CHANGING WOMAN'S ROLE DURING COLD WAR AND NOW
Women are often defined by their ability to successfully juggle a careerand family life. This fact is evidenced by the film Mildred Pierce.Though women's roles have changed significantly over the last severaldecades, certain facts related to women's roles remain the same. Thisincludes society's vision of woman as a duplicitous creature; one thatshould be able to manage professional and personal aspirations with equalsuccess and finesse. She is measured by society based on her ability tomanage each of these roles successfully, despite trends in society that donot support a woman's role in neither the home nor the workplace to anygreat degree. Women have faced an upward battle defining their roles overthe last several decades. These ideas and more related to the changingroles of women over the last 40 years are analyzed and described in greaterIn the movie Mildred Pierce Joan Crawford plays a woman who is divorced andends up in a twisted tangle when her daughter becomes a miscreant Mildred'snewfound success in the business world represents the beginning force in along drive for women aspiring to become equal and even surpass the statusof men in the working world, becoming creatur
Mildred Pierce was perhaps a woman that was way ahead of her time. Many abandon their career paths to attend totheir role as caretaker. When they did, they certainly were notafforded prize or executive positions within any organization, but wererather delegated to the role of secretary or assistant. An important factor thatcontributed to the changing role of women related to employment came aboutas a result of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which led the drive toward"equality of employment opportunity for women" (Moen, 1992; Kamerman,1986). The time framethat this movie is set is around the 1940s, where many women werestruggling to realize business success and freedom. The woman in the movieis also in her mid 40s and thus speaks to women in an advancing age group,a popular theme. Many women find themselvestorn between the two and feel they must make a decision to accomplish oneor the other or at least sacrifice some portion of one role in order toacquire substantial success in the other. Mildredfights against the stereotypical role woman has taken on in society, byestablishing herself as an entrepreneur, taking a new lover, buying a carand creating a successful life for herself. Amajority of employers actually seek out individuals for key positions theyfeel are most likely to offer the promise of uninterrupted employment(Moen, 1992); obviously this practice unfairly discriminates against women,who in order to start a family must take some time off to care for theirnewborn. Women's roles have traditionallybeen defined by their duties as a wife, mother and caretaker. Accommodations for women in theworkplace including access to onsite daycare are virtually unheard of. Unfortunately by doing so, many women operatingunder the current business ethic and world of today face a lifetime of lostopportunity, lost promotion and potential for skill acquisition by doing so(Moen, 1992). In a time where economic constraintsdictate the type of jobs available and the frequency, many people findthemselves struggling to achieve advancement regardless of their personalsituation. Traditionally women have accepted and successfully taken the role of wifeand mother, but not always at the same time (Moen, 1992). Contemporary women face perhaps evenmore obstacles than women did during the 1940s and 1950s; whereas in thepast the role of woman was acceptably that of mother, women were alsoallowed and at times encouraged to pursue a career.
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