Change For Women In The 1920's

People were wanting change during this time. Women were wanting to get out of the house and work to help support their families. By 1920, 8 million women were in the work field and desired a lifelong career out of it. Even though more and more women were working, they were not getting paid the same as men and were being discriminated against (Foner, pg. 700). After this, the rise of Feminism was on the horizon.

The 1920s had a big impact on American life all around; however, one of the biggest changes during this time period was in the roles of women. During this time period, women started dressing different, leaving the house, getting jobs, and gaining rights. On top of all of that, they had a bigger role in education, they began taking parts in politics, and divorce became more of a common thing. This may not seem like a big deal to people today, but this was very important at the time. Prior, women had next to no rights. They lived to wait on and please their husbands. Women rarely even left the house. This time period could be said to have paved the way for modern day feminism and women’s roles. This was the time period when they began to be free and stop worrying about how society thought they should live. However, the question still remains: Did the changing roles of women in the 1920s really have a significant effect on women’s roles today? In the next few pages, one will be given examples of women’s role before, during, and after the 1920s. In each paragraph, the roles, rights, impacts, and more that women had at these times will be explained. To conclude, a comparison on how women were thought to act in these different time periods will be made in order to come up with an answer for the question stated above.

Before the 1920s, it was seen as common knowledge for women to have no job besides a wife and a mother. But when World War II began, women had no choice but to take over the jobs their husbands, brothers, and fathers left behind. This sparked a lot of women to want to work outside of the home, even after the war was over. This led to a domino effect of liberation for women. There was a new attitude coming to be in women in the United States ("The Changing Role of American Women in the 1920s"). They were now brave enough to do things women were never “supposed” to do before. For example, women began smoking and and drinking in public, they began driving by themselves and started wearing different types of clothing. They wore revealing clothes for style, or dressed in men’s clothes simply for comfort. And lastly, most of the “New Women” idea came from flappers, but when other women who were not flappers saw their new freedom, they followed. If it were not for flappers in the 1020’s who would have stepped up and changed the roles of women in America? (“Flappers”) Flappers inspired what we call “The New Woman” which came about in the 1920’s, and is the starting point for the ongoing fight for women’s equality.

In the 1920’s birth rates dramatically decreased as women were given access to birth control and were educated on health care, allowing women to make discussions about their own lives instead of relying on their husbands. The women’s reproduction movement, led by Margret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood, changed society’s view of women’s sexuality, educated women on healthcare and made birth control options more prevalent in the United States, which empowered women to get an education, dive into the work field, and rely less on men. Women were suddenly encountered in the 1920’s by a new freedom to explore life the way a man did without the fear of children holding them back, as written by Mary E. Williams, an American author, and writer

The 1920’s was known as the Roaring Twenties, the Jazz Age and the era of wonderful nonsense. There were many changes that occurred during the 1920s. Women lives’ changed with the 19th amendment, working outside the home and fashion. Other changes were the Jazz Age and Prohibition. After World War I, Americans wanted to go “Back to Normalcy.

The foundation of colleges for women as well as events at women’s rights conventions intellectually challenged society’s views on women’s traditional roles. As education became more of a public governmental service, the educational

The 1940’s were a turning point for women in the workforce. Women were perceived to be the weaker sex by society and faced social prejudices in efforts to become part of the workforce. The common belief was that women were intellectually inferior to men, incapable of making decisions regarding their household, and should not work outside of the home. Their job was to maintain the home, raise the children, and be supportive wives of the working husband.

In 1920 women gained the right to vote, this was a big change for women all over the world. Another thing that changed was the amount of women working. However many women stayed in the traditional role of women. Roughly 25% of women started working in the 1920s. Roles of 1920's women in the workplace included factory workers, secretaries, salesclerks and telephone operators. The number of women attending college rose to 10% of the population by the end of the 1920's.However after women gained the right to vote in national elections women began to achieve more independence and to be accepted in more and more career fields previously open only to men. They began to assert themselves in relationships too.

First, they had to fill the roles of the men in the workplace. This meant that they were now allowed to hold jobs outside of teaching, cooking and care taking and move to more important roles such as bankers, farmers, and factory workers. “Eight million women already at work shifted positions, taking advantage of new, albeit temporary, opportunities to work at better-paying and more highly skilled jobs.” (Keene 609) It was important not only to society that these jobs were getting done, but it was also important for women to participate in these jobs so they could feel like they had more purpose. Perhaps the most important roles women played, was their aid to the men fighting during World War I. During World War I, the country was spending all of its money of the war but this became increasingly expensive. Women during this time, aided the men who were fighting by making clothing for the soldiers, taking care of wounded men, and working in factories that make supplies for war such as guns. In some cases, women who worked in the factories that produced these war weapons ended up dying, “…these women risked their lives working with poisonous substances without adequate protective clothing or the required safety measures. Around 400 women died from overexposure to TNT during WWI. ” (Women’s Work in WWI, paragraph 3) Women taking on these new roles was so important for the success of our country during that time, as women were able to fill in the gaps and make sure things were handled on the home front so the men could be away and fight for our

Women’s jobs were often “sex-typed”, meaning they only acquired jobs that women “should do” like teaching, and nursing (Women, Impact of the Great Depression On). Often many women went to school to become teachers, although if they were married they could not teach in city schools (Southern Women Trailblazers). Even though women had government positions there were still laws against hiring women (Women, Impact of the Great Depression On). In the midst of the women's suffrage movement women began to fight for equal jobs and treatment (Southern Women

A lot hasn't changed in regards to women , technology and so on. In the 1920s women were seen as house wives although there were some pushing towards changes in their lives and society. Women now work outside the home, attend colleges and institutions and have the rights to vote. Women now have total control of themselves and the choices they make just like back in the days. Technology like radio, refrigerators, vacuum cleaners and so on have advance due to the invention in the 1920s and has made great changes in the lives of people. People now work 8hrs a day and can take a two weeks vacation to travel or spend time with their family. Credit loans is made available now to everyone and cars also. Sporting events also provide pleasure,

Before 1920 Most women particularly white women did not work outside the home. They performed traditional domestic responsibilities of conserving food and fuel resources in the early part of the war.

Women slowly eased their way into the workforce previously to the 1900’s, but nothing drastically changed until the 1940s and 60s. After the civil war the gender role for women started to change (Shah, 2015). World War 2 was one of the first opportunities

The education that women would receive in this time period would allow women to change their role in society more effectively than any other period to follow. Most women in the early 1900’s didn’t expect to go to college; it was a social norm that women would go to basic schooling, and then return home and start a family. Those who did want to further their education had to go to a private school. However, soon after, in the early 1920’s, what was expected of women began to change. One college that would revolutionize education for women was North Carolina State College.

This point is relevant because “ Before the civil war women were expected to stay home and take care of domestic duties”. But during the nineteenth century this idea couldn't be pursued due to the inability to afford staying at home”. So it became a necessity that women also worked. “ Public education for women had a slow development but as it came along private institutions taught women”. Women taught themselves how to read and write because they usually had to stay at home and cook.Women attended clubs and that’s where they learned how to read. women tried to apply for jobs to support their families, But many of them were turned down because they did not have the education needed for the job. One job that became popular for women was teaching, Due to this demand women needed to be well educated so that they could be able to teach the future generation’s. “Throughout the many efforts towards achieving equal rights with men, Women had trouble being taken seriously since they have always been viewed as weaker and less intelligent to men”. Based on scientific research studies have shown “ Once women started demanding equal rights, Their IQ scores which had lagged slightly behind men’s for decades not only caught up with men’s, They surpassed them”. One point is that “ In society at large, The women’s rights movement has brought about measurable changes, Too. In 1972, 62% of men and women said they would not vote for a woman for president”. In this year's election there were a lot of debates on voting for Hillary Clinton just because she’s a women. Also many women were triggered by the horrific message when Donald Trump stated his opinion against women. Most feminist felt that they were being discriminated against because Hillary Clinton lost the debate. In conclusion a lot of things drastically changed such as