Women's Roles In The 1960s Essay

In the 1960s, the roles of men and women in society were beginning to change tremendously, especially for women. More and more women were entering the working world, creating more disparities amongst them in regards to unfair pay and sexual harassment at their jobs. Big changes were also happening in the bedroom. Towards the end of the decade, “more than 80 percent of wives of childbearing age were using contraception after the federal government in 1960 approved a birth control pill.” This allowed women to have a choice when it came to pregnancy, a choice they had never had prior. It also gave them more freedom in their personal relationships. Once the civil rights and antiwar movements were underway, many women were increasingly being questioned and criticized towards their expectations and positions in the workforce and in

They were now able to get higher paying jobs that were once only available to men, as well as get a higher education. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, this led to a major increase in the percentage of women working outside of the home, especially women with children. Morreale talks about his in her book: …Middle class women, wives, and mothers were entering the labor force as never before. Between 1950 and 1970, the number of married women who worked doubled, and the percentage of women who made up the workforce grew from thirty-four to forty-three percent. In addition, this led to the creation and recreation of words such as, newswoman, assemblywoman, chairwoman, congresswoman, anchorwoman, spokeswoman, mailwoman, etc. These words were created to appease the frustrated working women of the time, despite most of their frustration being towards the gender gap. For the first time in history, society was attempting to get rid of gendered language. This decade left its mark in history as a time of major change, especially in society’s gender