Revisions Summary

For the first blog, in order to visually see how the media of the 19th century portrayed women as people who should not work, I added a propaganda that did not support women equality. I also changed the sentence structures for “19th Century American Women Enter the Labor Force” in order to make it flow better. In the post, “The Evolution of Women in the Workforce,” I added a paragraph to connect how Stone’s speech connects to the greater historical context of the time. For my next set of blog posts, I added my own opinion and commentary throughout the posts. For “Turn of the Century” I added additional information on the roles of women in society. I changed a lot of information up for “Rosie the Riveter Motivates Working Women.” I made this blog posts more specific to the World War II era and analyzed the propaganda more rather than relating information from “History of Women in the Workforce 1939-1954.” For “History of Women in the Workforce 1939-1954,” I put a lot more focus on the 1950s and 1950s. Lastly, the last two posts, I changed them into past tense. I also added more specific examples instead of being broad. For my conclusion, I clarified my central argument and made sure that it was apparent throughout my introduction.

Posted in Final Version | Leave a comment

Introduction (Revised)

The evolution of American women in the workforce is often overlooked when studying the progression of American society. Since the beginning of time, American women have gone through a series of struggles, battles, and tests to prove their capability of being an active part of the American labor force. Before the Civil War, the role of women in society was different. Women were expected to stay home to take care of their children and perform household chores, while the men were the bread earners. However, post civil war this ideology began to shift as women started to enter the workforce. This significantly promoted a sense of freedom for these women. This blog explores the history of women in the workforce and the series of events that led to present day workingwomen. The central idea to take away from these blogs is that women have actively taken initiative to fight for equal working rights and have finally gained a sense of working freedom throughout the course of time.

A major shift in the workforce occurred immediately after the Civil War. African American women became a significant part of the labor force during this time. They needed to earn a steady income after they were freed from slavery. Other immigrants also joined the workforce and performed a lot of service related jobs. Soon enough middle class white women also started to enter the workforce in order to adequately provide for the entire family. The labor force pertaining to women mirrored the racial issues going on in society at the time. Employers hired white women usually for higher positions than people of color. This demonstrated the structure of American society in late 19th century. After the civil war many whites continued to have animosity towards the blacks, and treated them unequally. This unequal treatment was even carried into the workforce.

Soon, labor unions started to open up membership to women because more women joined the workforce and were treated unequally. In fact, during the 1880s the labor union The Knights of Labor supported women to gain equal pay for equal work. The struggle for equality was a prominent problem for these women in the workforce. On top of that, working conditions worsened during the late 19th and early 20th century. These women were faced with long working hours with a poor pay. Women also had a lower minimum wage rate than the men and had to balance their family life on in additional to all of that. Many prominent figures, such as Lucy Hale and Mother Jones attempted to motivate workingwomen to keep going and fight for work equality.

It was in 1939 during World War II when things started shifting for these workingwomen. Since significant portion of the men in America left to fight the war, women took on the jobs of the men in the labor force. This was one of the first opportunities for women to branch out into jobs that they have never performed before and prove their capability. During this time period women were not only working in service jobs, but also professional jobs that were once male dominated. The government used various propaganda and icons such as Rosie the Riveter to encourage more women to enter the workforce. This was essential because there was such shortage in labor supply at the time.

During this time, women felt a new sense of independence and freedom because they were doing the same work as the men did. However, this feeling did not last very long. Once World War II was over most men wanted their jobs back, and a lot of women either had to leave the workforce, or return to their previous secretarial, teaching, and other feminine jobs. This was a disappointment to a lot of women because as they were getting the freedom that they always wanted, it was being taken away from them.

During the mid 20th century, women were confused on their standpoint in society. They were unsure whether it was appropriate for them to join the labor force, or if they should stay home to take care of the children. Many non-profit organizations, unions, and activist stood up for the rights of women. This period of confusion of the role of women lasted a couple of years, but alleviated during the late 20th century. Soon, women felt confortable entering the labor force once again. Women also begin to gain equality in the workforce. The equal pay act was enacted. In addition, some women started to work in jobs that were once male dominated. Women started filling up positions in the government sector, other professional jobs, and many other high skilled jobs.

This change in women in the workforce continued flourishing throughout the years that followed leading up to the present day. Women became a substantial part of the American labor force and begin to gain equal rights. All of the events that come from the course of history have shaped society’s viewpoint of American women in the labor force. An essential theme that these women have explored is the feeling and power of freedom. Modern day American history is all about freedom and having equal opportunity and rights. With this ideology in mind, while these women have actively worked to help shape America’s labor force, they will continue being an active part in enhancing the labor force for all future women to come.

 

 

Posted in Final Version | Leave a comment

Shirley Chisholm’s Equal Rights Speech (Revised)

shirleychisholmpublicdomain

(Pictured: Shirley Chisholm, who was a member of the House of Representatives)

Blog #8

From 1954-1980 many women went from housewives, to entering the workforce. However, gender discrimination still remained prevalent throughout the time period (Steiger). Women were not being hired for work that was considered “males work.” This caused labor unions, and many other organizations to fight for women equality in the workforce. Shirley Chisholm, the first African American congresswoman to be elected in the House of Representatives, gave a speech called “Equal Rights for Women,” in Washington D.C. on May 21, 1969 to the House of Representatives. Her main argument was how the issue of gender discrimination in the workforce was prevalent and unfair. (Chisholm). She made this case in front of the House of Representatives hoped for a change.

She began her speech saying, “young woman graduates from college and starts looking for a job, she is likely to have a frustrating and even demeaning experience ahead of her.” Chisholm stated in her speech that women have a harder time finding jobs of their preference upon graduation. She continued to say, “Why is it acceptable for women to be secretaries, librarians, and teachers, but totally unacceptable for them to be managers, administrators, doctors, lawyers, and Members of Congress.” I really liked how Chisholm brought up this point because during the 1960s-1980, the job choices for women were very limited. There was gender discrimination occurring amongst employers and they usually only hired women when the jobs were more service based and “female oriented.” Chisholm explained that employers viewed women as people who “do not have executive ability orderly minds, stability, leadership skills, and they are too emotional.” For that reason they would hire men or women if applying for the same job.

Shirley Chisholm also made another valid point that women made up over half the population of the America. However, “women only occupy 2 percent of managerial positions” (Equal Rights for Women). This showed that gender discrimination was an ongoing issue and that many women had to settle for jobs that did not require high skills.

She concluded her argument in the speech by supporting equality. She stated, “What we need are laws to protect working people, to guarantee them fair pay, safe working conditions, protection against sickness and layoffs, and provision for dignified, comfortable retirement. Men and women need things equally.” This speech voiced how many women during the era felt about gender equality in the workforce. They wanted to be able to work freely anywhere they chose. However, employers did not hire them in specific jobs simply because they were women. This was a prevalent issue of the time.

Shirley Chisholm advocated this speech to the House of Representatives and hoped for a change in policy. Just like Shirley Chisholm, many labor unions, the Woman’s Labor Bureau, and other organizations were actively advocating for women equality in the workforce. Looking at the broader historical context, I considered all of these people voicing their opinions to be extremely important because it led to women gaining some working equality in the coming years. Gradually with the help of the government, gender discrimination in the workforce alleviated.

Works Cited

Chisholm, Shirley. “Equal Rights for Women.” House of Representatives Meeting. House

of Representatives, Washington D.C. 21 Mar. 1969. Speech.

Equal Rights for Women Speech. N.p.: America Rhetoric, 1975. americanrhetoric.com

Web. 31 Mar. 2015.

Steiger, Thomas L., and Mark Wardell. “Gender and Employment in the Service Sector.”

Social Problems 42.1 (1995): JSTOR. Web. 31 Mar. 2015.

Posted in Final Version | Leave a comment

1954-1980 Women in Workforce (Revised)

American_Association_of_University_Women_members_with_President_John_F._Kennedy_as_he_signs_the_Equal_Pay_Act_into_law

(Pictured: The American Association of University Women members are present as President John F. Kennedy signs in the Equal Pay Act Law in 1963)

Blog #7:

As the post World War II period was settling down, most women were back in their homes instead of the workforce. During the 1950s, many women were expected to stay home and take care of their children while the men served as the bread earners.

However, during the 1960s there was a period of confusion on the role of women in the workforce. The article, “The 1960s: A Decade of Change for Women,” states “the problem that has no name burst like a boil through the image of the happy American housewife” (Walsh). These women did not know what their expectations were regarding balancing family life and work. In fact only, “one in 5 women with children under 6 and nearly one fourth of women whose children were over 16 held paid jobs in the Sixties. I personally think that the decline of women’s participation in the labor force is unfortunate just as it was rising.

For the women that remained in the workforce, an equal pay act for women was passed in 1963. “The Equal Pay Act made it illegal to pay different wages to men and women who performed the same work.” However, the wage gap between the men and women still existed because of the type of jobs women were performing were different and required a lower skill level then the jobs that men held. Gender segregation was a prevalent issue during the early 1960s.

The 1970s was when many women started entering the workforce again. In fact, “the change in terms of women’s participation in the workplace began in the 1970s when a single-income household could no longer support a comfortable, middle-class lifestyle” (Baig). The women had to enter the workforce because of economic need. This mirrored post civil war because women during that time also entered the workforce to support their families. The primary jobs that women were involved in during this time included secretarial jobs, bookkeepers, administrative assistants, cashiers, and teachers. Some women really had trouble juggling both jobs and family life, especially the single-mothers with low-skilled jobs. These women had less flexibility at work. It became a huge problem when their kids got sick and the single-moms no longer had any vacation days left. Juggling family with work was a huge problem for women during this time.

In 1971, “The U.S. Department of Labor rules require government contractors to take positive action on discrimination against women” (Selected Timeline). Unions and many other organizations continued to advocate for equality in the workforce for these women. According to “The goals and timetables demanded by affirmative action became in the seventies a major lever for opening long-dosed jobs to women.” (Steiger)

1950s-1960s was a period of confusion for working women. Women debated whether to stay home to take care of household work and children, or to join the workforce. It was during the 1970s when most women felt comfortable entering the workforce again. However, these women were not treated equally compared to the men at work and most women were primarily hired for “female” jobs. As this was happening more organizations started to get involved as well as government intervention occurred. I consider this time period to be essential because women showed society that they could take care of household tasks, but also work at the same time. Many people advocated for women working rights, which shaped how the role of these women would be in the future. This time period set the foundation for women to establish equal working rights. The role of women in the workforce after this time period only continues to get better.

Works Cited

Baig, Mehroz. “Women in the Workforce: What Changes Have We Made?” The

Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 19 Dec. 2013. Web. 31 Mar. 2015.

“Selected Timeline of Women’s Labor History.” (n.d.): n. pag.

Georgtown.southseattle.edu. Georgetown. Web. 31 Mar. 2015.

Steiger, Thomas L., and Mark Wardell. “Gender and Employment in the Service Sector.”

Social Problems 42.1 (1995): 98. JSTOR. Web. 31 Mar. 2015.

Walsh, Kenneth T. “The 1960s: A Decade of Change for Women.” US News. U.S.News

& World Report, 12 Mar. 2010. Web. 31 Mar. 2015

Posted in Final Version | Leave a comment

Rosie the Riveter Motivates Working Women (Revised)

We_Can_Do_It!

(Pictured: “The Westinghouse Poster” and later called “Rosie the Riveter,” made by Miller Howard.  It was used as government propaganda during WW2.)

Blog #6

As World War II progressed in 1942, many American men were sent overseas to fight in the army. With men leaving the American workforce in numerous amounts, there were countless jobs that needed to be filled. Employers had no choice, but to have women fill these jobs. An article published by NYU says, “Industries historically averse to hiring women now threw open their doors, challenging traditionally sexist views and forever altering the composition of the workforce” (New York University). Throughout the course of history women fulfilled conservative roles, but were now fulfilling the role of men in society. According to the textbook “American Pageant,” an estimation of 6 million women entered the workforce during this time” (Kennedy 827). This was a significant change for workforce of the time of World War II.

Many women gladly accepted new roles in the workforce because it was a chance to prove themselves equal to men. However, some women, especially the ones with children, hesitated to enter the workforce. For this reason, the government imposed propaganda to persuade women to enter the workforce. One famous propaganda poster referred to as “The Westinghouse Poster” and years later was called “Rosie the Riveter.” J. Howard Miller designed this poster in 1942 (Howard). The poster shows a woman worker wearing a bandana showing her muscle. Muscles, which are usually associated with male power was portrayed on a typical American woman. This caught the attention of many women. The poster helped the women envision a life that would be equal to men, which was unheard of during the time.

The top of the poster reads “We Can Do It.” As part of the propaganda campaign, the government introduced a character named Rosie to represent the women in America. “The strong, bandanna-clad Rosie became one of the most successful recruitment tools in American history, and the most iconic image of working women in the World War II era” (Rosie the Riveter). Rosie was based on a real woman named Rosie Monroe who was an aircraft assembly worker. The fact that Rosie was a real women worker really helped the women relate to the propaganda. The women thought that if Rosie could do it, then they could too.

This poster motivated women to take on the role of men in society. The propaganda along with many others that followed imposed a patriotic feeling amongst these women (Gassner). They wanted to work because of the love for America than solely for wages.

“The Westinghouse Poster” significantly helped the American women gain confidence in them as they were working to keep America functioning during difficult times. Without this poster the government may have not been able to convince as many women to continue working for the greater good of America. These women built planes, bombs, and many weapons that helped America win World War II. Looking at the greater historical context, by taking on the role of men in the workforce, these women helped sustain America’s economy during the tragic wartime. As an article on Rosie the Riveter says that by “proving that they could do the jobs known as “men’s work” created an entirely new image of women in American society, and set the stage for upcoming generations” (United States History).

 

Works Cited

Gassner, Danna. “We Can Do It! A Semiotic Approach to J. Howard Miller’s Rosie the Riveter

Poster and the Morale of World War II Era American Women.” Academia Education, 2012. Web. 14 Mar. 2015.

Kennedy, David M., Lizabeth Cohen, and Thomas Andrew Bailey. “Chapter 35 America in

World War II.” The American Pageant: A History of the American People. 13th ed. Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2010. 827-28. Print.

Howard Miller. “Rosie the Riveter” The Westinghouse Electric Corporation. 1942.

New York University. Division of Libraries. Rosie the Riveter “We Can Do It” Women’s Stories

Come to Life. Nyu.edu. New York University, 18 Jan. 2012. Web. 14 Mar. 2015.

“Rosie the Riveter.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.

“United States History: Rosie the Riveter.” United States History. United States History, n.d.

Web. 07 Mar. 2015.

Posted in Final Version | Leave a comment

History of Women in Workforce from 1939-1954 (Revised)

victoria-station

(Pictured: A woman dressed up and on her way to work in the 1950s)

Blog #5

Due to the significant events of World War II and postwar there were many changes affecting women in the workforce especially from 1939 to 1954. These important events included an increase in the amount of women in the workforce, labor union participation, and labor equality acts.

As millions of men left America to fight in World War, “Between 1940 and 1944, more than 6 million women joined the civilian labor force” (Selected Timeline). In 1942, the government also decreased the working age of women from 18 years of age to 16 years of age.

By 1944 there was also an increase in women’s participation in labor unions. Just within the span of wartime, the union participation changed from 800,000 women to 3 million women. As there was an increase in women in the workforce, more people wanted to protect their working rights and promote equality. One prominent union that was established during the time was the Airline Stewardess Associations, which was a union for flight attendants. This was established in 1945 and aided women in attaining many rights such as higher wages and limited hours.

While women became prominent workers, many acts and laws were being proposed for equal working rights. In 1945 the Equal Pay act was introduced to the U.S. Congress. However, this bill did not reach the president until years later. In 1949 Washington State imposed a law against employment discrimination. The law stated, “AN ACT to prevent and eliminate discrimination in employment against persons because of race, creed, color or national origin.” (Washington State). This law was enacted to help the women prosper as they started being a significant part of the American workforce. I personally consider that these equality acts were extremely essential for the progression of society. It was necessary that employers treated every employee fairly despite of race and gender.

By the end of World War II so many women had entered the workforce. However, as soon as the war ended, the servicemen wanted their jobs back. According to the article “World War II Homefront,” “Some recognized as one woman in Tacoma noted, “My husband wants a wife, not a career woman” (Winkler). During the early 1950s, “Women are 29% of the total workforce; 32% of working-age women have jobs and nearly half are married” (Selected Timeline). Unfortunately, the wages of these women decreased to 60.3 cents for every dollar a male made.

The period of World War II and post war brought about much change in the lives of working women. The equality and freedom that these women were getting were being taken away from them. Although it is unfortunate that many of these women had to step down from their working roles, this period changed the course of history. In the broader context, these women proved to society that women were just as capable as men and also deserving of equal working rights. This era marked the beginning of all of the freedom that working women will gain in the future.

Works Cited

“Mobilizing for War, Helping Veterans.” Dol.gov. US Department of Labor, n.d. Web. 14 Mar.

“Selected Timeline of Women’s History.” Georgetown.southseattle.edu. Georgetown, n.d. Web.

14 Mar. 2015.

Washington State Law Against Employment Discrimination, S. (1949). Print.

Winkler, Alan M. “The World War II Home Front. The Glider Lehrman Institute of American

History, 2009. Web. 14 Mar. 2015.

Posted in Final Version | Leave a comment

Mother Jones: A Significant Figure in the American Labor Movement (Revised)

Mother_Jones_1902-11-04

(Pictured: Mother Jones)

Blog #4

Mary Harris Jones, commonly referred to as Mother Jones, was a famous woman of the early 19th century who advocated working rights (Haman). Her passion for the labor movement emerged through her own work experiences at a sewing business. Her employers did not care about her, nor did the care about other employees who were living in poverty. It is unfortunate that during this time relations between employers and employees was very poor.

Mary Haman’s article refers to Mother Jones as “a dangerous women.” She supported working rights for both men and women for over twenty-five year and was a significant leader of the American labor movement. This article mentions, “She inspired thousands of workers to stand up for their rights, organize against their employers, and fight to improve their working conditions.”

On August 15, 1912, Mother Jones delivered a speech in West Virginia to men and women that were industrial workers and coal miners. Mother Jones talked about how “crippling work schedules, hazardous conditions, and substandard wages plagued the mineworkers” (Jones).The goal of Mother Jones speech was to have the workers stand up to their employers and demand their rights, but it also served as a way to put mine owners and government down.

Mother Jones does this by ridiculing and guilt tripping them. In referring to the government, Mother Jones says, “Aye men, aye men, inside of this building, aye women, come with me and see the horrible pictures, see the horrible condition the ruling class has put these women in.”  She says in her speech,  “I have been to jail more than once, and I expect to go again. If you [addressing crowd] are too cowardly to fight, I will fight.” She continues talking about how if the workers do not stand together then nothing can be done. Then she begins accusing the mine owners for all that they have put workers through, “You stole it from these wretches. You murdered, you assassinated, you starved, you burned them to death, that you and your wives might have palaces, and that your wives might go to the seashore.” I thought it was interesting that she compared the rich wives of the mine owners, to the workingwomen who did not even have enough money to feed their family. This shows the inequality of wealth distribution of America during the time because of low working wages.

Brutal language towards the government and employer was a common pattern that I observed in Mother Jones’ speech. Women of the time were helpless because of low wages and poor working conditions. Countless of women during the era were fighting for women’s suffrage in order to have a say in improving working conditions.

Looking at the overall historical context, Mother Jones and many other workingwomen during this time period created great change in the way society was structured. During the end of this era, minimum wage, labor laws, and better health conditions were established. In my opinion, it was because of activists like Mother Jones that helped improve the quality of the workforce significantly. These conditions will only continue to improve in the future years.

 

Works Cited

Haman, Mary K. “Mother Jones, “Speech at a Public Meeting on the Steps of the Capitol,

Charleston, West Virginia”” Umd.edu. The Pennsylvania State University, n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2015.

Jones, Mary H. “Mother Jones Speaks to Striking Coal Miners.” Public Meeting. West

Virginia on the Steps of the Capitol, Charleston. 15 Aug. 1912. Speech.

“Women in Labor History Timeline.” Women in Labor History Timeline (n.d.): n. pag.

Posted in Final Version | Leave a comment

Women in Workforce: The Turn of the Century (1898-1939) (Revised)

Suffrage-Pickets-Woman-White-004

(Pictured: National Women’s Party Protesting for Women’s Equality)

Blog #3

The occupations that women held from 1898 to 1939 were similar to the late 19th century. Women continued to work in occupations that ranged from domestic services, agriculture, and clerical office work. The highest paying jobs were usually given to the middle class working white women. It is interesting to see that the racial discrimination that was prominent of the time continues into the workforce. Along with that, women were still not paid fairly. According to National Women’s History Museum, “Women still earned much less than men, about 60% of men’s average wages” (NWHM).

Unfortunately, the working conditions for these women worsened during this time. The women had to work longer hours and had low wages. This issue intensified the women’s labor reform movement and ultimately led to the Progressive Era.  New movements and organizations came out to promote better working conditions and rights for these women. One of them included The National Consumer’s League, which was established in 1899. The Women’s Trade Union League, A Women’s War Council, and many other organizations formed to support these workingwomen.

As unions and organizations were forming, new laws were also being created. The women of this era were fighting for women’s suffrage. “Women in Labor History Timeline,” says that in 1916, “Alice Paul and Lucy Burns established the National Women’s Party to work for women’s suffrage.” In order to gain the working rights that these women deserved, they realized the importance of women’s suffrage. If they could vote and choose their government then they could improve the quality of their jobs. Women’s suffrage was passed in 1920 and became part of the 19th amendment. The National Women’s Party tried to pass an Equal Rights Amendment to make job discrimination regarding sex unconstitutional. However it was not a surprise that this amendment failed.

This era ended in 1938 with another significant change in the workforce. According to the article, “Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938: Maximum Struggle for a Minimum Wage,” the Fair Labor Standards Act established a minimum wage rate and maximum working hours for both men and women (Grossman). The organization set the minimum wage to $4.13 (adjusted to inflation) and 44 hours was the max employees could work in a week.

1898-1939 was an era of progression for workingwomen. They established the right to vote, better working conditions, higher wages, and also standard work hours. This had positive effects in their family life. Better working hours allowed them to spend more time with their children and husband at home. Having an established minimum wage provided these women with a steady income.  “Reviewed Works: Women’s Work and Family Values” states that the income women brought in families “became a positive contribution to family well being” (Milkman). Lastly, women’s suffrage gave these women the power to shape decisions regarding their working rights. This also shaped the greater historical context. I personally feel that this was the era when women were finally beginning to gain more power in the workforce and even politically and socially. It was time for the once male dominated society to be altered. These women started to leave a greater footprint in American history and began to consider themselves equal to the men. This feeling of equality strengthens as the men prepare for World War II, and the women begin to fulfill the role of men in society.

 

Works Cited:

Grossman, Johnathan. “Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938: Maximum Struggle for a

Minimum Wage.” Dol.gov. U.S. Department of Labor, June 1978. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.

Milkman, Ruth. “Reviewed Works: Women’s Work and Family Values, 1920-1940. by

Winifred D. Wandersee; Wartime Women: Sex Roles, Family Relations, and the                     Status of Women During World War II. by Karen Anderson.” American Journal of               Sociology 89.6 (1984): 1470-472. May 1984. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.

“NWHM: A History of Women in Industry.” Nwhm.org. National Women’s History

Museum, 2007. Web. 12 Feb. 2015.

“Women in Labor History Timeline.” Women in Labor History Timeline (n.d.): n. pag.

Web. 13 Feb. 2015

Posted in Final Version | Leave a comment

Introduction

The evolution of American women in the workforce is often overlooked when studying the progression of American society. Since the beginning of time, American women have gone through a series of struggles, battles, and tests to prove their capability of being an active part of the American labor force. Before the Civil War, the role of women in society was different. Women were expected to stay home to take care of their children and perform household chores, while the men were the bread earners. However, post civil war this ideology began to shift as women started to enter the workforce. This significantly promoted a sense of freedom for these women. This blog explores the history of women in the workforce and the series of events that led to present day workingwomen.

One major shift in the workforce occurred immediately after the Civil War. African American women were a significant part of the labor force during this time. This is because they needed a way to earn a steady income once they were free from being slaves. Other immigrants also joined the workforce and performed a lot of service related jobs. Soon enough middle class white women also started to enter the workforce in order to adequately be able to provide for the entire family. The women labor force mirrored the racial issues going on in society at the time. Employers hired white women usually for higher positions than people of color. This demonstrated how American society was structured during the late 19th century. After the civil war many whites still had animosity towards the blacks, and treated them unequally. This unequal treatment was being carried into the workforce.

As unequal treatment became prevalent and more women joined the labor force, labor unions started to open their membership up to women. In fact, during the 1880s the labor union The King of Knights supported women to gain equal pay for equal work. The struggle for equality was a prominent problem for these women in the workforce. Working conditions even worsened during the late 19th and early 20th century. They were faced with long working hours with a poor pay. The women also had a lower minimum wage rate than the men. These women also had to balance their family life on top of all of that. Many prominent figures, such as Lucy Hale and Mother Jones tried to motivate workingwomen to keep going and fight for work equality.
It was during 1939 during World War II when things started shifting for these workingwomen. As a significant portion of the men in America left to fight the war, women took on their jobs in the labor force. This was one of the first opportunities for women to branch out into jobs that they have never performed before and prove their capability. These women were now not only working in service jobs, but also professional jobs that were once male dominated. The government used various propaganda and icons such as Rosie the Riveter to encourage women to enter the workforce. This was essential because there was such shortage in labor supply at the time.

During this time, women felt a new sense of independent and freedom because they were doing the same work as men did. However, this feeling did not last very long. Once World War II was over many men wanted their jobs back, and a lot of women had to return to their previous secretarial, teaching, and other feminine jobs. This was a disappointment to a lot of women because just when they were getting the freedom that they always wanted, it was being taken away.

During the mid 20th century, these women were confused on their standpoint in society. They were unsure whether it was appropriate for them to join the labor force, or if they should stay home to take care of the children. Many non-profit organizations, unions, and activist stood up for the rights of women. This period of confusion of the role of women lasted a couple of year and alleviated during the late 20th century. Soon, women felt confortable entering the labor force once again. Women also begin to gain equality in the workforce. The equal pay act enacted and some women also started to work in once male dominated jobs. Women started filling up positions in the government, professional jobs, and many other high skilled jobs.

This change continued flourishing throughout the years that followed leading up to the present day. Women became a substantial part of the American labor force and begin to gain equal rights. All of the events that come from the course of history have shaped society’s viewpoint of American women in the labor force. An essential theme that these women have explored is the feeling and power of freedom. Modern day American history is all about freedom and having equal opportunity and rights. With this ideology in mind, while these women have actively worked to help shape America’s labor force, they will continue being an active part in enhancing the labor force for all future women to come.

 

Posted in Draft Version | Leave a comment

1954-1980 Women in Workforce

As the post World War II period was settling down, most women were back in their homes instead of the workforce. During the 1950s, many women were expected to stay home and take care of their children while the men served as the bread earners.

However, during the 1960s there was a period of confusion on the role of women in the workforce. The article, “The 1960s: A Decade of Change for Women,” states “the problem that has no name burst like a boil through the image of the happy American housewife” (Walsh). These women did not know what their expectations were regarding balancing family life and work. In fact only, “one in 5 women with children under 6 and nearly one fourth of women whose children were over 16 held paid jobs in the Sixties. An equal pay act for women was passed in 1963. “The Equal Pay Act made it illegal to pay different wages to men and women who performed the same work.” However, the wage gap between the men and women still existed because of the type of jobs women were performing were different and required a lower skill level then the jobs that men held. The struggle for women’s equality in the workforce continued throughout the decade. Gender segregation was a prevalent issue during the early 1960s.

The 1970s was when many women started entering the workforce again. In fact, “the change in terms of women’s participation in the workplace began in the 1970s when a single-income household could no longer support a comfortable, middle-class lifestyle” (Baig).The women had to enter the workforce because of economic need. The primary jobs that women were involved in during this time included secretarial jobs, bookkeepers, administrative assistants, cashiers, and teachers. In 1971, “The U.S. Department of Labor rules require government contractors to take positive action on discrimination against women” (Selected Timeline). Unions and many other organizations continued to advocate for equality in the workforce for these women. According to “The goals and timetables demanded by affirmative action became in the seventies a major lever for opening long-dosed jobs to women.” (Steiger)

1950s-1960s was a period of confusion for working women and all of society. Women debated whether to stay home and take care of household work and children, or to join the workforce. It was during the 1970s when most women felt comfortable entering the workforce again. However, these women were not treated equally compared to the men at work and most women were primarily hired for “female” jobs. As this was happening more organizations started to get involved as well as government intervention occurred. I consider this time period to be essential because women showed society that they could take care of household tasks, but also work at the same time. Many people advocated for women working rights, which shaped how the role of these women would be in the future. Although, women in the workforce were still not treated in the best way, this time period set the foundation for changes that will occur continue to occur for working women in the coming years.

 

Works Cited

Baig, Mehroz. “Women in the Workforce: What Changes Have We Made?” The

Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 19 Dec. 2013. Web. 31 Mar. 2015.

“Selected Timeline of Women’s Labor History.” (n.d.): n. pag.

Georgtown.southseattle.edu. Georgetown. Web. 31 Mar. 2015.

Steiger, Thomas L., and Mark Wardell. “Gender and Employment in the Service Sector.”

Social Problems 42.1 (1995): 98. JSTOR. Web. 31 Mar. 2015.

Walsh, Kenneth T. “The 1960s: A Decade of Change for Women.” US News. U.S.News

& World Report, 12 Mar. 2010. Web. 31 Mar. 2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in Draft Version | Leave a comment