Women went back to working at home and jobs were taken over by men again. They say that World War One did very little to change the position of women in Britain. The truth is that World War One did change the lives of women but the extent was limited and their role in society was never the same as it had been before 1914. It is important to remember that if it wasn’t for their protest and demonstration before, women’s rights wouldn’t have been on the agenda of the government and change would have taken much longer. With so many young men enlisted in the army, the role women played was crucial, not only to the war
This has however been limited to menial jobs and the pays made have been very low. Women started recording large numbers in the work force during and after the First World War. This was mainly due to the shortage of men. However, it was not until the World War Two that the highest statistics were recorded. They started taking positions that were originally reserved for men.
“Wifehood and motherhood were regarded as women’s most significant professions” (“WIC”). Over the years women have earned a bigger keep in their family lives, and now there are not many women that do not work outside of the home. As the years have progressed, women have become more active in the workforce, although there have been many obstacles to try and keep them out. “Sex discrimination in employment was legal in the United States until passage of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964” (“Employment”). Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 helped women out a lot concerning wages and titles in their careers.
There was a massive disruption of the industries in which women were mostly employed, such as dress-making and textiles. This, in the end, was actually a benefit. As war work became available, such as munitions factories, many of those women could now work in a higher paid job as well as do their part in the war effort. Women in the domestic services even left their jobs in order to work for higher paid jobs2. The first world war gave women more opportunity in the workplace as more occupations were open to them and the war also
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. Most working class women worked, as this was an obligation, but this work contrasted hugely to that of their male counterparts, occupying roles of lower skill and less pay. Edward Cadbury in 1909 said that marriage was ‘an escape from work’ Trint, S. History Learning Site 2010-2011. Women’s Rights. www.historylearningsite.co.uk [accessed 07122011].
Almost all jobs men did before they left to fight in the war were now a women’s job. All these jobs were a drastic change from their usual routine of cooking, cleaning and being “baby makers”, though women still got paid less than half of what men were getting paid doing these jobs. Women all across Canada started to realize that there might be something more for them in their future. Since women were doing so much for the war effort, they wanted a share in making decisions about their country. This is when women first began to work for political equality with men.
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.
Now, in the 20th century, women have a multitude of opportunities when compared to women back then. It is now considered normal for a woman to have a job alongside her husband. Women now have a choice of whether they want to stay home with their children and take care of the household or if they would rather go out and work. Women can be just as successful as a man in these times. Also, women are achieving the same professions as a man whereas before the 20th century, that was nearly impossible.
Although media is a great boon for us, it also has its drawbacks. Media has become so powerful over the years that now they are able to shape the way general public perceives the news (Smith, A History of the Roles of Women in Newspapers : Media, Gender, and Journalism, 2011). One such perception that media is able to influence is regarding women. Women have been progressing faster now than ever before, now they are known for being more than just house wife’s who stay at home, cleans the house, cooks and takes care of the children. In some cases, women are now considered equal to men instead of being someone that can be ruled over or given orders to, they are making decision and their opinions and suggestions are being taken into account.
This segregation between men and women is still a major problem in United States because working moms do not receive extra institutions, women are treated lower when they have received same amount of education as men, and women received less income than men. Long after the 19th Amendment to the Constitution gave women the right to vote in 1920, women were prevented from fulfilling professional ambitions by a set of assumptions about their "proper" role in society, which was largely defined as being mothers and taking care of the household. (Lee, Wagner) There still aren’t many changes on what people think the role of a woman is. Gender segregation in modern society is a problem because in this day in age, both men and women need to work to support their family. Working mothers are now a common part of society that reflects both economic necessity and new-found freedom for women to go beyond their traditional role in society.