Since the beginning of empires, women were often subservient to men. They were underrepresented in politics, forbidden from education and sometimes even the workplace. Women were expected to be homemakers, raise children and be otherwise obedient. World War II began to change this. As men went to fight, women took up their places in the workforce. At the war's conclusion, while many women returned to the home, many stayed, enjoying the freedoms of a career, but facing gender inequalities. In the twentieth century, protesting movements against various inequalities faced by women emerged and became collectively known as the women's rights movement. The main causes for the rise of the women's rights movement were inequalities faced by women in …show more content…
Excerpts from The Husband's Commandments states the rules that a wife must follow, putting her in a subservient position by granting her husband freedoms not allowed to her. This shows that women were not equal with their husbands. (Doc. 4) This document is against women's rights; it is directly stated that a 'good' wife should not go to women's rights meetings. But, the document presents clear evidence of how married women were expected to behave. (Purpose Doc. 4) Another example of inequality in marriage is dowry deaths. In Asian countries, specifically India, if a man was unhappy with his wife, for not providing children or overcooking his food, the wife would be doused in kerosene and burned to death. The wife could take no similar action and was forced to abide by her husband's will. (Outside Information 1) Yuhui Li's Women's Movement and Change in Women's Status in China argues that the main reason for male intellectual's support of the women's movement in China was their belief that bound feet and lack of education hurt a woman's ability to raise a strong future population. While this document shows the desire for women's equality in China, it also shows that women were still expected to keep similar roles such as raising children and maintaining the household. (Doc. 5) This document is a secondary source and offers a more conclusive …show more content…
During World War II, women joined the workforce when many men went to fight in the war. Even after the war, many women remained in these jobs, but were not treated equally to men. This inequality led to the creation of the women's rights movement. (Outside Information 2) The excerpt from Traditions and Encounters: A Global Perspective on the Past explains how the increased number of women in the workplace led to protests against wage differences and how these protests led to feminist movements. This clearly explains how inequality in the workplace led to the women's rights movement. Women were against pay differences and began to protest not only about this, but also the many inequalities they faced. (Doc. 6) The Equal Pay Act of 1963 (United States of America) prohibits sexual discrimination by forbidding employers from paying less to an employee than to an equal employee of the opposite sex. This shows that the women's rights movement was created to oppose sexual discrimination in the workplace, by demonstrating one of the movement's successes. (Doc. 2) The Equal Pay Act of 1963 is a legal document intended to secure equal pay for men and women. In this aspect, the document is trustworthy and strongly supports my thesis that the women's rights movement was created to achieve equal pay. (Purpose Doc. 2) The Excerpt from the Equal Pay Act 1970 (United Kingdom) requires
As World War 2 progresses, we will see millions of males being drafted after the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. This created a lack of manpower in the workforce which women beginning to take the jobs that men usually before the war. As women move into the workforce during World War 2 they will experience inequality and discrimination. Despite the inequality and discrimination that women had to endure to while working during World War 2 was a good experience for women across America. Women entered the workforce open up many opportunities, “It had been long assumed women couldn't do those jobs -- engineering, other professions in the sciences, manufacturing jobs that had been considered men's work, things women were believed to be too weak to do” (kcts9.org).
In addition to this, unions of the time also continued this movement as predominantly male trade unions began to accept female members. (Fieldes, 2013) This left-wing source possesses bias that places disproportionate emphasis on the importance of unionisation, yet still remains relevant. However, this movement towards liberation experienced widespread traditionalist opposition, one such man writing to the Argus, “Would they [women] not be better fitted for jobs too often held by men in the city shops?” (Guthrie, 1941, pg 7) Despite aforementioned opposition, the movement for equal pay and opportunity for women flourished. Women were greatly liberated from previous roles during World War Two as their increased financial equality allowed for greater freedoms, including the foundation of auxiliary
Women were treated very unfairly and wrong up until 1920 but are still somewhat mistreated today. Women pushed very hard to be seen as equal to men for things such as jobs, the right to vote and daily life. Nellie Mcclung played a huge part on womens path to equality especially the right to vote. Men treated women like objects instead of human beings and greatly mistreated them. Today there is the #metoo movement which stands for people who have been sexually assaulted or harassed in a workplace or other places, but it stands for much more than that.
With years of rebellions and protests made against many of these issues, women have come a long way from where they used to be. A big movement that was established was called the Women’s Suffrage Movement. This was the time where many protests were occurring so that these women would be allowed to receive the same rights men had. They mainly focused on the right to vote and hold an office which later, eventually passed. If women did not stand up for themselves then, women today would not be able to experience all of the freedom they have.
Though women were able to see some growth in the amount of equality they received, the hope for a truly equal society diminished somewhat as the men started to return from war. Women saw some of these liberties being taken away. Emboldened by the taste of freedom and of free will, the suffrage movement began to change the attitude towards the traditional “Motherly” roles that women were expected to fill. Many women fought to, and succeeded in, keeping their jobs, and over 1.2 million women had permanent jobs,as opposed to the measly 600 thousand before the war. The many female led organizations of this time were directly linked to the suffrage movement, and the fight for equal rights became a hotly discussed and controversial
Shortly after the men started leaving to go into war women began to break away from their traditional house roles. Due to the men leaving for the war, the work force started to decrease. Women began to fill mens shoes in jobs such as bank clerks, ticket sellers, chauffeurs, elevator operators, etc. as a result. Labor Unions were adamant that women not work in the factories.
Socially, women were given more opportunities and roles in society as they took over jobs that were unoccupied due to men heading overseas to fight in the war. For women, there was an increased participation in the workforce, especially in industries previously dominated. This was due to the labour gap created from men leaving the workforce to fight on the front lines. People were initially hesitant to assign these jobs to women, but as the war progressed and
However, with the outbreak of war and men being drafted into the military, women were called upon to fill the void in the workforce. Women took up jobs that were traditionally seen as "male" jobs, such as factory work and construction. This newfound sense of independence and self-sufficiency fundamentally changed the social landscape in America. Women felt empowered and capable of contributing to society in a meaningful way. As a result, after the war, women continued to work and contribute to the workforce, paving the way for advances in women's rights and the feminist movement.
In the document, The Rights of Women: Laws and Practices, there are multiple examples of women inequality. The source explains that men are able to hit their wives in order to stop them “from being annoying”. This is socially unacceptable today and demonstrates everything wrong with society back in the 1840s. Also, the document shows that women are paid 30-50% less than men who are performing the exact same job. Where is the fairness in that?
One of the most momentous reform movements that our country has experienced has been the Women's Rights Movement. This movement has had influential effects on the economic, social, educational, and political aspects of women's lives. If the pivotal reform of women's rights had not occurred, then our world and lives today could look a lot different. The Women's Rights Movement started gaining momentum in 1848 at the Seneca Falls Convention in Seneca Falls, New York with the “Declaration of Sentiments''. This document stated that all men and women are created equal and women should have equal rights to vote, own property, and seek employment.
Even though there was an increase in women employment in the work force, “the majority of better paying positions continued to go to men” (Women’s Suffrage Movement in the Progressive Era). This alone shows that the increase in the work force still was approached differently based on gender. Throughout all of the suffrage movements, the more powerful businessmen were never going to allow women to receive equal treatment in job
From 1914-1918 women were hardly present overseas, although the few that were helping across the ocean were nurses, or drivers of the nursing trucks. At the end of World War 1, women did not want to leave their jobs in the factories which slowly led to a popular trend; double income homes. The world went into the Great Depression and in 1939, World War 2 started opening more jobs for women. Women worked in factories like they had in the First World War, but the biggest change in women at work and at war, was women were now allowed to do more overseas. Technology had changed and women were now allowed to fly airplanes, and operate radar towers.
Although there was a massive feminist movement starting in the mid-1800s into 1920, there were still many people, predominantly communist men, who were against women's rights. For example, according to Document 2, Uzbekistani members of the Konsomol thought that women should not be voting because it denies rights. Many women wanted to maintain the tradition
The end of World War II is when most people think of women entering the workforce and gaining equality outside the home. After the war society realized we were leaving half of the intellectual beings at home and if the United States was going to become a world super power we needed everyone to grow the economy. In reality Women’s Rights movement was 1848 to 1920, and there was also the Feminist Movement of the 1960’s and 70’s. Civil Rights In 1890 the Morrill Act II allowed African Americans to go to land grant universities.
Now women are lawyers, engineers, mechanics, computer programmers, and other jobs that have been primarily male dominated for years. Although sexism has been a key problem in the working industry, as evidenced by putting women in lower paying jobs, women today are putting an end by joining the women's movement pushing this issue into the mainstream media and increasing the worlds awareness on an issue that has been around for centuries. Although there were no movements specifically for women's rights to work there were movements for women's rights as a whole. As history tells, men did not believe women had the