Society and culture- Women Flashcards
(47 cards)
When did women get the vote?
1920 - 19th Amendment
Why did the vote not benefit all women?
African American women still could not vote due to Jim Crow Laws, as well as attempts made to ensure they could not access polling stations - racism trumped women’s rights
What increased freedoms did women see in the 1920s?
- divorce rates doubled between 1910-33 as more women had wages to support themselves (due to roaring 20s economic boom)
POSITIVE impact of ww1 on women
-given jobs in munitions factories
-beginning of a view change that they could do this type of work
-nurses at front line and at home
-few women were given government jobs such as secretaries
-womens land army- agricultural work
-1920 19th ammendment passed- women’s right to vote (arguably as there was a shift on the intelligence of women through their roles in WW1)
NEGATIVE impact of ww1 on women
-still paid less than men for doing the same jobs and were fired quickly when men returned
-big return to womens domestication
economic impact of the roaring 20’s on women (economic boom)
despite expectation of return to domestication of women…
-changing industries created more office jobs
-womens work from 1910-1940 increased from 7.5 million to 13 million
-women bureau of labour 1920- improved womens working conditions
social impacts or roaring 20’s on women
Flappers: worked, cut hair short, smoked and drank in public had more sexual freedom
in essence behaved like young men (shifted public perception of women), eben attended male-dominated sports like boxing events, also went to jazz clubs without escorts as no ‘lady’ would
HOWEVER- although it shifted public perception, they only made up a minute percentage of women
who challenged flappers
- Anti-Flirt League (est 1923) challenged flappers, wanted to protect young women from the unwelcome attention of men.
What was Margaret Sanger’s campaign and how did it improve the lives of women?
aimed to reduce legal/educational barriers to contraception
1916 - est. a birth control clinic in Brooklyn
1921 - founded the American Birth Control League
impact = reduced family sizes + increased sexual freedom
How did employment opportunities change (or not) for women in 1920s?
- 2 million entered the workforce, but pop. of working women was still only 20% of all women
- more opps in factories and offices but still largely occupied trad. roles (nurses/teachers)
- few progressed to management
- wage discrimination continued
- 2 million entered the workforce, but pop. of working women was still only 20% of all women
- more opps in factories and offices but still largely occupied trad. roles (nurses/teachers)
- few progressed to management
- wage discrimination continued
How many women lost their jobs after the October 1929 Wall St Crash
2 million
impacts of Great Depression on women
-effected people across class, not particulary gender (due to mass unemployment, failing wages and rising prices, lower class suffered the worst
DIRECT IMPACT ON WOMEN
-widowed/ divorced/ deserted women were forced to work (even with parental duties)
-in the 1932 Women’s Bureu of Labour report- 97% of women not working out of want
-womens bureau ignored, hindered push for legislation (e.g minimum wage)
impacts of the new deal on women
-men came first in policies on unemployment and working conditions (e.g Civilian corps provided work for 17-23 year old men, employed 2.5 million)
- most women employed through WPA, but in peak year only 13.5% in WPA were women, focused on single women, widows or those w/ disabled husbands
- rare for wife and husband to have a job on FERA or WPA
- some agencies like the CCC didn’t employ women
CAMP TERA
-elanor roosevelt wanted similar for women….
set up camp TERA in 1933, which became federally funded a year later
-by 1936 there were 36 camps employing 5000 women a year HOWEVER only trained on a budget management for 2/3 months
black women benefitted less than white women (earned less and got worse jobs) ….. -1 dollar white man, 63 cents white women, 23 cents black women
How many women were employed on New Deal projects?
- most women employed through WPA, but in peak year only 13.5% in WPA were women, focused on single women, widows or those w/ disabled husbands
- rare for wife and husband to have a job on FERA or WPA
- some agencies like the CCC didn’t employ women
WHEN and WHY was camp TERA set up and what were the POSITIVES and NEGATIVES
WHEN AND WHY
Camp TERA was set up in 1933.
Elanor Roosevelt wanted a similar programme to mens civilian corps that had employed 2.5 men as part of new deal provisions
POSITIVES
-became federally funded a year later
-by 1936 there were 36 camps employing 5000 women a year
-flora rose showed people how to feed a family of five on 5$ a week
NEGATIVES
-only trained on a budget management for 2/3 months
-black women benefitted less than white women (earned less and got worse jobs) ….. -1 dollar white man, 63 cents white women, 23 cents black women
-TERA had to use volunteers when numbers increased- some were biased
How many women joined the workforce during WWI?
- 13 million employed during the war
- roughly 3 million women employed in agriculture, Women’s Land Army of America
impacts of WW2 on women
POSITIVE
-Rescued depression, women showed that they could do men’s work (e.g rosie the riviter became an iconic image for female empowerment)
-through the 1940 selective training and service act women were trained (drafted men prior to the war and trained women)
-16% of married women workeed
-Womens Land army reformed and the WLA newsletter started (this provided farm workers countrywide, by 1943 it was estimated 3 million women were in agricultural work)
-black female proffesion opportunities rose (trained as nurses etc)
DOWNFALLS/ LIMITATIONS
-some workers refused hiring black nurses/ workers fearing they would spread sexual disease e.g white women refused to share toilets with black women on detrots rubber plant)
ow did the 1940 Lanham Act help?
- gave all families in which the mother had an army job free childcare (increase in working mothers, also an increase in juvenile crime -> shows dramatic change)
- by 1944, 130,000 children were taken care of daily
Impact of post ww2 changes on women
GOOD
-after a dip, female employment rose (especially for 45-54 year old women) as before the war women were barred from certain jobs but this wasnt reinstated (showed shift in societal perceptions on women due to ww2 work)
-black women who trained as nurses could carry on- big social and economic advancement of opportunity
-war changed husbands attitudes to married women working (pre war survey in 1938 showed that 78% agreed women shouldn’t work but the survey in 1942 showed 13% thought they shouldnt work)
-war changed married women’s attitudes- they acquired skills like never before and developed an appetite for work
BAD
-many women were not reemployed, even though not all men returned to their jobs
-approx 50% of married women left the workforce (due to alot of childcare closing in 1946 AND societal pressure to re domesticate) BUT widowed/ divorced mothers were forced to carry on
-white women still shown preference in employment of women
-BUT women were still paid less for the same work
How did the war positively impact black women?
- worker shortages meant they could train for professions they had been barred from before
- number of black women on nursing courses increased
impact of suburban living on women
GOOD
-in commuting distance of cities
-blacks lived in black suburbs although some close to whites (could gain jobs as maids, cooks, nannies)
-social networks for women (however if women worked they were excluded from these social networks)
-impacted women outside these areas, something to aspire to
BAD
-integration caused problems (e.g 1957 William and Daisy Myers (black) bought a house in a white suburb, when they moved in 3000 ‘neighbours’ surrounded their house and threw stones at their windows
-social networks for women (however if women worked they were excluded from these social networks)
What happened in the 1950s which impacted women?
- suburban sprawl (64% pop growth in suburbs) e.g. Levittowns
- American Dream -> suburban house with a white picket fence and a nuclear family
- led to the housewife movement
Why did working class and non-white women not share in the suburban experience?
- quality of life in cities decreased and ghettos began to form
- educational and job opportunities for women in those areas were poor, worked in domestic roles for white women in the suburbs
- rural women were cut off physically and economically
- black women had the highest rate of poverty
