her home. However, times are changing. Men of this generation grew up in a home where the mother and father had jobs. These men are more aware of hardships and tend to take on chores at home to help out. They are more willing to do parenting and balance out the role of the homemaker (Meng).
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Change.
Press, 1994. 1-14.
- - -. “Looking to Miss Sara.” Going Through The
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Kerka,
Sandra. “Women, Work,
and Literacy.” Eric Digests. 1989.
< http://www.ericfacility.net/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed312456.html >.
Meng, Ngeow. “The New Age of Work/Life Balance.”
< http://in.jobstreet.com/employers/employee1.htm >.
Sellers,
Patricia. “Most
Powerful Women in Business.” Fortune.
1998.
< http://www.fortune.com/fortune/women/articles/0,15114,490359,00.html
>.
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Women’s Work in the Early Industrial Revolution in
Classroom Lesson Series. 2004.
<http://www.womeninworldhistory.com/lesson7.html>.
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2001. 28
Mar.2004. < http://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2000/feb/wk3/art01.htm
>.
“Women,
Employment of.” Encarta. 2004.
< http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761578143/Women_Employment_of.html
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