Women's Equality In The 1920s

It is well known that women have had a hard time breaking through to reach equality in the United States. They have come a long way from the 1900s, but equality has not totally been reached. Women today are strong, independent, and capable of anything men are, but many are hesitant to try one thing that has always been thought of as something for old, white men: investing. Women should not however be afraid of the stock market because many studies have shown that when it comes to investing, women often make more money than men (Long). In the 1920s more jobs opened up for women creating opportunities for them to make money and start saving money on their own. The Great Depression, influential women, and stereotypes have all influenced how …show more content…
In the 1920s leading up to and during the Great Depression women were not paid as much as men, men were thought to be better at working than women and sometimes women were fired just to give jobs to men, but some women left their jobs on their own to give them to men (Newman). Women were fired because the stereotype that men had to take care of their family and work to support them was very strong in the 1900s. For a man to have his wife employed but to have him not employed would be very, very unusual for the 1900s. Men were expected to work, not women (Lange). Organizations like the National Federation of Business called this “an attack on working women and the most serious problem since women fought for the right to vote” (Lange). Leading up to the Great Depression not all women worked, mostly immigrant and minority women looked for jobs. In the 1910s in big cities like Chicago, New York, and Detroit primarily African American women went to seek jobs in factories and female immigrants from southern Europe looked for jobs in garment factories in Eastern cities (Newman). After the Great Depression, in World War II with all the men gone and serving in the war, it gave women another chance to work again. During the Great Depression most women were looked badly upon for working, but they did not want to. During the Great Depression most women did not want to work, but if they did they did it to …show more content…
“In the last thirty years women’s participation in the workforce, in athletics, and in professional education has increased in the US. But gender stereotypes are just as strong today as they were three decades ago in the country, according to a new study.” (Beall). While women are reaching more equality, it is shown that they are not in the right mindset. There are resources to help modern day women investors, such as Women & Co., an organization by Citigroup that gives women access to information about women managing money, careers, and family life. One thing this study did show is that now both genders are responsible for family and individual finances, while thirty years ago this was not so much true. Another resource is SunTrust Bank, which hosts informational events to help give women resources about investing and create an environment that lets women feel comfortable asking questions about investing (Palmer). One modern day stereotype of women in the workplace is emotion. A woman who shows some emotion in the workplace they are thought of as unprofessional, but when women are serious in the workplace they are thought of as cold, or icy (Gourdeau). Another modern day stereotype is when women make a mistake it is taken much more seriously than when men make a mistake (Gourdeau). Lastly another modern day stereotype