Essay on Inequality of Women During 1840 to 1968

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.

Throughout time women and their rights have varied among where they are living and the people that surround them. Some of the major changes with women’s rights is giving them the right to vote, reproductive rights, and the right to work for equal pay. Another thing that varies throughout time is women’s roles. For example 100 years ago the only jobs that women could have was to either be a housewife, nurse, or a teacher. Until about 1910, women didn’t really fight for their rights and what they could do. In 1910, women started to voice their opinions in society and fought for the right to vote. Though things have changed greatly today, there are still women in the world that believe in the “traditional way” and prefer to still wait on

Prior to World War II women were seen as house wives, taking care of children and tending the gardens. Women generally accepted these roles because family was a prior economic unit. Even during World War I the contributions were housewife like, washing clothing, cooking, helping the wounded, sewing, knitting clothing, and etc. The images of women taking care of the home while men were off working were so nailed into the head that some states banned women from jobs. Once the war started to take place the war effort was so great men and women had to set aside gender roles for the sake of their countries being. Women left families, education, and other jobs to work the jobs men took on while they were off serving the country in combat, etc.

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).

“We need to reshape our own perception of how we view ourselves. We have to step up as women and take the lead.” This quote was said by Beyoncé, a famous female singer who embraces the woman she is. Even though gender inequality is present for women in both societies, there are many differences between the expectations of females in the 1930’s to females today.

Throughout history, women have been viewed differently from men. In the 1880’s and before, women were in charge of making a happy home, her job above all was to make sure her husband was happy. Around, the 1910’s women began fighting for their right to vote and to be viewed as an equal to the janitor that works for them. Still, to this day, women and girls are fighting to be viewed as an equal and respected as men and boys are in our society.

Now in this precise year and day, you may view women as a strong and powerful person but was it always like that? In the 1920s, was the year women finally got the right to vote after all the campaigns made and reforms performed. In all some were still housewives while some felt the need to work in order to provide money for the family or themselves. Not all were married and had a husband to provide for them. Many obstacles had to be faced in order to be where we are today. Females faced inequality with men, but that did not stop them from accomplishing what they desired. Jobs and education in the 1920s were limited to women.

After World War I, also known as the great war, America went through a period called the ¨Return to Normalcy¨ created by Warren G Harding. United States helped to return to normalcy following the great war by improving equality amongst black and white people. They also had debates on science and religion and gain equality rights for women that sparked a positive changes.

Gender roles of labor opportunity for women were changed as the outcome of World War II. Before the hardship war, women were seen as “stay at home” mothers according to Historpedia in the article of “A Change in Gender Roles: Women’s Impact during WWII in the Workforce and Military”. A stereotypical perfect American family would be that the men were obligated to bring home money from work and the women in the family were obligated to raise their children and do house chores. As the United States joins in the war, women were brought into factories to help produce war production as the men were sent off to serve the military, states Historpedia. In the factories, women were producing airplanes, warships, munitions, tanks, and even working started in technical and scientific fields as well.

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

World War II afford women's ability for join the work force. Before World War II, women would had stayed home and took care of family, or were teachers, nurses, and secretaries. During the war women had to replace main bulk of male workers who fought over seas. When the war ended and men had returned home any women went back to their to their old jobs, while some remain at their new

Women rights has been a major ongoing minority concern to many within the world within the last few centuries. The struggles, concerns and overall hard work it took to get the level of respect they have been entitled to today will be later discussed. The paper will take a deeper look into what these women had to go through to give us these rights that we often take advantage of. Understanding and exploring the possibilities and suffrage from these women. This paper will examine the history of both the individuals and actions taken throughout this process.

As discussed above, World War II did have a great effect on the lives of women. The war opened up many opportunities for women in the employment arena and furthermore, encouraged them to pursue these opportunities. As a result, women discovered they could do many of the jobs that were typically labeled “man’s work” and what’s more they not only enjoyed it but, excelled at it. But, this was not the catalyst that caused women to leave their homes and enter the workforce as originally thought. According to the Palmer Survey data, a set of historical data on 4,350 working women from 1950, in addition to statistics from the Department of Labor regarding women in the workforce during the 1940’s, “more than 50 percent of the women working in 1950 had been employed in 1940 and that the rate of entrance into the labor force, among those employed in 1950, was the same during the first half of the 1940’s as during the second half. Just 20 percent of those working in 1950 had entered the labor force during World War II, and about half the wartime entrants left

“The demands of female citizens, founded on simple and indisputable principles may ever uphold the constitution and good morals, may contribute to happiness of all” (de Gouges, 95). Women’s rights have changed throughout time and across cultures. Even now, there is some debate about what establishes a woman’s rights. Commonly, women’s rights in today’s society refers to whether women have equality with men where women and men’s capabilities are the same. For example, equal pay for equal work and women’s role in the military.

The overall gender inequality today was not as bad as it was during the 1888, but it still persists in everyday life. Women are still getting paid less, 77 cents for every dollar a man earns. This is a gap that has consequences for women. In the 1800s, women didn't have the right to vote, in some places, didn't have the right to wear clothes that resembled that of men's, there was a huge gender gap. The problems that were present back then are nowhere near as the same as today's inequality. But, what is the same is the reason why women still fight for their equality. They fight for it because they are able to and have the right to do so. And this doesn't stand true for women, it stands for men and people of color. Men's suicide rates are higher