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Factory Work In The 1920's

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Women in the workforce was once thought of in severe bias and as being irrelevant. The idea that women could move away from their prescribed roles into the domain of men was unheard of for its time. In the 1920s, 86% of women workers were suggested into job classifications and worked for far lower pay and had limited job opportunities in comparison to men. Over the years, however, women have managed to produce several campaigns which have enforced a removal of old traditions in favor of a more modernized approach. Eventually, women have acquired the ability to work their way up the corporate ladder towards even what are referred to as blue-collar jobs. During the 1920s, factory work was still an important part of the employment chain, yet …show more content…
Despite the increase, only 10% of all wives worked outside the home during the 1920s. [2] Wages were very low in the white-collar industry, yet many women welcomed the jobs as new opportunities, including European immigrant daughters and Middle-class workers who found factory work and domestic service to be beneath them. Although this was a clear advantage to white women, those of other races had very limited options. Black women could only join segregated firms, and Mexican, Chinese, and Japanese women were constantly hit with discriminated behaviors. [3] The Great Depression created an increase of women workers as clerical work expanded as a result of the New Deal creating new job opportunities. President Roosevelt intended for his legislation to create codes that mandate wages, hours, and prices in the major economic sectors. Jobs described as being “light”, or “repetitive”, would be designated to women and wages would be set from 5 to 25 cents an hour amongst men and women. Clerical, farm, and domestic work was excluded, however. [4] Women worked heavily to organize drives and participated in strikes against poor conditions. In …show more content…
[7] The WAC (Women’s Army Corps consisted of 140,000 recruits, the WAVE (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) recruited 100,000, 23,000 joined the Marine Corps Women’s Reserve, and 13,000 with the Coast Guard Women’s Reserve. Additionally, 76,000 joined as navy nurses. [8] Some women broke the traditional gender barrier by working as mechanics and welders, few became clerks, telephone operators, and deiticians. Although nurses were a welcome addition, they were not allowed to become doctors until the April of 1943. Black women also endured racial discrimination and were segregated, mostly in part to the fact that African American men served in extremely low, menial positions. It was only in the year of 1944 that Black women were even accepted into the military. [9] 10% of WACS were African American, and worked in segregated units as well as lacking sufficient training and job opportunities. [10] Defense industries, much like the military, found it difficult to employ women into their service. Women initiated campaigns that incentivized women to assist their nation under the guise of Uncle Sam. Women’s participation in the defense industry helped break down traditional sex-segregational patterns and applied job opportunities as welders, riveters,

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