Women In The 1930's

During the two decades from 1920 to 1940, the number of American women working outside the home increased slightly. In 1920, women made up 23.6 percent of the labor force; by 1940, this percentage had risen to 25.4. Some advances were made in working women's rights, but during the Great Depression, many female workers lost their jobs or were forced to accept severe cuts in pay. Despite the economic difficulties of the period, some outstanding businesswomen achieved great commercial success. In the 1930s, despite the fact that women were a big part of the society, they were not treated equally in the workplace compared to their male counterparts. The women in the 1930's were not treated well and did not have very much power over the men. Women
For this reason many employers would prefer to hire women so they would save money when giving out paychecks. “In 1933, a report compiled for President Herbert Hoover on recent social trends claimed that women worked for "pin money," in other words, for treats and not in order to support themselves or their families.” The Women's Bureau produced evidence that this was not the case, drawing on studies that showed that 90 percent of employed women used their wages to support their families. “The bureau also revealed that 25 percent of employed women were primary wage earners in a family unit and 66 percent of single employed women contributed their wages toward supporting a household”. Campaigners for higher pay for women faced an uphill struggle, especially when confronted with the view that women's wages were not essential to a family's income. Women in the work force in the 1930s has information saying for the most part women worked long hours for low wages. “More than half of all employed women work for more than 15 hours a week,
They were mainly stay at home mothers and housewives. Since early times women have been viewed as a source of creating human life. “If a poor man wanted to send his children to the poor house then the woman could not object.” (Women Treated In The 1930s) Educated women learned to read and write at beginner level schools, they were not allowed to go to secondary school like men. Social classes between men and women did include race as a factor, “The typical black woman particularly in the south is a cook, housekeeper, nursemaid, or all three wrapped up in one for at least one white family. Therefore, she is the double matriarch, raising her own family and the families of her white employers” (JoAnne Marshall). in St. Louis Missouri black and white women finally united against unfair conditions. “In 1933, Connie Smith led a successful strike of 900 black women working in seven pecan-nut factories. Smith demanded higher pay, better working conditions, and the removal of differences in pay between black and white women workers. The factories' owner tried to divide the workers, offering white women an increase in wages if they returned to work. In answer to this, 1,500 women marched in protest to the city hall, forcing the factory owner to agree to the women's demands”(Women At Work). Due to this strike wages increased along with improved conditions and white and black women receiving equal pay.