Role of Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Sexuality in Working Lives

Working lives: Response Paper
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Working lives: Response Paper
3. Role of race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality in working lives
In the early 20th century, women worked in fields to ensure the survival and function of the farms. In supporting men, women participated in gardening, raising livestock, canning produces, baking bread, doing laundry, and caring for homes and families. The Iowa PBS short video, "The Role of Women on the Farm in the Early 20th Century," is a segment from the Iowa Public Television's documentary, "The People in the Pictures: Stories from the Wettach Farm Photos." The film features first-person accounts of the nature of farm work in rural America during the early 20th century and the Great Depression. The short segment of the film shows that a woman's work was endless, especially during the Great Depression and the early 20th century (Iowa PBS, 2015). Although men did a majority of formwork, women continued to care for the household to ensure the families were fed. Women had many duties, including raising chickens, growing the gardens, canning the produce, baking bread, caring for homes and families, and working on the laundry. The work of women mentioned in the film is not unique in today's perspective. The modern woman has to care for her family apart from working at her place of employment. Considering the PBS film and its connection to today's women, the experiences call for policy formulation to relieve the modern woman from excess duties, especially at home. The video "From Hunter-Gatherer to Farmer…in five minutes or less" shows the evolution of work as humans transitioned from hunters and gatherers to farmers (TheMrGranito, 2016). From making tools to basket weaving, humans evolved significantly in terms of work. This same evolution continues to be witnessed today, with more and more women participating in the economy. For instance, women CEOs such as Mary T. Bara of General Motors and Corie Barry of Best Buy Co., Inc are examples of women who have broken the gender barrier in taking up management positions (CatalystnIc., 2022). The evolution of work has shaped work experiences, and appropriate policies should be formulated to protect workers' rights, especially women.
4. Identity as workers
Ethnicit...