The role of women before, after, and during World War II was very diverse to say the least but women's lives changed in many ways during World War II. Many women found their roles and opportunities and responsibilities expanded, as they did in previous wars. Husbands went to war or went to work in factories in other parts of the country, and the wives had to pick up their husbands' responsibilities. With fewer men in the workforce, women filled more traditionally-male jobs. In the military, women were banned from combat duty, so women were called on to fill some jobs that men had performed, to free men for combat duty.
Women were expected to marry, have children and financially they were expected to be fully dependent on their husbands. Women rarely had careers and most professions refused entry to women. However, between the years 1850 and 1901 women’s role in society began to be challenged. There were a number of reasons for this,
Role of women until 1500 “Women Past Lived” Erin Snider World Civilization I Martha Stillman September 21, 2009 Women Past Lived Page 2 Women today have status and rights because of the women of yesterday’s many societies breaking through obstacles of extreme measures. Even though culture around the world differed in religion, dress, language and a few daily rituals there were many similarities that connected the way of life. The role of women in every society through early times including Roman, Medieval, India and China mostly ruled there women as inferior to their men and were unable to have many rights. Women were usually uneducated; unable to vote some of the case they hardly left their homes. The
However, some women joined the work force and would do jobs that men previously had held. Some were not forced to, but they had to work as hard as they could to support their families during this difficult time. In contrast, the writer Norman Cousins commented that there was a negative opinion on the women’s presence in the workforce despite women willing to acquire a living wage. He also stated in his book that the federal government proscribed holding government jobs by both members of a married couple, and many localities stopped hiring women whose husbands with a minimum wage (Cousins 1939). Another aspect of the Depression affecting life of women was the moral argument against working-women.
Women had few rights and were controlled by their husbands. Changing attitudes towards women in British society was an important factor in winning women the vote in 1918 however other factors were also involved. The peaceful actions of the suffragists and the violence of the suffragettes helped win support and publicity for women suffrage. The role of women at home in Britain during WW1and international pressure of introducing women’s suffrage also led to women receiving the vote by 1918. Changing attitude towards women in Britain society helped women achieve the vote in 1918.
As a result, women's status in society started creeping up in the late 1800s. The workplace and the home were separated, which led to men often competing with women for factory jobs. However, women were seen unjustly as inferior, as Sojourner
However, the rights which were won seemed to exclude women. Many women did not like this and they wanted to be equal to men and they fought their own war of independence to receive that right. It started off small, but eventually grew into a big movement. Many average women would be remembered as someone great and their names would shine throughout history. One of these women was one known as Susan Brownell Anthony.
As we might say today, women’s ‘public image’ changed and improved,” says Constance Rover, a historian. Part of the reason why the war was key to women gaining the vote in 1918, was because of changing opinions towards women. “Surely a land fit for heroes to live in might include a place for a few heroines as well?” says Constance Rover. Women had proved themselves useful which was leading to greater equality with men. It would have been simply unreasonable to deny women the right to vote, especially now that women had more of a presence in society.
Name Tutor Course Date The New Woman Women over the past have undergone several changes throughout history to make gender imbalance and discrimination outdated. In the 19th century, many efforts echoed down aiming to fight for women’s rights to give them equal opportunities with their male counterparts (Sheridan 2). Through history, we learn that men had more privileges than women did in the past whereby they did not do certain activities like voting or holding certain offices. These offices and activities clearly deemed to be for men only pushed women into jobs perceived to be inferior. This discrimination led to the beginning of a new revolution of feminism to champion for equality to bridge
Moving Forward Michelle Oliveira HIS 204 George Aleman 10/19/2012 For centuries in America women were thought to be inadequate to that of men. Women were in charge of the cooking, the cleaning, raising children among other less than appealing tasks. Still today, many of these views have not completely changed from our society, but in the United States during the twentieth century, many of the roles that Americans had become familiar with began to change radically. Women wanted equality and fought for it not only at home but in the work place, in education and the military and in other areas as well. During the nineteenth century, when the Women’s Movement was beginning, many schools were established