Women During The Enlightenment Essay

The Enlightenment in the eighteenth century was a time for people to recognize their individualism. Women during this time started to challenge these ideas and began to doubt their place they held in their society. Many women during the enlightenment would help promote the careers of the philosophers by holding salons. Such as Claudine de Tencin who held salons that gave the philosophies access to useful social and political contacts and a place to circulate their ideas. Despite the help from women these philosophies were not committed to advocating equality for women. People such as, Montesquieu, believed women were not naturally inferior to men and should have a wider role in society. Although there were many people who supported minor changes

But as of the late nineteenth century women mostly worked outside of the house in any paying job. As time went on in the nineteenth century many jobs began to gender; teaching and office work started to be defined as women’s work. Outside of working conditions women’s right to vote also took many turns. Female suffrage throughout this time period evolved rapidly. First granted in 1906 with Finland then to Austria, Britain, Germany, and Russia in 1919. German law prevented German women from engaging in any political activity, in 1849 the Union of German women’s Organization was created. This organization demanded better education for women, their right to vote, and improvement on women’s social conditions. This was just one of the many examples of what it took to change the constitution of the Weimar Republic in favor of women’s right to vote. All in all from 1840-1920 we see some stabilities in the status of women and also some positive adjustments. From women’s pay to their right to vote the late nineteenth century and the early twentieth century was critic time fro women and a huge period landing to even more advancements in the years to