Women In American Society

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as breadwinners had only hardened. Instead, the changes were results of extraneous circumstances, the Great Depression and World War II. The down ward spiral of heavy industries during the Depression and the labor shortages of WWII both pushed women into the work force. Women became responsible for increased percentage of household income and took on traditionally male jobs in industries.
The Depression and WWII put on women's shoulders responsibilities traditionally reserved for men, and in doing so allowed women to demonstrate their capabilities and confidence. The Great Depression hit the male dominated heavy industries the hardest. As men were laid off, their wives were entrusted with the responsibilities of maintaining the family on a sharply lower income. Faced with joblessness, poverty and uncertainty, women increased their house work as cash income declined. Housewives replaced purchasing with their own production. For many families, additional work from women was their ...

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female employment to grow 28% from 1929 to 1940, particularly women in the 25 to 44 age group increased 13.8%. In total, 50% of the women in the nonagricultural labor force were employed by the clerical and service sectors of the economy; they encompassed the majority of urban working-class women. However, even though a sex-segregated job market provided limited protection for women and helped some of them to become the breadwinners of their family, it also helped to confine them in low-paying, low-status jobs.
The rebirth in an organized women’s movement affected women in the sense that it offered more opportunities to women because it showed that they could do things beyond what ...

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