20th Century Women

The role of women has changed dramatically over the last century, and some things are now very different for women from what they were before. In the past, women were considered to be inferior and subordinate to men. They were thought to be less than a man in regards to intellectually, physically, and virtually all other aspects of life other than being a homemaker. During those times, women were held to very systematic gender norms that defined who they were. In some respects, certain people in the present day still believe and feel this way. However, over time, our culture and perceptions have radically changed from that traditional mindset. As a result, there have been many improvements in women’s rights in contrast to a hundred years ago.

It is now considered normal for a woman to have a job alongside her husband. Women have the option of whether they want to stay at home with their children and take care of the household or if they want to work. Even in some instances now, stay-at-home mothers are being criticized and judged by working mothers and independent women because they believe that stay-at-home mothers are dependent on their husband for economic matters. But, nonetheless, it illustrates that women can be just as successful as a man in these times. In fact, women, currently, make up 58% of the work force, while, a century ago (1914), the percentage of women working was only at 18%. With more women working, this brings up the point that, women are also achieving the same professions as a man, especially in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields, whereas before a century ago, that was nearly

There was a change in the status of women. With the start of the first wave in the feminist movement, more women became independent; they were no longer just confined to the four walls of a kitchen. Women all over the world are being educated in almost every field that men were so far normally associated with. The knowledge of arts, science, technology and politics is no longer the privilege of men alone. Women have begun to study these subjects and have brought great credit to themselves by contributing actively in those fields. As a result, every school is now conscious of imparting education to girls. A lot of women saw that education as an entry point to other opportunities, such as, the correlation between education and employment. In fact, recent studies show that in 2012, women that were enrolled in higher education was at a staggering 71% and still keeps on increasing while the percentage of men enrolled stagnated at 61% over the past two decades. The gains in educational attainment for women have vastly improved allowing women more prospects in the workforce and then