Introduction
At the start of the 20th century, changes to the role of women in a society raised expectations for improvement. The reformers anticipated finding a solution to the issue of women being underrepresented within the workforce and the inequality of in the society. They want better working conditions and legal enforcement of women’s pay. The nineteenth amendment-guaranteeing women’s right to vote was ratified due to the struggle for women’s rights and the widespread push for their voting. When women were granted the right to vote in 1920, most reformers and many women campaigning for equal rights were unhappy that only a tiny percentage of female voters used their newly acquired privilege. The acquired franchise was widely seen as a success rather than a catalyst for change.
Women were advised to come home as soon as the war was over, quit their occupations, and hand them over to the incoming veterans. Most women suffered and did not want to give up their profession since it had been a symbol of freedom and independence for many of them. However, the American government’s discriminatory and shameful actions, which treated women as second-class citizens compared to men, were unsuccessful. The conflict and its aftereffects paved the way for the 1960s second wave of feminism and the quest for equal rights.
Research Topic
World War II had an immense impact on the global outlook, and most of the researchers have covered some orientations. The only research that remains is the war’s effect on women. This research will focus on World War II’s impact on women in America.
Research Thesis
The research focuses on the impact that World War II had on the social status and the lives of women in America. It will start by stating the state of women before the war and conceptualizing their working conditions, familial setup, lifestyle, and political rights.
Research Question
The research will address the following questions:
- What was the state of women living in the US before World War II?
- Which moves did the women make to change their situation before and after the war?
- What was the women’s social status, and how did they fair after WWII?
Women during the Pre-War
Whether married or not, women in America worked nearly entirely at home or as unpaid labor in family businesses until the late nineteenth century. In addition to child rearing and house maintenance, this task also required food preparation and the production of several household items.
The relatively few outside employment available to women were teaching and household work. However, as industrialization grew in the nineteenth century, there was a more significant need for labor, and eventually, unmarried women started to leave their homes to work in factories. In the 20th century, available women began working in sales and administrative roles and increased their involvement in manufacturing and education. It had become respectable for a single woman to work by the start of World War II. However, it was assumed that she would finish school, work for a couple of years, get married, and then devote the rest of her life to raising a family.
Women made progress in certain areas between the 1920s and the 1940s while losing it in others. Women’s circumstances deteriorated during the Great Depression when they encountered males who disapproved of their competitiveness while trying to find employment. Thus, during this time, many past advances in terms of work were replaced, and women’s home duties were elevated. In contrast, the New Deal program brought about several laws and policies that provided social benefits for women and children and increased women’s power in politics.
The Era of Suffrage Movement
Initially, women had intended to achieve suffrage at the close of the Civil War with Afro-Americans. Still, the Fourteenth (1868) and Fifteenth (1870) Amendments to the Constitution only gave Afro-American males the ability to vote. Between 1869 and 1916, women’s political rights in the West of the United States increased. Full voting rights for women were finally granted in Wyoming in 1869, not because of any suffragist campaigns but for practical reasons. By giving women the power to vote, lawmakers thought they could address the issue of the shortage of women in this field. Similar politics also enfranchised women in other western territories, including Utah, Colorado, and Idaho. By 1916, women had full voting rights in eleven states west of the Mississippi.
Women in the east of the United States began to pressure their state lawmakers when they learned that more women in the west were becoming enfranchised. They promoted suffrage and provided evidence to support and exemplify the notion that granting women’s suffrage in the western states had not resulted in any of the issues that had caused people to despise their suffrage. After almost a century of taxing battle, the Constitution’s Nineteenth Amendment that gave women the right to engage in voting exercise was passed in 1920.
Familial Orientation
Family relationships were significantly impacted by unemployment and the Depression. Some males thought that losing their ability to provide for their families diminished their dominance and power. Unfavorable circumstances and unemployment did not destroy families. Still, the dire economic situation did force a radical restructuring of how families interacted with one another, and the difficult circumstances significantly affected how families lived and made decisions.
Despite this unfriendly environment, American women began to use it and seize their possibilities. Most women who decided to start supporting their families worked in administrative and sales roles, but many also found work as domestic helpers or manufacturing workers. In the 1930s, the average American household made between $500 and $1500 per year. In these financial times, being married and divorced has become highly expensive. Due to the worry that many individuals had that they would not be able to support themselves financially if they had another kid, the divorce and marriage rates were reduced and the birth rate also decreased.
Conclusion
By the end of World War II, American women’s social statuses, roles, perceptions, and lifestyles had undergone a great deal of change. Women progressed throughout the conflict in certain areas but lost it in others. On the one hand, the war had significantly disrupted family life. It shattered the traditional processes of motherhood and marriage. Still, on the other, it had improved many women, provided patriotic service, encouraged a shift in attitudes toward their employees, and resulted in women’s movements for equal rights in society. Despite this, the conflict did not alter sex norms or create a route toward sexual equality. Instead, it fostered strong antifeminist beliefs and traditional segregation of gender roles. Women continued to be paid less than males before and after the war. They were only allowed to work in a limited number of occupations, with the top employment going to men and returning veterans.
Unlike during the war, the typical female worker in the postwar era was likelier to work in a traditionally feminine position rather than in heavy industry. Many of them began to think about starting kids in the future. Men began to realize that the “fairer” sex could do high-quality labor other than housewifery because of these World War II-related events. Due to the Second World War’s significant effects on women, today’s majority of nations worldwide view women as full members of society.
Bibliography
Valk, Anne M. “Rethinking Feminist Movements after World War II.” A Companion to American Women’s History (2020): 353–371.