Women in The Workforce

Introduction

Throughout the American history, before and even immediately after the nineteenth century, Women, like slaves, were not treated equal to men. Their roles were guided by the description they were given in the society. They were seen as physically weak, and all what they did was to provide motherhood and wifehood responsibilities. They were also expected to follow their husband’s orders and guidelines. The society saw them as a weaker sex or below the limits of men in the early part of the century. Soon after the decades moved, especially after 1880, women gradually came to breath taste the emblem of freedom. There was rise of feminism and campaigns for women suffrage. Women started questioning the gender roles as they demanded opportunities for education, rights to vote, ownership of property, employment opportunities. All this campaigns brought a new social change in the society. This paper will address the right of women to gain education, their entry in the workforce, right to vote, ownership of property, their role in the development of housing and how they addressed societal ills such as child labor and prostitution.

Education and Women's Rights

After a long period of coping with the doubts and regulations that women could not gain education, several women revolts began to up rise. They had the feeling that they needed education as much as their male counterparts. They were against the norm that men went to college while they were not allowed. Women wanted to be educated to better their life and prove them able. Schools to provide women education began to up rise in several states and gained the support and admiration of many women. From 1880, women, through different organizations and groups gained access to formal education. Initially, education for girls was secondary to that for boys. In 1870’s, American girls learned how to read and write at dame schools. They could attend the boy’s schools when there was enough room. This was usually during The time when most of the boys were working. Several women feminists had set women schools and colleges by the end of 1890. In the late nineteen hundred, we had about 55000 women in college and high education institutions (Schuler 650). Women numbers in higher education increased steadily and by 1930 about 44 % of students in high learning institutions were women (645-650). Towards the end of the nineteenth century, the number of women in schools had increased to even more than half of the institutions population.

Women in the Workforce

American women have undergone several tests and battles to showcase their ability of taking an active part in the American labor force. Before the civil war of 1861-1865, the role of women was different. They were required to carry out motherhood and perform house hold chores, while the men were the family providers. The post civil war period was characterized by change as women entered the workforce. According to Schuller, the post war period was followed by new urban life, where not only fathers worked but also mothers and children (16.2). Immigration to the western states also exposed women to work environment. In the west their mobility was constraint by the fact that they needed to look after business, homes, farms and ranches (Schaller 545). By 1995, Young middle class white and black women were actively involved in the workforce and they performed a lot of work related jobs. More Labor unions were formed. For example The Knights of labor supported women to have equal pay for equal work done. By the onset of the twentieth century, women were growing more independent. Feminist ideas surpassed the American nation by 1998, for instance, charlotte Perkins, called on women to abandon their independent status and contribute to the larger life of the community. The first and the second world wars saw women involved in the labor force. A large number of women worked like nurses and telephone operators. After the two wars women were expected to move from their war time identity and go back to their traditional roles as wives at home (Schaller 880). Lower income women were forced to the low earning jobs. Many reacted to this idea of abandoning their wartime jobs. The wartime experience made them realize they could handle men jobs even better, they therefore felt more comfortable entering into the job market. They began to gain equality in the work force and in 1963 the equal pay act was enacted which allowed equal pay for all genders in work done (Schuler 648). This involvement of women in the workforce continued to flourish throughout the years that followed up to the twenty first century.

Women's Right to Vote

Women were also seen in the front line to fight for the right to vote where several notable feminist struggled successfully to have women voting rights granted. In 1890 women from suffrage movements formed the National American Suffrage association. This association was founded by Elizabeth Cady and Susan B (Mayer16.1). On the twentieth century new suffragists continued to push for the right of women to vote. They included notable leaders like Jane Adams and Carrie Chapman Catt, who were more pragmatic and business like reformers. Carrie Chapman argued that even if women were to be given the voting rights, they were to denounce their traditional definition and take up new roles in the places like boards of public health, police commissions, and school boards. Despite continuous criticism from men, the suffragists registered great gains; women were permitted to vote in the local elections especially on issues related to schools ( Mayer 16). According to Schaller, in 1916, Alice Paul formed the national women party(NWP), which was militant in nature and focused on ensuring a national suffrage amendment(622-634).The Wyoming territory granted the first unrestricted suffrage to women. Later in the twentieth century, Women access to independence in America was witnessed first in the west where voting rights were extended to them (Schaller 545). After the First World War the legal right of women to vote was established nationally in 1920. From this amendment, women enjoyed voting rights as men did up to date.

Women's Ownership of Property

The campaigns for women to own property in America gathered support after 1880, because of growing number of women who through education, realized that the society was extremely unequal and recognized the need for change through action. Their struggles were favored by the two world wars. In the First World War, women, operated as nurses and telephone operators among other duties. But immediately the war ended, they were required to go back to their former jobs. This still happened in 1945 during the Second World War. The 1944 GI bill benefitted women who had participated in the war. This bill expanded access to higher education, enabled home ownership for a much wider segment of society, and helped create a climate of success for returning veterans (Schaller 880). It provided low interest loans to the war veterans to enable them to buy homes, start business, hiring preferences for civil service jobs and extensive health care (Schaller 880). This bill provided an opportunity for women to own property as it was opposed before.

Women's Role in Housing Development

Women in the history of America played a key role in the development of housing from the progressive era (1890-1920). During this time, cities were under strain of too many people and inadequate housing. The urban working population found themselves living in crowded unhealthy subdivided apartments with little fresh air and sanitation. American feminists like Florence Kelly, viewed decent housing as a matter of social justice (Schaller 688). They drew their major examples from European countries especially Great Britain. The housing reformers found a challenge in ensuring proper housing since the courts saw it as a government intervention in private property (Schaller 688). The feminists also formed several movements which spearheaded a number of urban reforms. These movements helped them to enter into the political arena and advocate for temperance. Women’s organizations and clubs established schools and libraries, affordable day care and home economic courses for working mothers (Schaller 688). The black women also established their own organizations, for example, the National Association of Colored Women (NACW) (Schaller 688). They established hospitals, kindergartens, and health care facilities.

Women's Role in Addressing Societal Ills

American women made progressive reforms in ensuring abolition of child labor in the early days of urban life and later in the twentieth century. Both black and white feminists strived to ensure a healthy childhood. Majorly, the middle class women were appalled by the sheltered natured lives of their own children and those of the working class, who labored in perilous conditions to support their families (Schaller 688). There was an upsurge of new psychological theories arguing that the adulthood behavior depended much on childhood experiences. These made the feminists even demand more rights to childhood. Florence Kelly and other reformists formed a child labor committee in New York. In the start of the twentieth century they formed they extended their campaigns to the national level and established the national child labor committee in 1904. The fights of the feminists saw the congress pass laws prohibiting child labor in 1916. This law banned interstate commerce on goods produced by child labor (689). From there henceforth child labor was highly prohibited by the American constitution.

The progressive era (1890-1920) saw women gain interest in fighting societal ills. The public motherhood established in the municipal levels in the cities attacked the salons, cigarettes and prostitution. Salons almost doubled between 1880 and 1900 and this attracted more Americans to drinking liquor (Schaller 689). These places were intended to provide entertainment to reformers and dispensing free and cheap food to working men, they turned out to be devils workshops. Women reformers saw these drinking zones as a threat to the sancity of the home. Men would drink up their paycheck and abuse women and children in drunken rages (689). Alcohol sparked crimes also led to other vices (Schaller 689). Reformist organizations mostly formed by women resented alcohol and campaigned for legislation to regulate or ban alcohol drinking. Formation of the Anti-Salon league formed in 1895 took the battle to the national level seeking a nationwide ban on drinking. Long struggles by the feminists and anti salon organizations recorded success between 1906 and 1907 when most states in south and west passed prohibition laws. Later, the eighteenth amendment barred the sale of alcohol in the United States which remained in effect until 1933.further regulations were enacted by the government on alcohol which came to action in the rest of the century.

Apart from alcohol, the reformist women resented what they called immoral sexual behaviors, that is, prostitution. They brought to light the knowledge of vulnerable diseases in the society which alarmed many middle class residents. The reformers blamed foreigners for importing women with sexually transmitted diseases, who through their male clients, infected innocent wives and children (Schaller 689). The congress reacted to the feminists’ outcry by deporting prostitutes and anyone associated with businesses such as music and dancehall (689). The Mann Act of 1910 made it immoral to transport women across state lines for immoral purposes. By 1920, the reformists had gained momentum and destroyed more commercial prostitution, in many states which had been inexistence for over 50 years. In addition, they aimed at establishing social services such as homes for single working-men to prevent them from becoming prostitutes.

Conclusion

In conclusion, American women have faced a long period of struggles and tests to fight for their rights as well as the well being of the society. They struggled to establish schools for themselves against the existing male chauvinism in the society. Besides, they relentlessly fought for universal suffrage arguing that men were equal to women in the ballot. In occupational employment, equal wages for work done was a challenge until past mid twentieth century. However, it was not until after the Second World War that women started owning property comfortably, something they had fought for over one century. In the societal fraternity, women played a vital role in campaigning for better housing in the city centers. In addition they tirelessly fought several ills in the society like child labor and prostitution.

Works cited

Mayer, Matt A. "History and the Holocaust." (2007).

Schaller, Michael, et al. "American Horizons: US History in a Global Context, Volume I: To 1877, with Sources." (2012).