The Women's Movement Essay Example

As we know, 1963 March in Washington had been the most memorable event in the history of American Civil Rights movement, where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous speech “I have a dream”. However, in this atmosphere of racial equality, women, particularly black women, were denied an opportunity to directly participate. Even though they played a pivotal role, they got little recognition for it. Some of the women, who were member of National Council of Negro Women, raised their concerns about their participation in the march. At the same time, because they asked gender related question, men felt that it might lead to side-tracking of the real issue.
Even though black women had to over dual handicap of gender and race, white women’s only handicap was no less significant. There unity was aptly displayed when Eleanor Roosevelt, who had great working relationship with Mary Mcleod Bethune, moved her chair next to Mary when she couldn’t get sit next to her. According to various civil rights activists, white women benefited tremendously from the 1960s civil rights movements, as it allowed them to break barriers at the workplace. For example, in airlines industry, women couldn’t take up a job of an airlines pilot, porter, baggage handler etc. They were confined to their role as flight attendants.
Next, to give you a brief snapshot of about improvement in women’s as a consequence of civil rights movement. In the year 1972, women earned just 1 percent of professional dental degree, and it increased to 36 percent in 1996. Similarly, in 1996, women constituted 43 percent of those earning professional law degrees, which is up from 7 percent in 1972. Along the same trend, women these days make up for two-thirds of those earning professional degree in pharmacy and veterinary sciences. And, in 1971 only 14 percent doctoral degree holder were women, which is rose to 40 percent in 1996.