Women During The Interwar Era Essay

A misconception about gender equality is that the seemingly perpetual battle, has been won. In reality, humankind is far from the victory it seeks. However, the key to eradicating gender based barriers, inequity and discrimination is to pinpoint its origin. It is evident that female suppression was a prominent issue within the Interwar era. The main factors that led to the suppression of women during this time period were societal ideals, fears and industrial growth.

Firstly, societal perceptions were a major contributing factor in the prejudice Canadian women faced. During the interwar era, people clung to the distant memory of peace and were seeking the familiarity of a woman’s role pre-WWI. This country-wide search, meant that women were forced back into their peacetime roles and some were removed

from the industrial workforce. Evidently, this movement resulted in women slowly losing the power, rights and respect they had gained during the war. Consequently, these ideals empowered gender roles and hindered women from striving for anything outside of traditional housewifery obligations. The severity of gender roles was amplified by certain anti-equality groups that released propaganda throughout North America.

These flyers promoted housewifery as honorable and a ‘career’. There were other discreet implications forced upon women, including government training schemes. The Central Committee on Women’s Training, in the UK, only provided three main divisions; homemakers, home crafts and scholarship. All of these sectors were heavily focused on subjects that were applicable to being a wife, such as teaching, midwifery and domestic training. It was implied that women were ‘free’ to participate in the work force, so long as their skills were pertinent to housewifery. Overall, gender roles forced women to conform to expectations and the propaganda prevented a majority of women from united against it. Furthermore, society had many preconceived notions regarding the social etiquette of a woman and this restricted their individuality. These conventions were focused on appearance and preserving the purity of a woman which contributed to the barriers created in the interwar era. However, a new breed of woman was emerging and many embraced the so-called ‘flapper’ lifestyle. These women contradicted the etiquette and values of humanity. The gloves,

long skirts, tight corsets and modest jackets were abandoned, with the societal expectations associated with them. The women of the 1920s dawned shorter hemlines, deeper necklines and a bob style haircut. Unfortunately, these women were often perceived as insignificant or unfavorable which further diminished the women’s rights movement. There was a tangible stigma regarding ‘flappers’, which allowed the primitive social etiquette to prevail, along with male superiority.