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Changing Position of Women - Coggle Diagram
Changing Position of Women
1920s
Social
+11% drop in infant mortality
+number of married women working was increasing, still only 10%
+automobiles and speakeasies made it easier to go on dates
+divorce became more socially accepted
+more social freedom, short skirts, make-up, dancing (flappers
-working women (immigrants, black and rural communities) had unskilled and low-status jobs
-married middle class women were expected to focus on being homemakers
Political
-1928, only 145 women sat in state legislature
-only 2/435 members of US House of Representatives were women
-24 states had laws banning employment
-Coolidge would not let his wife drive, dance in public, bob her hair, or ride a horse
Key Individuals
+Margaret Sanger made contraception more of a public discussion
+Sanger advocated birth control
+liberated women
+1921, Birth Control Conference in NY
Economic
+women in paid employment rose from 8 million to 11 million
+steered towards 'caring' professions e.g. teaching, nursing
-law firms refused to hire women
-women had low paid jobs, paid less than men for the same job
New Deal
Key Individuals
+Frances Perkins was the 1st woman in cabinet, introduced the Social Welfare programs to the New Deal (Social Security Act)
+Elenor Roosevelt allowed women to have access to the pres if in need
Social
+female unemployment rates were not as low as men as their jobs were less vulnerable
-80% of Americans believed that women should stay at home
Economic
-ND legislation did little to help women's employment
-National Recovery Administration (fair policies for businesses) allowed unequal pay for women
-Civilian Conservation Corps (recruit unemployed men from urban areas to help conserve forests etc) did not employ women
-over half of women were in low paid employment as domestics or in the garment trade
-women remained far from the American Dream
Political
-1933 Economy Act forbade family members of the same family from working for the fed govt
Depression
Key Individuals
+Frances Perkins was the first female cabinet member, she made influential social welfare programs
+Perkins, helped FDR's 1935 Social Security Act (pay retired workers age 65+ a continuing income after retirement
+Elenor Roosevelt was a politically active 1st lady, ensured women had access to the pres with a case/cause
-Perkins programs were heavily criticised due to her gender
Social
-80% of Americans believed women should stay at home
-unskilled women were usually fired before men
-women seen to be taking jobs from men
Economic
+female employment rates were lower than men's as their jobs were less vulnerable (teaching, social workers, nurses etc)
-women had to manage the house hold on less money
-women's wages remained on average half of men's
Political
+women played a far more important role in govt
+FDR appointed Perkins as Secretary of Labour from 1933-45
WW2
Key Individuals
+Frances Perkins, National War Labour Board endorsed equal pay for equal work
-however, this was not enforced
Social
+millions of women did voluntary work (3+ million worked for the Red Cross)
+Women's Land Army
+1945, 300,000 women were in the armed forces
+1,200 women in the air force
+60% of Americans favoured women in employment
+women felt empowered
-women struggled to combine work with family responsibilities
-women were not allowed in combat
Economic
+more women entered employment
+1941, 26% of the workforce were women-12 million
+1945, 36% of the workforce were women-19 million
+many married women became employed
+women were becoming employed in more practical employment e.g. engineers, construction
-women's air force service were paid 20% less than men
-women in practical employment were paid 60% less than men
Political
+high absentee rate amongst women with families forced the govt to provide modest federal funding to childcare
+1943 congress allowed women doctors in the army
-wartime govt propaganda emphasised how women would return to their traditional roles after the war ended
Suburban Living 1941-60
Positives
-more maids/gardeners/house appliances such as washing machines meant women had more free time to socialise and meet other like minded women
-more free time meant that women had a more fashionable lifestyle
-malls meant women could buy luxury items for cheaper
-malls meant that there were more jobs available for women
-women from black suburbs worked as maids (more employment), gave white women more free time
Negatives
-black women worked as maids for white people
-poor women stayed in cities
-poor women found it harder to get out of cities as there was still discrimination in the job market
-rural women became cut off physically by distance and economically from the changes that urban women found easier to obtain
Womens liberation movement 1961-80
NOW formation:
-1963 Betty Friedan published 'The Feminine Mystique'
-spoke about the dissatisfaction of suburban housewives
-women joined unions to lobby the fed govt for equal pay and protection against employment discrimination
-1966, polite requests were deemed insufficient
-1966, the National Organisation for women was formed
NOW:
-1968, 1,000 members
-demanded immediate passage of the Equal Rights Amendment to US constitution
-demanded greater access to contraception and abortion
-NOW leaders were looking for reform
Success of NOW
-1965 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, allowed women access to all jobs, discriminatory employers were required to provide quotas to employ more women
-divorce laws were liberalized
-employers were barred from firing pregnant women
-women's studies programs were created in college
-1973, Roe v Wade case legalised abortion
Failures of NOW
-men still paid more than women
-lots of opposition to feminists
-the Equal Rights Amendment needed ratification by 38 states, fell short so could not be passed
Redstockings
-formed in 1969
-believed that women were oppressed as a class
-believed that the male-dominated society was flawed, destructive and oppressive
-'Redstockings Manifesto' called for women to unite to achieve liberation from men
-rejected economic, racial, and class privileges and demanded the end to the male-dominated society
Restocking Movements:
-1969 abortion speak out in NY
-held speak outs on rape to focus attention on the problem of violence against women, including domestic violence
-more radical than NOW
WW1
Key Individuals
-Alice Paul, suffragette jailed for picketing the White House in 1917
Social
+women made an important contribution to the war effort
+some states had given women the right to vote in state elections
+League of Women Voters created a women vote registration drive
Economic
+war gave women the chance to work
-wages lower than men
-women fired after the war
Political
+19th Amendment gave women over 21 the vote in federal elections
+with women being allowed to vote, politicians would try and meet their needs to gain votes
-stats showed that women were less interested in politics than men
-only 25% of eligible women voted in 1920s
Post WW2
Key Individuals
+Lewis Mumford, criticused suburbia saying it was too uniform and gave women no uniqueness
+many women helped organise the Montgomery Bus Boycott e.g. Rosa Parks
Social
+dramatic growth in suburbia between 1948 and 1958
+11 million out of 13 million houses were suburban
+suburban houses had more space for labour-saving electrical goods (washing machines etc)
+food easier to make
+helped create the American Dream for women
+professional women rose by 40% between 1940 and 60
-media made pregnancy and stay at home wives seem positive
-unmarried women seen an incompetent
-1950, 1.5 million men at uni, only 700,000 women
Economic
-women remained economically inferior
-difficult for women to obtain necessary qualifications for better employment
-medical schools often excluded women
Political
+some women campaigned for an equal rights amendment
+1946 Equal Rights Amendment was passed the senate
-Equal Rights Amendment did not gain 2/3 majority needed for constitutional amendment
-no female senators
-8/435 members of the House of Representatives were women
1960s
Key Individuals
+congress women Martha Griffiths scolded airline for firing women when they married or reached 32
+Elenor Roosevelt persuaded Kennedy to establish his 1963 Commission on the Status of Women (changed laws to allow women to do jury service, own properties/businesses, legal control of their earnings)
+Betty Friedan drew attention to the dissatisfaction of housewives, saying women were imprisoned
+Betty Friedan formed the National Organisation for Women in 1966, urged women to gain education and work
Social
+women's activism grew dramatically
+black protests showed how to change politics and beliefs, encouraged many women
-schools expelled pregnant students and pregnant teachers
-magazines and movies promoted domesticity as the norm
-girls encouraged to play will dolls to emphasise their femininity and play down their intellectual capacity
Economic
+increasing number of workers
-women still remained in low paid employment
-most women not covered by minimum wage legislation
-6 states said women could not enter financial agreements without a male co-signature
-employers were sexist
Political
+Kennedy's 1963 Commission on the Status of Women reported the need for equal pay, how mothers were disadvantaged by the lack of day-care facilities, non-white women were the worst off, school girls received sexist career advice
+NOW used litigation techniques and won many Supreme Court cases
+NOW lobbied politicians, demanding equal rights in all areas
-18 states refused to allow female jurors
-Kennedy rejected feminist demands for Equal Rights Amendment