Women during the Great Depression

The economic pressures that the Great Depression placed upon American society brought up a conflict between traditional values and what people needed to do to survive. My last two blogs have been about women and progressivism in the U.S. I am continuing with this theme by making some observations about women during the Depression.

In the 1930s it was still not culturally acceptable for married women to work outside the home. Traditional values had men working to provide for the financial needs of the family while women remained at home to manage the household and raise the children. However, desperate times called for desperate measures, especially for families in cities. To make sure that ends met, married women began to go outside the home for work to help their husbands with the finances.

This move was discouraged by the government and conventional wisdom because it made sense that if women left the home to take employment, then there would be fewer jobs for men in the workplace. Therefore, the feminist movement lost some traction during the Depression. This makes sense too because if one looks at Maslow's hierarchy of needs, one can see that basic physical needs have to be satisfied before any higher contemplation can take place. If you don't have food, then it's hard to think about whether you are on an equal playing field with men. Survival comes first.

Now don't get me wrong. The progressives were still working to advance their agenda during the New Deal of Franklin Roosevelt. I will save his presidency for another time. Again, remember that progressives believed that big government and big business working together was the best way to manage society and therefore advance it. The area in which women "progressed" during the New Deal is in government work.

The first female was appointed to a cabinet position in FDRs administration, Frances Perkins as Secretary of Labor. Also, over 100 women were added to federal bureaucratic positions under FDR. Ms. Perkins was a driving force behind the Social Security Act of 1935, the first major piece of "socialist" legislation in United States history. This law gave aid to dependent children in the event that a male spouse died leaving children the wife could then be able to receive money to support her children. Basically, since women did not work outside the home as a rule, now the government subsidizes the lost income of a dead spouse instead of allowing the wife to get a job outside the home. Traditional female occupations were excluded from social security: maids and waitresses among others.

There was other New Deal legislation that discriminated against women. The National Recovery Agency (NRA) was one of FDR's alphabet programs that was intended to create jobs for people who could not find work. They funded mostly public works projects, but it also gave money to artists and writers. However, this agency sanctioned sexually discriminatory wage practices. Meaning that women were not given equal pay for equal work and to discourage women from staying in jobs outside of marriage and homemaking.

Also during this period the push for an Equal Rights Amendment lost a lot of steam. The main reason for this was that the some state governments had passed laws granting special protections to women. If an equal rights amendment was to pass, then these special protections would be voided. Again we see big government in the role of managing people's behavior.

In conclusion, the decade of the Great Depression was a period of clash between the traditional role of women and survival. The progressive elites in government and big business believed that it was best for society that women remain in the home and raise children instead of leaving the home to find work to help support their families. Therefore, rather than allowing the free market system decide whether women should work outside the home, the government decided for them through these progressive programs.

If any of you have any questions about this or other posts, please let me know.