Gods Bits of Wood

When women started working in factories, they faced hardships in working conditions. There were dangerous fumes and explosive dangers. There was always the risk of accidental explosions. It was even harder for mothers because there were not any child care policies offered by many companies. Women soon began making unions, such as the National Women’s Trade Union League, where women met and found ways to help raise women wage and have better work

For one, since women were seen as the property of men and as dependent beings, working was not something they would usually do. Thus, working in mills was already something different. However, working in the textile mills were tough. They worked in harsh conditions, in which they worked long hours and had low pay. According to Vera Shlackman, “all the learning I now have gained without instruction, having obtained alone and that too I have labored twelve hours a day”(59), this shows how long they worked for in the mills each day, twelve hours a day. This also shows how despite the fact the mills state that “women working in Lowell’s mills, moreover, could avail themselves of certain education services”(Schug et al. 147), they kept the mill girl’s education at a certain level, in which Vera Shlakman had to resort in teaching herself. To add on, the mill girls had low pay. According to Mark C. Schug, Jean Caldwell, and Tawni Hunt, “the weekly wage for young women in Lowell’s mills was $2.50, of which $1.25 was deducted to pay for room and board. This amounted to pay of less than four cents per hour”(147), showing how low their pay was and how little choices they had, to the point they stayed in these mills. This brings us to the second change. According to the text, these working women were starting to lead industrial strikes. “They walked off their jobs in the the textile

In the world today, women have a say in what they want to do and things that they desire to do. Back in the day, before the 1800’s, women had to be submissive to their male counterparts and do according to what was required of them. In the end, this led to the demeaning of the woman and the concept that women were inferior to men. Even though this concept and perception changed, there have been some countries and regions of the world that have not yet recognized the equality that women deserve. Such areas do not allow women to vote, attend school, have a say in the community, and the women are at the mercy of their husbands, fathers or male superiors (Hartmann, Susan M).

In this satirical article, Brady expresses the difference between the roles of women and men in the 1970’s by stating men’s point of view on women and women’s roles in society. Throughout her article, Brady emphasizes the roles of women. For example, women could now “work and...takes care of the children when they are sick”. Comparing the 1880’s to the 1970’s, there has been a big improvement. Many women had jobs outside their home, but still were responsible for most housework and childcare while their husband’s only responsibility in a marriage was to go to work and earn money to support the family. Society’s expectations allowed women to work outside the home to support college education for husbands; however,women had to know how to balance their time between their children and their jobs, making sure that their husbands “cannot miss classes at school.” During the 1970’s, women were still oppressed in many ways and had to follow society's expectations in order to live up to the men’s view of women’s roles in society. Even though society’s expectations of women had improved since The Awakening, most of women’s roles had stayed the same. In the article, Brady specifies how once a husband is “through with school and has a job, [he expects the] wife to quit working and remain at home so that [she] can more fully and completely take

Evans continues to trace the evolution of women’s roles in society, which increasingly diverged from men’s roles-- for indigenous women as male-dominated war metaphors became more culturally central, and for Europeans as men grew very economically successful compared to

Women have been alienated from their rights as workers and citizens but also have been deprived from fulfilling their roles as wives and mothers because they don’t have political representation. The concept of militant motherhood explains that because women have been alienated from almost all their rights their will to thrive as mothers has motivated them to demand the equal rights they deserve. Therefore women united their collective identities as wives and mothers and demanded the political representation they deserved as citizens (Richard Stahler-Sholk et al, 145). This concept operates within women’s social movements because since they all share one collective identity regardless of what they are demanding they are all interconnected by

Women were the primary victims of being mistreated in the factory work life right next to immigrants and of course people of another color. These women worked long and hard hours, often from the sun up to late at night after the sun went down just to have the money to do buy the basic necessities that their family may need. Women’s incomes were pretty low at the time, which is why they had to work for such a long period of the day. They also had very high expectations as they had to produce with no error for hours in during the day, they were expected to make 3000 stitches per minute or else they would be docked. Working environments were very cramped and the machines were not exactly user-friendly, so it is easy to see why they would want to begin progressive movements. Women began to group up after hours to talk about the complexities that go on around the workplace and sought out a solution to make the owners realize that their opinions do matter. After long talks amongst each other, the women decided to join together in a strike against the unfair treatment and conditions that the Triangle Shirtwaist factory provided them with. They all sat out of the workforce and were directly responsible for the

Women working men’s jobs were not as welcomed in society as they were in factories. People held on to the belief that women should be house wives and not have to do much in the way of work. The man should provide for the family, and the women should take care of the family. Many of the women who worked were lower class and had to help provide for their families, or were the only providers for their families. Women who worked men’s jobs were looked down upon and thought to be no better than dirt. Although women working in factories were still women, men did not show them the same respect as they did a woman working as a secretary or teacher.

In Document A, the majority of the 10,000 workers were young, unmarried women from farm families. The women took on a significant role in the mills; tending the spinning machine and producing cotton textiles. The owners of the mills offered housing and education to increase the interest for women to work. In document C, Sally Rice, a young woman from Vermont, went to look for her own job away from the farm her family owned. She found work as a domestic servant in New York, and then found another job weaving in a cotton mill in Blackstone Valley. She wished to earn her own money and become more independent. In her letters to her family, she describes how great her work is. She said, “I have one of the best homes and good society which is a good deal better than I can have there [at home].” In both of these examples the women became more independent, accepted more responsibility, and untimely became

Reformers’ participation in the strike benefit the strikers; before, doubts plagued them that their cause would have been extinguished if not for “progressive money” (70). However, frustration arose amongst picketers as these progressive women transform a strike based on class struggle into a “broader feminist revolt” (68). Anne Morgan blames the immigrants’ foul treatment in the factory on women’s inability to vote (67), not their inability to unionize, which is one of the main pillars of their movement. An unnamed waist maker retorted, asking how the ballot could possibly improve the conditions of the factory, for the “right of men to vote does not prevent strikes” (70). When Triangle’s head honchos, Max Blanck and Isaac Harris, offer the strikers higher wages and shorter hours, Lemlich, along with other socialists, refuse and hold out for union recognition.

At a time when labour unions were gaining in memberships, organization, and bargaining power, women in the workforce made marginal gains during this period considering the booming economy. Sociologically, a healthy economy should in theory provide the framework for change. When citizens have low unemployment and more money in their pockets, time and attention is less directed at bread and butter issues like sustenance and poverty, and aimed at equality and social progress. For women unfortunately, this was not necessarily the case. Their battle with employers was still a struggle between classes than gender parity. Male union leadership would naturally further male worker interests first,8 and this shows a culture of sexism in the workplace that was clearly difficult for working women to overcome. Even union-dues paying women rarely openly questioned their subordination as a sex.9 They were most likely outnumbered and the consequences of being a whistle blower did not want to be entertained. In the mindset of women who worked however, was a developing identity as female wage earners and unionists.10

Union organizing required more than simply providing a setting. The women workers needed to define themselves in relation to the conflicting family and social

As the strike progresses, the French management decides to "starve out" the striking workers by cutting off local access to water and applying pressure on local

Sembene Ousmane’s novel, “Gods Bits of Wood,” gives a highly detailed story of the railway strike of 1947-48 in French West Africa. It contains conflicts of political, emotional and moral nature. Ultimately, Sembene’s novel is one of empowerment. It brings to light the tension between colonial officials and the African community among the railway men as well as the struggle of the African community to free itself from being subjected to colonial power. Frederick Cooper’s article, “Our Strike: Equality, Anticolonial politics and the 1947-48 Railway Strike in French West Africa,” helps reveal the strike’s true meaning and agenda by analyzing the conflicts present in Sembene’s novel. In fact, it paints a very different picture of the railway

While Bauer’s “The Revolutionary” is a story about a revolutionary who after returning back from Siberia to a democratic Russia is determined to fight FOR the new government, we see that “Strike” is the riveting tale of how the death of a factory worker serves as the rallying call for the workers to unite in a strike against the corrupt managers and government that oppresses them. In this regard we see that Strike has a much more bold and riveting tale, there is also no happy ending in the film as