This paper will explain some key factors in the views of women all around the world; why women’s progress in achieving leadership roles has stopped making progress, explaining the main causes of women’s leadership roles, and offering interesting solutions that can empower women to achieve their full potential. Beginning in the early 1800s, many women took a leading role in the struggle for black rights. Black men had more rights than these black women and black men were not willing to let black women have an equal place at the table. This eventually abolished slavery then, led to the suffragist movement, which led to women winning the right to vote, and many other things. This led women’s rights movement of the 60’s and still occurs today.
Without the changing role of women, things that we have in everyday life as American’s could possibly not exist. Women not only were more help to the family, but they were helping rebuild the nation. As a whole, women helped clean up the process of urbanization and immigration, helped literature grow, and helped change the ongoing problem of women’s suffrage. After the Civil War, many people from other countries started immigrating to America. As a result, urbanization quickly started going out of control due to lack of communication, too many people being forced into slums, and many other reasons.
Cars were also a hot commodity in the 1950s. More new cars meant new road ways and that is when the interstate impacted everyone’s travel. Since the 50s had a good economy the price for housing was low, and most families had enough money to buy two cars. This was due to there being more jobs for women so both parents could have a job. Also the work week was shorter, and there was a higher pay for them after the war.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton fought for women to have legal rights, have better jobs, and higher education, even though many men shunned her. First off, many women fought against the laws that discriminated against them. In 1848, Stanton met with four other women for a social meeting. They decided to form a convention and get together to “discuss the social, civil, and religious condition and rights of women (Brown).” This convention was called The Seneca Falls Convention. The women campaigned for full female equality.
They believe this as women now go out to work, despite the fact it may only be part-time, its far more than it used to be. Additionally, men now help with housework and childcare. From their studies in London, they found that the symmetrical family was more common among younger couples who were geographically and socially isolated e.g. the young couples who moved away to Bethnal Green and were living at a distance from the extended family were more likely to have a symmetrical relationship. They see the rise in the symmetrical family as a result of major social changes in the past century; changes in women position, including married women going out to work, geographical mobility, more couples living away from the communities in which they grew up.
Abigail Adams reminded her husband to not forget the women in the constitution which is significant because it was the beginning of women’s rights. Women also became more involved and interested in politics, to the distaste of most men. Many women followed their soldiers while at war and took care of the men. There were some women who acted in radical ways (ex. the New York City fire, riots, and letters), which hadn’t previously been so.
But though these helped the motor car without the republican policies the motor car might not of done as well. The policies for things like import tariffs increased the demand on American goods like the T-ford car. Also the idea of hire purchase made it easier for people who did not make much (companies like the T-ford only paid their works 5$ per day) compared to the price of the car ($290), to be able to afford the car. By 1929 Americans owned more than 23 million cars. The workers earnt good wages ,
Women who weren’t married worked in cotton and woolen mills and often took refuge in company boarding houses which consisted of six women in one room, two women to a bed. They had simple jobs which was two dollars every two weeks with 12 to 16 hour days. A woman with a better education got an extra dollar a week for teaching. Lucy Stone for example, she is the founder of the American Woman Suffrage Association. She became a teacher at the age of 16 and slowly saved money she earned which was one dollar a week.
The future foundation (2002) supports the march of progress and found that 75% of women do less domestic chores than their mothers and 60% or men claim they do more domestic chores than their fathers. Young and Willmot (1973) said that the symmetrical family is becoming increasingly popular. This is a type of family in which the domestic chores, childcare and paid work roles are split equally between the man and woman. This family type is becoming so popular because women’s position in society has changed significantly over the recent years, it’s now normal for women to have a career instead of being a housewife. Also the burden of housework has decreased due to commercialisation of housework, the housewife role is disappearing and it’s now easier and quicker to keep a home clean by the use of hovers and washing machines.
A professional career was almost impossible, and despite Britain’s ruler being female for most of the nineteenth century until 1901 when Queen Elizabeth died, women were second class citizens. In 1870, Queen Victoria had written, ‘let women be what God intended, a helpmate for man, but with totally different duties and vocations.’ Trint, S. History Learning Site 2010-2011. Women’s Rights. www.historylearningsite.co.uk [accessed 07122011] Women’s subordination to men meant that their prime duty was domestic. Children were an economic responsibility for women - providing food, housing and clothing until the child was independent and could go out to work to provide for the family themselves.