Although we have seen a dramatic increase in the number of women entering the workforce, we are still seeing the majority of these women being placed in a segregated labor market for sex this devalues the work done by these women. In Nickel and Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich shows how women were devalued in the workplace, showing how devaluation led these women to face health problems, housing problems, and even horrible working conditions. Why are most doctors and CEOs mostly men? Why are most nurses and waitresses mostly women? Well, these two questions can be answered with a simple explanation. Sexual segregation would be the answer to all this. Sex segregation is a system of unequal distribution of men and women in the workplace. In the workplace, sex segregation is probably one of the most visible forms of inequality in our labor market. We rarely see men and women working in the same field in the same position. If men and women were in the same field with the same position, they would most likely perform different tasks for the same position. Because of this, you will typically see how there are unequal levels of responsibility and authority. Sex segregation in the workforce market is not something that happened overnight, sex segregation in the workforce market has been happening for decades. In early American societies, most work was done in or near the home. But with the advent of industrialization, the separation between work and home would emerge. At that time it was said that the public sphere (work) was reserved for men and that the private sphere (home) was reserved for women. Not only were the women told that home was the only place for them, but if they chose ... middle of paper ... low-wage jobs they would be forced to put themselves in dangerous situations simply to get the job done and ultimately keep your job. Working in a sex-segregated workforce market that devalues the work women do means enduring a sexist work environment to support themselves and their families because they know they cannot survive economically. Over the decades, there has been a significant increase in the number of women entering the job market. While these numbers may be surprising, the reality is that many of these women still face a workforce market that continues to devalue the work many of them do. In Nickel and Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich observes that women are devalued in the workplace, showing the devaluation that many of these women faced due to their health problems, housing problems, and even their horrible working conditions..
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