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How Did The Great Depression Affect Women

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The Great Depression happened during the late 1920’s and continued until the early 1940’s. The origin of the depression was in the United States as the stock market crashed in 1929 wiping affecting millions of investors. The US economy was connected with the global economy, this economic crisis affected the whole world with high unemployment and low production. Industrial production declined dramatically causing distribution systems to struggle as “transportation, wholesaling, manufacturing, and retailing companies encountered problems of unprecedented scale and scope” (Lewis,2009,pg.499). As businesses struggle to stay running, the devastating conditions of the Great Depression forced many business and factories to rethink their ways to …show more content…

Whereas males at the age of eleven or twelve had many opportunities to become the “secondary earners” (Bradbury, 1990,p.220) by assisting their fathers in apprenticeship jobs. However, as time moved forward the role of men and women changed. By the 1930’s it became the norm for women to be making money for their household during the hard times of the Great Depression as numbers arrose to nearly 25% of women entering the workforce (Winifred,1978, p.60). In other words, traditional male fields like heavy industry and manufacturing were affected the most by the Depression as women jobs were less affected giving an division of labour. Gender roles were drastically changing due to men being removed from the position of serving as the breadwinner as women were working outside of the home by taking on roles such as “domestics, teachers, clerical staff, garment workers and factories” (Srigely, 2005, p.121). Male workers lost their jobs compared to female workers as it was difficult for men to find work in factories or industrial workplace during the Depression than women. While, women mostly depended on men-wage earnings before the Depression struck but they were obliged to look for job for the survival of their family as their central role increased to being the primary wage-earner …show more content…

The Great Depression reversed this trend causing women roles in the household enhanced as they were able to balance the house work and make ends meat. Women worked many hours in the 1930’s regardless of not receiving very much pay. Between 1931 and 1941 in Toronto alone women of 14 years of age and above increased from around 91,780 to 111,334 (Srigley, 2005,pg 121). Women who attempted to find work in any shape or form risked the humiliation of society as they were mocked of occupying jobs and money away from men. In the article “Will Women Lose Their Jobs ?” by Norman Cousins, he suggested that “Simply fire the women, who shouldn’t be working anyway, and hire the men. Presto! No unemployment. No relief rolls. No depression.” (Cousins, 2000). This was due to him realizing that employed women in 1939 was equal to the unemployed total making him to offer this disrespectable treatment to women. However, blaming women about the Depression did not succeed as women were obligated to work to provide the only source of support for their

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