Unit 3: Women and the New Deal Flashcards
(19 cards)
How did female unemployment change as a result of the Great Depression?
By 1933, four million women who had jobs before the Depression were unemployed
Why did some women gain jobs due to the Great Depression?
- Women were paid less than their male counterparts, so some financially struggling businesses were eager to hire them to save money
- Despite social pressure, many married women had to start earning money after their husbands lost either their jobs or a large portion of their wages
- Non-industrial, female-dominated work like teaching, nursing and domestic services was not as heavily impacted by the Great Depression, with some minor growth during the period
How were African American women particularly impacted by the Depression?
- Black women who worked in domestic service were often replaced by white women entering the workforce during the period
- Black women who worked as agricultural labourers lost work as a result of government policy designed to stymie production
- By 1935, 25% of black women were receiving government relief payments
What attitudes towards women working discouraged many women from acheiving employment in the 1930s?
- Women were seen as taking men jobs in a time of dire need
- Many still believed women lacked the faculties to succeed in the workplace
- Many regarded women entering the workforce as an abandonment of family values and looked nostalgically at a time when women’s primary role was motherhood
- A Gallup poll in 1936 reported that four-fifths of respondents agreed that married-women should not take jobs from men
These views were pervasive among civilians and in the government
What are some examples of women in positions of power in FDR’s New Deal administration, and what did these women do?
- Frances Perkins was made Secretary of Labour in 1933
- Molly Dewson was director of the Women’s Division of the Democrat party
- Josephine Roche, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury
- They used their power to achieve social justice on issues like child labour, which galvanised women of all strata
- They both believed it was important to work toward wider societal reform instead of focusing solely on women’s issues in the interest of unity
- These women had positions of power because of the influence of Eleanor Roosevelt, political pragmatism and their prior experience in political advocacy
- The authority of these women in government was often limited; most were not involved in any major decisions
Why was there little government impetus to help the position of women?
- Many women were not exercising their 19th amendment right
- Many women voted in the same way as their husbands
- The women who were appointed to government did not focus on women’s rights and shared the belief that restoring the position of the male worker was essential for recovering stability
That said, the influence of Eleanor Roosevelt and successful female political campaigns like Prohibition tempered this apathy
How did the Federal Emergency Relief Agency affect women?
- It paid families relief benefits if their members took up work organised by New Deal legislation
- It had a special women’s division
- The government paid around $100 million to families as a result of female employment
What did Eleanor Roosevelt do to help the position of women?
- She worked to change the belief in government that men should be the sole breadwinners of their family
- She persuaded officials to establish the women’s division in the Federal Emergency Relief Agency
What percentage of jobs created by the Public Works Administration went to women?
7%
How were the NRA’s wage codes discriminatory?
- 25% of the codes established lower minimum wages for women than men
- Many of the codes did not apply to industries like domestic service where women formed the majority of the workforce
To what extent were women paid less than men in the period?
- By 1935, women were paid 63% of their male counterparts
- However, this is up from 60% at the beginning of the New Deal
How did the Work Progress Administration help women?
This administration replaced the Federal Emergency Relief Agency
- 460,000 women were employed by the WPA at its peak
- It had a women’s division, headed by Ellen Woodward
- This shows there was some governmental desire to elevate women economically
How did the Social Security Act help women and in what ways was its impact limited?
- Many widows and single mothers began to receive monthly payments
- However, the Act excluded workers like domestic servants from many of its provisions, including its pension scheme
- This led to a lower proportion of female workers enjoying the act’s benefits
This law, along with many other New Deal policies, was not targeted at women, though did provide some indirect benefits
What impact did the Fair Labour Standards Act have on the position of women?
- It successfully limited the working week for women to 40 hours
- The minimum wages it imposed did increase wages for women but a large gender pay gap remained
- In 1939, a female teacher earned 20% less than her male counterparts
What was the name of the 1935 act that gave aid to single mothers to help them raise children?
The Aid to Dependent Children Act
What were the names of two unions dominated by women that successfully organised to improve conditions during the period?
- The International Ladies Garment Workers Union
- The Domestic Workers Union (the first union for domestic workers)
To what extent did female union membership rise in the period and what were the reasons behind this rise?
- It rose by 300% in the 1930s
- This was concomitant with a wider rise in union membership as a result of the NRA and the Wagner Act
How did women face discrimination in mainstream unions?
- Despite accepting many women as unskilled workers, the CIO enforced the gender division of labour and supported male dominance of well-paid, high skilled labour
- The AFL, though chartering some unions like the Domestic Workers Union, endorsed segregation
- In both, women were severely underrepresented in leadership positions
When were the Comstock Laws overturned?
In 1938 with the allowance of birth control
