Socially Constructed Gender Roles

Socially constructed gender roles have dictated who works, what kind of work they do, acceptable reasons for their presence in the labor force, and even how well they are compensated. Prior to the 19th century, in this mostly agrarian society, men where attached to the land and women were expected to operate within the confines of the home. However, the changing nature of the economy and work unsettled the stasis of clearly defined roles. In trying to cope with this shift, American society was afflicted by something closely resembling cognitive dissonance. The need for female labor was at odds with the social injunction not to violate female delicacy. In the 1820s and the 1920s, the relationship between women and work was characterized by competing
The fact that capital could pay women less but still get the same outputs made hiring women a lucrative management decision. The post war end to massive immigration and consequent increase in male wages made female labor more attractive because women’s wages were on average 57% of men’s wages. In the 1820s and 1920s lower female wages allowed firms to increase profits on the backs of exploited female labor. An important distinction between the two decades is that the 1920s were accompanied by a change in management practices. As corporations expanded horizontally and vertically there was an increased focus on efficiency and productivity. The driving philosophy of this decade was Taylorism and his scientific management methods. The implementation of Taylorism required an expansion of management’s duties and involvement in the day to day lives of laborers. To accomplish this, there was an increased need to document and organize data which would then be analyzed to reduce inefficiency. To accomplish this Women worked as secretaries, clerks, and bookkeepers in these new corporations focused on improving production. In these large corporate offices, polished white women were used as pretty faces to soften the hard exterior of the corporate world. In factories, the role of women goes deeper than that. They didn’t just take notes and keep ledgers, women were brought in as maternal figure in welfare
In 1820 and 1920, women were expected to be subordinate to the fathers and husbands. By excluding women from the land and skilled trades, society forced them into subservient roles in which they were reliant on the protection of a male figure. Society promulgated notions of delicacy and purity which were linked to ideas of inferiority and the need for women to be protected. Even though they performed essential tasks, their wages did not reflect their pivotal role. If anything, it was beneficial for capital and society to claim that women’s work degraded men’s work. It perpetuated notions of inferiority that allowed capital to exploit a cheap labor source and for society to subjugate females. This allowed both institutions to use female labor in a way that maximized capital. To cart them from the home to the factory and back as deemed necessary different perceptions and justification for female wage workers were used to mold public