Gender Inequality In The Film 'A League Of Their Own'

“A League of Their Own” is a very impacting movie that depicts the impact of women in sports throughout the 1940s. During this era, men were away in World War II, leaving the women to take their spots in many of their duties. Baseball had been a very well known sport throughout the country. Women playing baseball was unordinary, however it quickly grew to be very popular which led to the inauguration of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. This was a way for the women to get out, have fun, and relax with other females. The film presents several traditional gender stereotypes and female limitations in sports, some which still exist today.

Women’s history in the United States has always been represented as a struggle for rights. Wealth and status were tied to either their fathers or husbands. In the early 1900s, women were afforded the traditional roles of society. The majority of women worked in the home. If they were of the 18% young or poor women, they also worked in factories as laborers, manufacturing items for the booming industrial revolution (U.S. Department of Labor, 1980). During this time period the workplace was not in compliance with current safety standards. There was no minimum wage yet, work conditions were horrible and they worked long hours, “In 1900, the average workweek in manufacturing was 53 hours,” (Fisk, 2003). Women took “pink

The changing roles of women throughout history has been drastic, and none more so than the period during and after World War II. The irrevocable changes that occurred once the war started and women went to work were unprecedented.

The U.S industry, as well as the government expanded during wartime needs. Women made all of this possible (Partners in Winning the War). Women were needed to fill in the traditional male jobs during the war. These jobs provided unprecedented opportunities for women to move into occupations, previously thought of as exclusively for men. However, with these new opportunities, American women began to change the stereotypes of gender roles. They took over the majority of factory and office jobs, previously occupied by men. Five million women entered the workplace during 1940-1945, the gap in the labor force created by departing soldiers. It is seen that a huge percentage of American women have begun to take over these positions, slowly changing the industrial world in the United States (Khan Academy).

The war marked a watershed in the history of women at work, and temporarily at least, caused a greater change in women's economic status than half a century of feminist rhetoric and agitation had been able to achieve. (125)

“Temporarily at least, the war caused a greater change in women's economic status and outlook than a prior half century of reform and rhetoric had been able to achieve.” ”The Federal government encouraged housewives to join the workforce as a patriotic duty.” Once they needed the women to work for America,it was promoted through various forms of propaganda that taking on the male's role was the best thing to do. “Immediately after the war, the percentage of women who worked fell as factories converted to peacetime production and refused to rehire women.” It was expected that the women were going to keep their jobs, even when their men had come home, but instead the women were fired in order for men to be hired.

Throughout the early twentieth century, women of all ages worked together to fight for equality amongst men and women. From the time of flappers, to the ratification of the nineteenth amendment, to new opportunities during World War II, women have shown strength, bravery, and determination to receive equality for all. Women saw their greatest achievements and advancements economically, followed by the socially and politically. In politics, it was predicted that women would begin to gain opportunities and high paying jobs.

Undeniably, the outlook of women in the workforce changed following the advent of World War II. Traditionally, the role of caretaker of the house and home was assigned to the woman. Society and institutions facilitated, accepted and supported this way of thinking and way of life. Working outside the home was considered "a man's job". A woman expressing an interest in being anything other than a homemaker and wife was frowned upon. Accepted was the notion that men are better laborers and a woman could not perform at the same level as a man and therefore are undesirable candidates for work in the office or in factories. When America entered in the Second World War, the role of women as primarily stewards of the home was forever changed. As men answered the call of duty, they left behind a void not only in the hearts of their loved ones but also in the workplace. During this time not only were vacancies found in the work that once employees turned soldiers left behind but also we witnessed an increase of labor need for specific industries, such as those that supported the wartime efforts. Women entered the workforce in droves, filling the much needed void in the offices and the factories. Women become the soldiers on the home front and once the war was over, there was no erasing the progress women made in proving capable and ready to hold gainful employment outside the home. This paper addresses women in the workforce,

Many people have never considered what women were doing in WWII when their husbands left to fight. Their lives weren’t easy or normal during the war. Women had to work just as hard as men, sometimes even more so. In this essay, I will discuss the position of American women before World War II, during the war, and at the end of the war.

World War II was the catalyst that changed the opportunities available to women and eventually the way they were regarded as a viable workforce. Suddenly women throughout the United States were pushing themselves to their limits to support the war effort. Women were fulfilling jobs and responsibilities that many previously believed to be impossible for their gender. Opportunities were opened in steel plants, ammunition factories, and even the United States military. As the war progressed the number of male workers declined dramatically. Society had no choice but to turn to the mothers, sisters, and daughters of our nation for help. The results for each woman varied

People wondered if women went into the war because of patriotism or because they didn’t have many other opportunities. Women reacted to the call differently depending on age, race, class, marriage status, and how many children they have. They went from low paying jobs to higher paying factory jobs. While patriotism did influenced women, ultimately it was the economic incentives that influenced them to work. In Slacks and Calluses two women, Constance and Clara Marie did a great job while working in San Diego. Female Jobs were teaching, nursing, and doing other labor work, while Constance and Clara Marie were out working with the men, along with other women. They guided their way through a working world full of men and learned how to build a

During the war in the 1940s, an aggressive media campaign urged more than six million women into the workforce. It is astonishing seeing each year; there were better accomplishments that women were making. Many learned new techniques such as working in steel plants, shipyards, and lumber mills. Sports also became a new and admired era in this time. The famous “Rosie the Riveter”, “We Can Do It!” was a part of the governor campaign that brought women into the workplace during the war. Following the end of WWII, most of these jobs went back to the men, and women were encouraged to either return back home or find a “female” job. This reveals that women were used. They were only needed when most of the men were in the war. In

Prior to World War II, employers and the government held that there were jobs appropriate for women and jobs which were inappropriate because women were not capable of fulfilling the tasks involved in such work. As we

Throughout the twentieth century, both World War I and World War II significantly impacted American society in several ways. From 1917 to 1918, the United States’ involvement in World War I began an increase in the number of women in the workplace that would steadily continue throughout much of the twentieth century. The United States once again played a major role in World War II from 1941 to 1945, and this war is actually seen as a turning point for women in the workplace. During the two world wars, women workers were impacted by discrimination, the danger of the work they completed, and the portrayal of women in propaganda during both world wars, and yet the different time periods of the two world wars led to differences in how women

World War II was the first time that women were greatly encouraged to join the workforce. Nearly 6 million women took industrial jobs such as steel plants, shipyards, and lumber mills at the urging of the government and media (“Women of the Century”). Because the men were away fighting in