Women Get Jobs In The 1930s Essay

842 Words4 Pages

Did you ever wonder why it was hard for Women to get a job in the 1930s and around that time? In the 1930’s timeframe, women were looked at differently, they were looked at weaker than men and people believed that if they had a high paid job or even just a job they were taking the job away from men. They could also be judged on if they were married or not and that would affect them getting a job. Gender roles and stereotypes affect women getting jobs in the 1930s depending on if they are married or not, their race, and because men are the “breadwinners.”

Gender roles and stereotypes affect women getting jobs in the 1930s depending on if they are married or not. Rotondi states, “As the Great Depression pummeled millions of American workers, Frances Perkins, New York state’s Commissioner of Labor, warned that New York faced a particular threat from a surprising group: Married women with …show more content…

Lewis states “With fewer jobs available, employers generally preferred to award those they had to men who'd traditionally worn the mantle of the family breadwinner.” With men being the breadwinners of the family they could get jobs way easier and it wasn’t hard for them. With fewer jobs available, employees choose men to work there instead of women and that was taking multiple opportunities away from women getting jobs. Motherhood and homemaking became regarded as the proper fulfilling roles for women. Lewis also states “The wage gap was justified by the stereotype of the male breadwinner needing earnings that would support not just himself, but a traditional family—whether he was married or not.” Women were always getting paid less than men no matter what they were doing because the men always got paid more and got jobs easier because they were the breadwinners which means they support the family with money while the women are in charge of the household