Women's Inequality In The 1920s

In the early 20th century, women fought for the right to vote. After more than half a century of continuous activism, the 19th amendment was passed, granting women voting rights. This triumph was merely the beginning of what the women’s rights movement would accomplish. Over the next several decades, women campaigned for policies which challenged societal norms and gave them equal footing with men. Pinpointing a sole cause of this movement has proved to be somewhat problematic, as there are several factors to its rise. In other words, the rise of the women’s rights movement in the period 1940-1975 was prompted by a multitude of components.

Recent headlines have highlighted the fact that rape culture is prevalent in our society, most noticeably on college campuses. To understand why this is a social issue we first have to understand what rape culture entails. Rape culture is a set of assumptions that reinforces male sexual aggression and disregards violence against females (Hildebrand & Najdowski, 2015, p. 1062). Simplified, it is an environment where sexual violence is normalized and most of the time excused.

The 1920s was a time of great change. From fashion to politics, this period is known as one of the most explosive decades in American history. After WWI, America became one of the world’s most formidable superpowers. The rise to power prompted the 1920s to become a decade of evolution for women’s rights, African American’s rights, and consumerism.

America gained its independence in 1776 with the expectation that every American should have liberty and equality. However, American women did not have the right to vote until 1920, which was almost more than 140 years after the United States was established. Women could do little to protect themselves and promote their careers due to being treated unequally and inferior to men. During the 19th and the early 20th century, women were working hard and fighting for gender equality, so that more and more women could live a better life with basic civil rights in their hometowns. In reality, women’s equality was challenged by traditional conventions in the fields of biological difference in sexes, religion and gender roles, and different perspectives towards these conventions of different people made women’s civil rights controversial.

The 19th Amendment was passed on August 18th, 1920; women had been in a 70 year protest to finally gain women suffrage. Even after women gained equal voting rights as men, they struggled to get past the state laws that still held them unequal in numerous ways violating their natural rights. It wasn’t until 1974, almost 54 years after the amendment was passed, that the Supreme Court finally considered an Equal Pay Act, due to an employer paying women less than men for the same work (Corning Glass Works v. Brennan). Only a year before that, in 1973, did the supreme court revise and clarify that employers could not publish sex-segregated “Male/Female Help Wanted” ads. Although it may be protected under the constitutional right of freedom of speech and of the press, but instead was considered illegal because of sex-biased preference in hiring (Pittsburgh Press v. Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations). Both cases happened after the Voting Rights Act of 1965, further providing evidence that gender equality was still an issue, even after laws were previously put in place in an attempt to prevent that.

In the years between 1900 to 1930, there were some detrimental events of Mexican migration, Stock Market Crash, etc. But the three decades was more beneficial than detrimental. In the 1920s, America reached their highest standard of living of all time. People were getting the job and making more money. Two biggest industry of that time were Automobile and construction. The period between 1900-1930 was beneficial in women right and economy, Americans' Civil Liberty Rights, US economic growth because of World War 1, and the Industrial Growth in the 1920s.

Women’s rights and the way they live has changed greatly over the course of time. Back in the day, women did not have equal rights to men and they had to face many challenges in order to receive the jobs they wanted. Nowadays, women can get the same jobs as men and their power is much more appreciated. The 1930’s affected women in a positive way over time as they tried to work their way up in government positions, obtain more profitable jobs, and help provide for their families; but they still had a long ways to go getting equal rights to men.

The beginning of the twentieth century in the United States was a difficult time full of oppression for most women, They're Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston along with Kate Chopin’s The Story of an Hour, and Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper all highlight female individualism and liberation from male oppression.

To illustrate history, women have not always had an specific place in society, but the views that society has held for women is far from how women see themselves in this day in time. With regards as time has come and gone women have evolved just like technology. Women have overcome many milestones in life, speaking from historically standpoint. We all know that our great grandmothers’ only took care of the home, the children and their husband. In those days’ women were seen as caregivers and women were told that they had to be submissive to their husbands. Women did not have any rights, it is supposed to be a man’s world, but without a woman what would the world be like.

Women have not always been as respected in society as they are now. In early America, women were banned from participating in most parts of society and their lives were mainly controlled by their fathers and husbands. While the women’s rights movement can be tracked as far back as 1850 is wasn’t until the early 1960s that the movement focused primarily on social inequality. (“Women’s Rights”, March 25 2013) This movement, also known as the Women’s Liberation Movement “aimed to dismantle traditional attitudes towards sexuality, family and reproductive rights, while also raising awareness of sexual harassment and violence. It also fought to end discrimination against women in the workplace and other sectors of American society.” (“Women’s Rights”,

The declaration of independence states that all men and women are created equal. This document, along with the constitution, is what the administration of the United States was founded on. The men who created these documents were citizens striving for equal rights and representation in government. Ironically, these rights the founding fathers worked so hard to create for themselves were not granted to women in their newly established nation. Fortunately, due to the tireless work of decades of activist’s, laws have changed, amendments added to the constitution, and rights granted to those who were previously unjustly denied. One of these victories for women’s rights occurred when women were granted the right

Women in the nineteenth century lived in an age characterized by gender inequality. Throughout history the treatment to women has been unfairly. Back in times women were in charge of the house and taking care of the children. They did not have any job to paid and support themselves, only the men’s used to work. Women had no voice, they had to deal with every mistreated or unhappiness in a relationship. Also the male-centric thinking and societal norms were the only ones accepted. Today’s society has change, women are not treated in the same way. They have same rights as men’s and capable of doing the same activities and jobs.

Women, like all humans, are dynamic beings. They change overtime just like any other species and with that comes change on a larger scale. This includes society’s adjustment to their advancements and evolutions. Women no longer only tend to homes or fields or just carry water jugs on their heads

We all know that women didn 't have as many rights as men, and they still don 't. Women can now do more than they used to, but they still aren 't equal with men. They have had to fight for so many things like the right to vote and to be equal to men. The 19th amendment, the one that gave women the right to vote, brought us a big step closer. The Equal Rights Movement also gave us the chance to have as many rights as men. Women have always stayed home, cleaned the house, and didn 't even get an education. Men have always been superior, but women are getting closer and closer every step of the way.

British Maritime history thrives off the successes and achievements by many male pirates, kings and noblemen. Influential figures, such as Henry the 8th, rose Britain to power in the 14-15th century allowing them to be placed on the map as a continental power. Similarly, many male explorers (Columbus, Cabot) established routes and discovered different land masses. The impact and importance that women had in this time period was often overlook and never recorded within history. Women were considered a lesser in society and were discouraged to participate in many male activities. Even though this attitude towards women has carried forth into the 20th century, the impact and abilities that women had during the past went unnoticed. After careful