Women's Role In The 1930s Essay

Improved Essays
The Role of Women in the 1930s It seems that nowadays opportunities for men and women are close to equivalent, but we never think about what it used to be like when less than one quarter of women were in the workforce compared to half today. Back then, it was easily recognized that women were not equal to men. The chance of a women getting a job was very low. When women finally got a job, they were treated differently in the workplace and paid lower wages while working longer hours. The role of women in the 1930s was limited, their opportunities were minimal, and in many occasions they were taken away.

In the 1930s women were expected to stay at home to take care of children and household chores. Many employers refused to hire
…show more content…
Roosevelt wrote many books to inspire women. She also created organizations with President Roosevelt to improve the environment of working women. Earhart was the first female pilot to fly across the Atlantic Ocean. Earhart’s courage motivated women to follow her actions. Perkins was the first female Cabinet member. Since it was only common for men to work in the government at the time, Perkins encouraged many other women to work for influential or meaningful jobs. Even though the role of women has changed drastically throughout the years, they are still fighting for equality to this day. There are many women nowadays who have changed the world. For example, Malala Yousafzai, who was shot in the head by the Taliban, fought for the right to girls education in Pakistan. Yousafzai was a “human rights activist and proponent of female education” (Kara Ladd). The efforts in the Middle East have gotten better, and Malala won a Nobel Peace Prize for her contribution in encouraging young women to stand up for what they believe in. The percentage of women in the workforce has increased. Although it was more difficult for women to get a job back then, that has changed substantially today (Kara

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Women In The 1920s

    • 1374 Words
    • 6 Pages

    “... the New Women of the 1920s boldly asserted her right to dance, drink, smoke, and date...” (Zeitz). During the early 1900s, women were considered inferior to men. Women were expected to take care of the home, children, and religion. On the other hand, men took care of politics and business (Benner).…

    • 1374 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    History Department, “Some women joined the workforce and would do jobs that men previously had held. These women worked as hard as they could to support their families during this difficult time.” (“Life During the Great Depression”) Families needed extra money in order to survive the depression. Women would hold jobs that men previously had to held to support their families along with the men in the household working.…

    • 1451 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the 1920’s women worked on the family farm as tirelessly as the men. They did this along with all their other duties as homemaker and mother. After the great depression more women than ever were working due to the…

    • 413 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    During the nineteenth century in Europe, women’s roles became more defined than ever. Before the nineteenth century, women had usually worked alongside their husbands in the field or factory; however, with the rise of separate spheres, women were left at home to do domestic work. The idea of separate spheres was that there were specific jobs for both women and men. The jobs for women usually consisted of staying at home and taking care of the children, while men would be the wage maker of the family. With the help of society, this idea ensured a dependence on men for years to come.…

    • 1285 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    She took government action while in the White House. Roosevelt was very involved in equal opportunities for women under the New Deal work relief projects. The New Deal was created by her husband FDR, aimed to restore prosperity to Americans. She was also interested in finding government jobs for women and believed that “women should be able to do just as much as men do.” (“Eleanor Roosevelt”)…

    • 855 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Women did not make the same amount of pay as men, and were still unequal in numerous ways. Women were thought of as weaker and not as intelligent as men. The everyday woman was a housewife and took care of her family instead of actually having a job.…

    • 556 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Life In The 1920s Essay

    • 1182 Words
    • 5 Pages

    They were expected to be housewives and worked in poorly paid employment, which was commonly the only jobs available to them. Although World War I had provided an opportunity for women to work in a variety of new and different jobs while the men were away, they were still highly underestimated. Outstandingly, the twenties can be viewed as an era of liberation for women. A powerful political movement led by women demanded and won the right to vote in 1920 through the efforts of past suffrage leaders and present prohibitionists. After which, women became more confident and “out-there” than ever before.…

    • 1182 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    One of the major themes that developed progressivism was women’s rights and suffrage. As women of the working class in the progressive era, they fought for their rights to receive the same wages as men, improved working conditions, and shorter working hours. Women protested against unequal pay and poor working conditions by going on strike. One of the organizations that influenced these strikes was the Women’s Trade Union League who organized working women into unions. In 1909 the International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union went on strike to challenge the poor working conditions and small wages such as in the Triangle Shirtwaist factory.…

    • 490 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The Progressive Era was a period in American history that lasted from 1890s-1920s. The Progressive Era was a time where America was experiencing urbanization and industrialization. It was also a period where many immigrants were migrating from the south. This caused crowded areas and high disease and death rates. Women made much progress between the Progressive Era to the 1920s.…

    • 1361 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The United States of America was altered more than any other nation by World War II. The effects of World War II impacted a wide array of citizens. Even with all of those afflicted, women saw the biggest transformation occur in their lives and roles within the United States of America. Before World War II women were forced to do what were seen as “appropriate” or “feminine” jobs. After World War II started women 's position in American society began to change.…

    • 1023 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    A new exhibit in the National Museum of American History, in Washington D.C., called “Defining America: Five Critical Debates” has been created. This exhibit aims to show museum visitors what it means to be an American as well as how progress has been a reoccurring idea that developed the United States since the end of the Civil War. There are many different movements that define America; however, there are a few that show just what it meant to be an American and how the idea of progress has helped America develop into the country it is now. The Black Civil Rights Movement as well as the Women’s Suffrage Movement show how far the United States has progressed in equal treatment. Just as there is equal treatment, there is also inequality, the…

    • 1326 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In the 19th century the American view on women became clear. Many people began to write about the role of a woman and things the woman should be able to do. The cult of domesticity is one of the main outlines of the roles of a woman. It goes into the image of the ideal woman, a woman’s proper place in society, and lists some writings that will reinforce the cult of domesticity. It also goes into the four main principles that make up a true woman.…

    • 1102 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Women's Rights After Ww2

    • 1209 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Before World War II women were limited in their social, political and economic rights. Women were unable to earn a wage comparable to men. Women were also greatly limited in their career opportunities when compared to men. Due to expectations of getting married, child rearing, and taking care of the home, women did not have much representation outside of the domicile. The war changed American politics, economics and social rights for women.…

    • 1209 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Women today have flourished despite years of continuous setbacks. Women today have the right to be whoever they please, a teacher, a doctor, a CEO of a big company, and even run for presidency. These ideals would have been a crazy notion in the 1870’s where women were considered inferior to men. But women are so much more than that, and they showed that through hard work and dedication they could accomplish what men could, however this process would not be any easy one. Women were fighting for equality among the workplace, and fighting for equal rights as those of men.…

    • 1197 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Gender Matters Tillie Olsen 's “I Stand Here Ironing” reflects the characterize prejudice and ethnic perspective of women during the Great Depression the setting of this story reflects that era. The 1930’s was particularly hard on single, divorced , single mothers and minorities “ I was nineteen. It was the pre‐relief, pre‐WPA world of the depression. I would start running as soon as I got off the streetcar, running up the stairs, the place smelling sour, and awake or asleep to startle awake, when she saw me she would break into a clogged weeping that could not be comforted, a weeping I can yet hear” (pg. 271).…

    • 1340 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays