History of Empowerment: How Far Have We Come?

This chapter examines several critical movements in American culture that attempted to elevate society toward gender equality. Each change is observed from a practical and theoretical lens. Three specific areas are discussed. First, there are many milestones in the movement toward gender equality in America. Many of these have political, economic, social/cultural, and technological (PEST) roots. These milestones are compiled into categories and their ramifications discussed. Second, in addition to the external environmental culture, the demographic landscape of the workplace has had dramatic shifts. These shifts are explored as well as gender positions of power, from the boardroom to managerial levels. Finally, gender equality roles are discussed as they are displayed in books, music, television, and other forms of media. How these roles have shifted in the mind of the American consumer over the decades is reviewed, and the elevated impact on gender equality that media channels have on culture is evaluated. Intertwined with these topics is the timeline and progress of Critical Theory. With its 1930s birth at the Frankfurt School in Germany, this school of thought, depending on one’s preference of conservatism versus liberalism, is viewed somewhere between an unrelenting epidemic or an emerged sense of possibilities for the future. This chapter evaluates the connection “if any” between social movements in America and efforts to transform a new nation into a modern society using education, intellect, reasoning, and understanding to encourage progressive thinking and the questioning of the way things have always been.