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
Women although did try to find jobs to support their families. Women were not getting help because the new deal excluded them. Being excluded from the New deal is hurting women. Whereas men do not do anything and they are getting help. Labor jobs were not protected under the law because gender roles
One of the first problems of the Great Depression revolved around women. Fewer women than men sought assistance, some forms of assistance were available, and many women suffered from property as men. Also, according to Document A, it states " Many women were unemployed". Women seemed invisible in The Great Depression. Pre-New Deal assistance to unemployed and poor was not sufficient. It was a lack of attention to concerns of unemployment and poor women. Roosevelt responded to this problem with the New Deal. Document H states" The New Deal changed the role of the government and created
Prior to World War II, many women were unemployed, due to the Great Depression which had started a decade before. With men always getting preference for jobs, there were very few jobs left for women. Consequently, not only were many occupations were reserved for men, but men were also paid wages up to five times higher for the same task as women. Some states also barred married women from holding jobs. However during World War II, America produced at an efficiency which was higher than ever. This meant that the women had an increasing number of jobs. Jobs in the public sector opened up. Since 1939, women progressively changed the idea of patriarchy and the cliché thinking of an average woman in the United States to be a wife and mother.
Did you know that a lot of women during the great depression and the second world war worked in factories making supplies such as planes, boats, tanks, and jeeps? JOBS DURING THE GREAT DEPRESSION Jobs during the depression were very scarce. Many times people were basically forced to get a job to survive. One job of the time that was popular was factory jobs.
How women’s income levels change during The Great depression and the overall Effect of The Great Depression on Women in the Workforce? The Great Depression was the most devastating economic crisis in the historical backdrop of the industrialized world. It (Great Depression) lasted from 1929 to 1939. It started after the share Stock market crash of October 1929, which sent the Wall Street into a frenzy and wiped out a huge number of financial investors.
Women’s main role was seen to be in the home. The withdrawal of about half a million men most of whom had been in the workforce did not, however, results in their direct replacement by women. Women’s contribution to the workforce rose from 24 per cent of the total in 1914 to 37 per cent in 1918, but the increase tended to be in what were already traditional areas of women’s work -- in the clothing and footwear, food and printing sectors. There was some increase also in the clerical, shop assistant and teaching areas. Unions were unwilling to let women join the workforce in greater numbers in traditional male areas as they feared that this would lower
During the Great Depression, families began to slowly die they were unable to survive due to the unemployment rate. Once the father of the family lost his job it would be very hard to come back from that. In the 1930s, men were expected to be the breadwinners of their families. These unemployed men felt like failures because of their inability to provide for their families. Men were very emotional about losing their jobs and it would lead to fights between the husband and wife. It was very common that a man would leave the family and the wife would be stranded with children. This is where the women really show their significance and step up as a person. Women saw their roles in the household enhanced as they juggled to make ends meet (Ware). They had to find jobs to support their children and provide them with food along with a roof over their heads. Some worked as teachers or nurses, anything that could bring money into their
More work opportunities were provided by the new industrial economy, allowing women to work “white-collared” jobs, such as stenographers and secretaries. Some previously “men only” jobs were now available to them. For the first time in history, women were experiencing a sense of independence they’ve rightfully deserved. Despite these changes, the 1920’s was a decade of poverty. The collapse of agricultural prices led to the rising foreclosure rate of family farms.
Immediately after the war, the societal role of women began to shift. The result of the combination of this unprecedented role for women and the ambition shown by activists during the Progressive Era would lead to the “creation” of the “new woman” of the 1920s. Many women during this time embodied a greater sense of independence and mobility, often pushing back on the strict societal expectations of previous decades (creating new expectations). Additionally, technological advances at the time allowed household chores to be done faster and easier, giving women more of an opportunity to work professionally. Although women had entered the workforce decades prior, the Great Depression brought on a new outlook on women in that role.
Due to economic necessity, women’s employment increased during the Great Depression, in part because the jobs from which they have been excluded, such as those in heavy industry, were most often in the areas of the economy hardest hit by the collapse. At the time, many people saw the differential between female and male employment as a major cause of male unemployment. “Simply fire all the women, who shouldn’t be working anyway, and hire the [unemployed] men,” Norman Cousins wrote in 1939, summarizing this simplistic argument. “Presto! No unemployment. No relief rolls. No depression” (Kessler-Harris 256). That lack of open-mindedness ignores the basic reality that it did not matter how desperate men were for a job, most of them would never
The women during this time were very dependent on their husband’s income due to how most women did not work. Women did not work due to most social norms being against them with how they were often discouraged by high levels of unemployment and with mostly sex discrimination within the labor market making it were men were the ones to hold those jobs. It was seemed has that men did not want to have more competition with women included in the labor force. Thus, when the Great Depression hit women had to then change their normal housewife roles to then go out to find work to support their family, even with the fact of how social norms were still against women looking for jobs. Even a group known as the Federation of Women’s clubs had encouraged house wives or even those looking for employment to go out and find odd jobs within their homes that could turn into actual jobs which showed how much the overall economy was suffering that even with social norms against women seeking jobs women still tried finding ways to survive on whatever incomes they could obtain.
Although females had push into the right direction, they still did face some adversity. “Many fully employed women defined themseleves as ‘homemakers’, outside the sphere of wage work” (Abelson, 117). This shows that even with all these changes for the better women did not shy away from their traditional roots.
Careers, Family Roles, and Wages of Women in the 1930s Women were not on the same playing field as men when it came to having a career and earning wages in the 1930s. The amount of job choices for men was drastically higher than the amount of job choices for women. Also, the wages for men were almost double what the wages were for women in the 1930s. Women’s family roles force them into inequality because of their career options and wages.
Jobs that men typically held were experiencing tremendous levels of layoffs during the Great Depression. Therefore, women had to find employment in positions where the pay scale was significantly lower than men once they knew they had to in order to help the family even more. Women were held to a different standard in terms of compensation for a days work during the Great Depression versus the men that had work during this time. Women not only had family responsibilities, but also now had the daunting responsibility of being breadwinners, which means one who earns money to help provide for their families. As shown, women during the Great Depression had responsibilities that could mean a lot to them and help the family or could be terrible and have the fear of not being paid for their
With the collapse of the economy, women were more at lost than the men. The jobs women