Working Women In The 1930s Essay

Women struggled to be treated as equals when trying to qualify for federal programs. Social security benefits were structured around the idea of a male breadwinner and a dependant housewife. (Ware). Much of society believed that women could not possibly be the head of the household and therefore it was much more difficult for women to get the help they needed in the depression. Even though many people believe that the need for feminism died out it was still needed in the 1930s to help the women with jobs.

It is a common misconception that women never worked before the war and that large amounts of women suddenly streamed into the workforce picking up work that they have never done before. However, contrary to popular belief, that is not entirely true. It was definitely the case that middle to upper class American families could afford to let the woman stay at home as they were not required to work or to contribute to the household expenses. However, many women of a lower economic status and minority groups had to work. They were not able to enjoy the luxury that was staying home to look after their kids or husband.

Back in the 70’s women were financially dependent on their husband’s for almost everything because of unequal job opportunities. While there were still jobs for women, it was expected that they be a stay at home mom. Even more, women were overwhelmingly employed in certain occupations that have been traditionally oriented toward them, such as, domestic servants, salesclerks, factory workers, teachers, secretaries, and nurses. If they did get a better job, they would not get as much business as a man. Since no man would put his business affairs in the hands of a female lawyer or go to a lady doctor, despite the condition they were in.

Although gender inequality is still an issue today, women have gained so many rights throughout the years. Since the Renaissance, a time period between 1300-1500 AD, women have made a lot of major achievements regarding education, jobs they can get, marriage rights and so much more. A women in the Renaissance lived to please her husband. Every decision she needed to make was influenced by the men in her life, whether that was her husband, father, brother, or uncle. She couldn't choose who she wanted to marry, and wasn't

The fact also arises that women not only suffer from lack of recognition for the work they do in households but also for their work in their jobs. Women work as much as men, if not more. When both paid and unpaid work such as household chores and caring for children are taken into consideration, women work longer hours than men—an average of 30 minutes a day longer in developed countries and 50 minutes in developing countries. This is known as second shift, where women not only work at their jobs but also come back home and complete their household chores. However their contribution remains minimum due to unequal wage pay and lack of consideration given to household chores.

As the industrial revolution came in, women were depended on to take care of their family and their home, because men were busy working long hours. Women had no say in whether or not they wanted a career for themselves, because the norm of society was that they were house wives and they couldn’t disobey the norms. One critic of the social-conflict theory is that not everyone sees these gender differences as a problem, there are still families out there who live like this and are happy and work together well, because they’re working together to support and raise their families. Although times have changed, gender inequality is still strong today, women are still seen as being inferior to men and lack the opportunities men have with education, careers, and

“An important corrective to a male-centered vision of the Great Depression is to note that while men 's employment rates declined during the period, women 's employment rates actually rose. In 1930, approximately 10.5 million women worked outside the home.” (Bohem). Women’s rates actually rose because of various women that supported women 's job rights. Eleanor Roosevelt was one of the many women that impacted society greatly. Before Eleanor married Franklin, she supported women 's rights.

Women’s ongoing fight for equality from the 1920s to the 1970s was reflected through their attire.The 1920s were marked by the shockingly short hemlines and their right to vote.While women struggled to get fair pay in the 1930s, they got hired more often than men, which gave them greater independence. However, due to the gloom of the Great Depression, women lost their confidence and their clothing became more conservative.By contrast, the 1940s provided greater opportunities as the United States went to war. Women were able to wear pants to work, oftenly traditionally men’s work, and other daily activities. Despite the great change in the 1940s, the 1950s brought a decline in progress for women’s independence and opportunities. Their clothing

As of 2015 women are only making between $0.76 and $0.80 for every dollar men are making. The pay gap does vary by each job, CNBC says “Of course, the pay gap varies greatly by industry. The disparity was largest — nearly 30 percent — between men and women in finance and insurance, without controlling for job title, education and years of experience, among other factors,” click here for link. As you can see women are clearly paid less than men of the same career and 83% of women believe that along with 68% of men who feel they are being paid more as well. In addition to this women have come forward and explained how they are paid less than men who are their co-hosts, co-workers,

Women have particular roles in which society expects them to carry-out without failing; she is expected to be an obedient wife, a caring mother and conscientious homemaker. Society has painted an image of the “ideal wife” through media, marketing, and norms in which she is restricted to her home and nurturing her family, and gaining the respect of the community. A hard-working housewife was supposed to have dinner ready by the time her husband returned from work, perform and agreed without question. Women were not allowed to go to school, or work, and most times were forced to stay at home causing the housewife role to be the only job