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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Women now are breadwinners and some men are stay at home dads. Due to economic pressures from society, both spouses have to work to maintain their family compared to the 1950’s where only one spouse could work and support a family. Both shows display the importance of society’s typical family structure and gender roles from each time period. In conclusion, there has been a dramatic shift in women’s roles in society today when compared to the

“The forces that drive pay inequity are complex, but among the likely reasons for Texas’ gaps are slow growth in state workers’ pay overall, the tendency of white men to get top-paying jobs and the state’s inattention to the issue” (Mcswane 2). Another thing that undermines all types of workers is the slow rate in which pay is increasing because men are the people with higher paid positions in jobs they are not obtaining more money and neither are women. Women must wait for the men above them to start earning more before they can get a raise but this still does not provide equal pay. Yes women are getting paid more but so are the men either stays the same or continues growing. “Women have struggled to regain jobs in the recovery and continue to face high levels of long-term unemployment, even as their families rely on them more heavily for financial support” (National Women’s Law Center 5).

In the 1920’s women could rarely land a job Challenged male domination If women did get a job, they received lower paychecks than men Discrimination were everywhere Women had to demand for their own rights; did everything that they had to do The MAIN problem was suffrage; women had to fight for their votes While men had many choices for jobs, women were limited with their choices

American women in the late 1800’s received unequal treatment, even more so than in today’s society. Not only were they treated unfairly, they could not even vote until 1920. Moreover, they were unable to obtain certain jobs, and if they did get a job it was from the home. Furthermore, women had little to no say in their decisions. They often had their husbands either picked for them, or mutually agreed upon.