UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL AUTÓNOMA DE HONDURAS

FACULTAD DE HUMANIDADES Y ARTES

CARRERA DE LENGUAS EXTRANJERAS

CLASS:

ENGLISH COMPOSITION 0900

“Academic Writing Process Report”

Name of student: Dariela Nicole López Oviedo

Student’s number: 20191900235

Teacher: Douglas Noel Santos Murillo

Date: April 17th, 2023

I declare that this essay has the following word count: 1596 words.

I confirm that this piece of writing is all my own work ✔ .

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Historical Background Behind U. S. Women’s Entry into the Workforce

In every aspect of their lives, women have had very defined and marked roles

throughout history. Inside their family environments, as Davis (2010) states, “it was expected

that women be obedient wives, never to hold a thought or opinion independent of their

husbands”. Beyond that, they were limited to jobs in society that involved caring for and

cleaning. These positions are unpaid and only seen as fitting for women. In earlier times and

at the beginning of the twentieth century, these and other conventions were accepted as social

norms. Goldin (2006) notes that at those times, the very notion of women trying to balance

work and family obligations was considered taboo by society. Before events that altered not

only the course of history but also each person's way of life in it, the first changes started to

become perceptible. Webb (2010) remarks that new inventions were produced because of the

military conflict and industrialization. Consequently, everyone's roles were altered, especially

the ones that women were accustomed to playing. The demand for labor grew as a result of

the establishment of new workplaces and the destruction caused by the war. This created a

chance that many women would undoubtedly take advantage of. However, the entry of

women into the workforce was not a straightforward process; rather, it was the culmination of

a series of circumstances that gave rise to the social position of independent workers that

many of them still hold today. This essay will first describe the role that women performed

for many years in their communities, then the factors that led to their inclusion in the

workforce, and in the end, the effects of this on what is known as society.

The stereotypical view of females in society as submissive and docile has persisted

for a very long time. This was a prevalent characteristic in American communities in the

early nineteenth century. Women at the time were regarded as second-class citizens, which

granted them the right to take part in a community. Nevertheless, compared to members of

the primary group, which was made up of men, their rights and possibilities were less
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favorable. Consequently, “women were thought of as mere objects of beauty” (Davis, 2010),

as simple items. Ladies were brought up in a family environment where they learned proper

behavior, how to maintain composure, and how to follow their father figures' instructions.

Later in their marriage, they were seen as their husbands' possessions. Voting, receiving

education, signing agreements, receiving pay, and owning property were all prohibited for

them. There was no chance for personal and professional growth. As a result of the

widespread perception that a woman was less capable than a man on both a physical and

intellectual level, they were commonly warned to simply avoid proper education or

employment. As reported by Webb (2010), women's lives were primarily focused on finding

a husband, getting married, and then taking care of the household and children. Even if they

were to land a job, it would be as a maid or a servant, requiring the same level of effort they

put into raising their own families with no payment. Even though there was general

disapproval of married women working outside the home and despite the few opportunities

available to them, they did start to enter the workforce at the turn of the century, changing the

socially established norms.

There are specific events that occurred in the late nineteenth and early twentieth

centuries that serve as the ideal scenery for the beginning of social change. The First World

War served as the turning point for many significant changes. According to Webb (2010), a

substantial amount of property and lives were lost due to the United States' entry into the war

in 1914. It was a period of high production, and both the labor needed to manufacture them

and the wide range of products were in high demand. Due to the deaths of several generations

of men in combat, women were required to enter the workforce. At this point, they started

working in the factories as well as serving as nurses for those who had survived the war and

succeeded in coming back. Even though everything appeared to be going smoothly, the war

eventually ends, which results in the firing of many females from their employment to make
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space for males. After the awakening of collective consciousness, women started to disagree

with these circumstances, and this led to primary modifications of some social conventions.

Later, the Industrial Revolution, a time of new inventions, took place. Consumer spending

was increasing, and factories were growing rapidly. Owing to the emergence of pleasant

employment, "the stigma surrounding married women’s work outside the home" (Goldin,

2006) was significantly reduced. This also enables many females to work in industries such

as office spaces, industrial production, and agricultural sectors, in addition to other job

positions. Women were able to enter the workforce as a side effect, and from there, the

movement to achieve gender equality in the United States started growing.

The regulations and ways of life in society kept changing because of the different

circumstances that the country faced. "As more goods were produced in factories and more

factories emerged, the workplace shifted from rural areas to urban areas" (Webb, 2010). The

transition was abrupt, and everything was constantly evolving. Among all these alterations,

the female labor force found an opportunity because this new paradigm gave them more

chances to gain employment. During these times, women saw studies as a way to reintroduce

themselves in the workplace, maintain them, and even aim for job positions previously held

only by men. Women were no longer confined to their homes as they had been in the past.

Webb (2010) comments that politically, it was a turbulent period. Females were becoming

more involved in politics, forming a collective voice while running for office, and speaking

out on problems that impacted them and the nation overall. Furthermore, the dilemma of

equal wages for comparable work was raised. It was remarkable that many industries

continued to regard women as second-class citizens. Therefore, they were paid less than men.

In response to those opinions, women started working hard to implement legislation that

safeguards and rewards their work. "In 1963, the Equal Pay Act made it illegal to pay men

and women differently for the same job" (Webb, 2010). Several components played a role in
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ensuring that this objective was attainable and a fully legal act. "One was the creation of

scheduled part-time employment. Another factor was the greater acceptance of married

women in the labor force and the almost complete end of marriage bars" (Goldin, 2006). As a

result of each of these circumstances, women now have more options than previous

generations and the ability to choose whether to prioritize a professional career over marriage

in the coming years. 

The evidence presented in this essay suggests that the entrance of women into the

workforce was just the starting point of a movement that contributed to the gradual shift in

the role that females used to perform in their communities. Furthermore, this also helped to

change the norms under which society was directed, giving rise to equity. In the past, it was

normal for women not to take an active part in their communities. Their lives were centered

on learning to be exemplary wives and raising their children. However, society revolutionized

as the century progressed, and two significant events transformed every component of

American communities. First, there was the war, an unfortunate occurrence that served as an

impulse for the necessary transformation of society to advance forward and open doors to

new opportunities. Following this, industrialization created new jobs and altered how goods

were produced. Both allowed women to begin establishing themselves in the workplace. As a

result of these factors, we have a society that was a witness to the long journey that women

had to endure as they attempted to obtain a place within it. As an outcome, they were able to

look for greater opportunities than those that were offered to them and make their own way

through different occupations. All the women who participated in these movements are

responsible for providing the rights that future generations will enjoy. Finally, after all this

process, which was the establishment of women as pillars in the labor force, we must ask

ourselves whether the dominant group’s power or the determination that rises above them had

a larger impact. The following words may contain an answer: "It’s not about being perfect.
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It’s not about where you get yourself in the end. There’s power in allowing yourself to be

known and heard, in owning your unique story, in using your authentic voice" (Obama,

2019).
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References

Davis, M. M. (2010). Women’s Work [Master’s thesis, Florida State University].

https://www.academia.edu/14094719/Womens_Work

Goldin, C. (2006, May). The Quiet Revolution That Transformed Women's Employment,

Education, and Family. Harvard.edu.

https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/goldin/files/the_quiet_revolution_that_transformed_

womens_employment_education_and_family.pdf

Obama, M. (2019). Becoming: A guided journal for discovering your voice. Clarkson Potter.

Webb, J. (2010). The Evolution of Women's Roles within the University and the Workplace.

ERIC Institute for Education Sciences. (5), 1-17

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ913097.pdf