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The education of women
Diversity in the 21st century workplace
Diversity in the 21st century workplace
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Women rarely ever got the chance to be bigger and better then men, they always took the lower end jobs or no jobs at all. Women began working in factories where they earned under minimum wage from about four to eight dollars per week. Women began fighting for their right for placement in higher end jobs during the Progressive era. During the progressive era women fought for their right for placement in higher paying jobs and they were very successful in doing this.
In the early 1800’s women were allowed to go to school for the first time. In school they would take lady courses which included becoming a better lady and wife for their husband. Around 1850 women were permitted to study medicine for the first time ever. In the early 1900’s an organization called the Women’s Trade and Union League (WTUL) was founded. This organization helped to get women better working conditions, fair wages, and to encourage women to join the labor movement. Another organization was formed by congress in the 1920’s to help enforce better working conditions, welfare of wages, and increase their opportunities for employment this group was called The Women’s Bureau of the Department of Labor.
Education was big part of life that women weren’t included in until the early 1800’s. Going to school then wasn’t to become educated in their field of work but to become better wives for their husbands and to become a better woman in life with better manners. Women didn’t start getting the same degrees as men till the mid 1800’s. Major degrees that women began getting were bachelor degrees and medical degrees.
In the late 1920’s there was a thought that went around which said that is a women went to college that she would never get married because she was to in...
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...fitable, employment."” In this time women were working in unsafe environments for very low wages and for long hours. The Bureau fought to change these working conditions for the women to make it more pleasant for them to work and for them to be able to make a living off of it also. This Bureau went on for many years later to help change women’s work conditions to give them fair hours and wages.
The progressive era brought a lot of change to women’s lives. They were finally allowed to get educated which meant they could get higher end jobs. After going to college more business owners wanted to higher college-educated women. Many Unions came along and fought for the right of fair wages and better working conditions, which made more women, want to work. During the Progressive era the push for higher end jobs by women was successful and it only got better after this.
The Women’s Trade Union League was an important chapter in the Labor Movement that was run entirely by women and placed the needs of the workingwomen of the United States above all else. A large percentage of the population of workingwomen was made up of young girls and immigrants who were exploited at the hands of rapid industrialization and endured cruel working conditions in order to survive. Their attempts to promote their needs through organization into unions enjoyed limited success but not enough to keep the League from shifting their focus after the World War to a more legislative process in order to try to have a larger effect and promote nationwide change.
To understand the significant changes within the role of women, it’s important to look at the position women held in society prior to World War II. In a famously quoted ruling by the United States Supreme Court in a case denying a woman’s right to practice law, the following excerpt penned by the Honorable Joseph P. Bradley in 1873 sums up how women were perceived during that period of time by their male counterparts. Bradley declared, "The paramount destiny and mission of women are to fulfill the noble and benign offices of wife and mother -- this is the law of the Creator" . While many women may agree that the role of wife and mother is a noble one, most would certainly not agree this position would define their destiny.
By the time period of 1900-1920 America was almost fully industrialized. At this time, America was going through a Gilded Age where everything looked good on the outer perspective however on the inside, there were many issues within society. The Progressive Era consisted of people who wanted to reform society politically, socially, and economically. Progressive reformers and the federal government were successful in bringing about reform at the national level by gaining some women's rights as well as African Americans trying to better their reputation in society, improving working conditions, and fixing the American economy.
American women started entering the work force in the early 1900s. “Women started to purse a college education, worked for fair labor laws, and increased political freedoms” (Women in the 1920s). At this point some women were competing for the same jobs that men had. Native American women were much different than American women. They were different because of culture, tradition, and their duties. "A people is not defeated until the hearts of its women are on the ground" (The Shift). Some American women liked to stay home and had a large family to help her around the home. During times of war some American women became the head of the household. "Women made up about 18-20% of the work force" (Women’s International Center). Women began to become more accustomed to working during this time. The majority of their jobs were in factories and mills. Some women and children worked for ten to twelve hours a day. White women didn 't come in contact with Native women very often. They lived separate lives both geographically and culturally. “During the early 1900s, women and women 's organizations not only worked to gain the right to vote, they also worked for broad-based economic and political equality and for social reforms” (Women’s Suffrage). Women continue to fight for rights that give them equal opportunities even
The Progressive mind was run by the needs for reform. Reform was run mainly by women, who started feminism; a term meaning freedom for full person development. Women wanted to have the same rights as men. Women wanted the right to vote, and have some decision making within our government, because they felt like they were worth nothing. Moreover, women wanted to make more for their hard labor. Feminists fought for their right to vote, but they were not granted it until later years. Other reforms during this era consisted of a municipal reform which raised taxes in cities in order to get public services, and to help clean up the cities. There were also racial reforms, where blacks pushed to be treated the same as whites, and there was also a political reform started by La Follette to deny bosses the power to choose a political party's candidates. Today women have the right to vote and are treated much more equally to men in the workplace, there are laws in place reducing racism as much as possible, and because of La Follette candidates had to be voted in by a popular vote and this still holds true today.
In the 1890s, female factory workers were seen as a serious economic and social threat. Because women generally worked at the bottom of the pay scale, the theory was that they depressed the overall pay scale for all workers (Kessler-Harris 98). Many solutions were suggested at this time that all revolved around the idea of these women getting marriedóthe idea being that a married woman would not work for wages. Although this idea seems ludicrous from a modern perspective, it should be noted that t...
In the 1890s, American women emerged as a major force for social reform. Millions joined civic organizations and extended their roles from domestic duties to concerns about their communities and environments. These years, between 1890 and 1920, were a time of many social changes that later became known as the Progressive Era. In this time era, millions of Americans organized associations to come up with solutions to the many problems that society was facing, and many of these problems were staring American women right in the face.
The Progressive Era was a time period between the years 1900-1920 and it marked a time in American history in which society was bursting with enthusiasm to improve life in the industrial age by making political and social changes through government action that ultimately led to a higher quality of life for American citizens. Progressives were known for their beliefs in limiting the power of big business, strengthening the power of the states, and were advocators against corruption and social injustice. These progressive reformers as well as the Federal Government successfully managed to improve the quality of life and establish a precedent for a move active government, although neither was completely successful in solving significant issues the nation faced.
The progressive era was a time of reform from the late nineteenth century until the end of World War I. During the progressive era the way the public looked at consumer safety was greatly affected. The people wanted to stop government corruption and end women’s suffrage. The progressive era also limited the consumption of alcohol while doing some major conservation. The progressive era was a very productive and affective time for America because the people demanded consumer safety, an end to government corruption, and women a right to vote while limiting alcohol use and conserving the environment.
Up until the early nineteenth century, women were mostly taught what is now called a “fashionable education” (Philadelphia School of Design for Women 5). Their mothers raised them to be proper, young ladies and expert housekeepers in expectation of marriage. If these women were fortunate enough to receive some kind of formalized schooling, they were to study penmanship, limited aspects of their mother language, and very little arithmetic (Philadelphia School of Design for Women 5). Unfortunately, this small degree of education was extremely constrictive to women. If they never married or were widowed at a young age, they really had no place to go. This form of women’s education created generations of women that were almost entirely dependent on their husbands and male relatives.
Wein, Roberta. “Women’s Colleges and Domesticity, 1875-1918.” History of Education Quarterly 14, no. 1 (1974): 31-47.
The Progressive Era, dated from about 1900 to 1920, is known for the reformers who brought about change at a national level. For the middle class, reformers were extremely efficient and effective in making progress. For other demographics, like women and African Americans, change did not come so easily. Although the Progressive Era was successful in reforming certain parts of the federal government and American society, like big business and workers’ conditions, there was still a lot of progress to be made with women and other minorities by the time the era came to a close. To a lesser extent, the economy was transformed due to an unprecedented amount of government intervention in the proceedings of large corporations. The Progressive Era was
Although the feminists of the 1920s did not significantly improve their economic status, they were able to boost their political status by passing the 19th Amendment for women’s suffrage. Before they could vote, women had very strict roles in society. Many people during the 1920s believed that when a woman spoke in public, she was “ignoring [her] biological weaknesses,” such as a smaller brain and more fragile physique (Krolokke 5). The argument continued, stating that these women were also harming their reproductive abilities (Krolokke 5). Suffragists first broke these stereotypes by engaging in public persuasion, which was deemed “unwomanly” by the people of the era (Krolokke 5). After that, they slowly earned the right to “indirect[ly] influence, [but] certainly not engage in, public activities” (Krolokke 5). Even as the suffragists tried to achieve the right to vote, they had to work within these stigmas. The popular opinion stated that women had a “natural disposition toward maternity and domesticity” (Krolokke 5). Therefore, suffragists argued that female voters would enrich politics with their maternal characteristics (Krolokke 5). After years of protest, the 19th Amendment was officially ratified in 1920. Men and women finally had equal voting rights. While this piece of legislation was a significant advancement for the first-wave women, they still faced major obstacles in society. Female voters were harassed. In Indianola, Mississippi, Irene Magruder’s house was set on fire after it was used as an office for voter registration workers (Collins 432). When the firemen arrived, they turned their hoses off and watched as the house and everything Magruder owned burned down (Collins 432). Another woman, Fannie Lou Hamer, face...
Throughout the 19th century, feminism played a huge role in society and women’s everyday lifestyle. Women had been living in a very restrictive society, and soon became tired of being told how they could and couldn’t live their lives. Soon, they all realized that they didn’t have to take it anymore, and as a whole they had enough power to make a change. That is when feminism started to change women’s roles in society. Before, women had little to no rights, while men, on the other hand, had all the rights. The feminist movement helped earn women the right to vote, but even then it wasn’t enough to get accepted into the workforce. They were given the strength to fight by the journey for equality and social justice. There has been known to be
Women have had quite a few hurdles to get over since the 1950's. In 1958 the proportion of women attending college in comparison with men was 35 percent. (Friedan,