how women have changed over the past century?

Question

how women have changed over the past century?

Answer 1

Just look at what jobs women would be allowed in, and how the salaries evolved as specific jobs became "womanized".

"In more recent history, the gender roles of women have changed greatly. Traditionally, middle-class women were typically involved in domestic tasks emphasizing child care, and did not enter paid employment. For poorer women, especially working class women, this often remained an ideal[specify], as economic necessity compelled them to seek employment outside the home. The occupations that were available to them were, however, lower in prestige and pay than those available to men."

"As changes in the labor market for women came about, availability of employment changed from only "dirty", long houred factory jobs to "cleaner", more respectable office jobs where a little more education was demanded, women's participation in the labor force rose from 6% in 1900 to 23% in 1923. These shifts in the labor force led to changes in the attitudes of women at work, allowing for the "quiet" revolution which resulted in women becoming more career and education oriented. This revolution of women in the labor force came about because of changes in three essential criteria: expanded horizons- women were anticipating their future work lives, allowing them to then plan for them and receive the education they needed to accomplish that goal; altered identities- Women's identities were no longer based upon just family and child-bearing. Their focus became more on career and financial success, and defined themselves thus; Changes in decision making- Women were making decisions regarding their lives, education, and career goals. Marriage was postponed and more women made time to focus on a career and an education, rather than just going to college to meet a spouse. [Information from article by Claudia Goldin, "The Quiet Revolution that Transformed Women's Employment, Education, and Family"]"

"Significant progress has also been achieved in reducing the gender gap in educational qualifications. Younger women today are far more likely to have completed a tertiary qualification than women 30 years ago: in 19 of the 30 OECD ["Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development", developped free-market democracies EVT] countries, more than twice as many women aged 25 to 34 have completed tertiary education than women aged 55 to 64 do. In 21 of 27 OECD countries with comparable data, the number of women graduating from university-level programmes is equal to or exceeds that of men. Last but not least, 15-year-old girls tend to show much higher expectations for their careers than boys of the same age."

"While women account for more than half of university graduates in several OECD countries, they receive only 30% of tertiary degrees granted in science and engineering fields, and women account for only 25% to 35% of researchers in most OECD countries."

"In OECD countries, women’s employment is not necessarily synonymous with high wages and career opportunities. The labour market remains difficult for women and in all fields of activity, it will be a long time before women have equal access to the same occupations as men. In OECD countries, both men and women work in an occupation where their own gender is in a strong majority. Over half of the occupations surveyed are more than 80% ‘dominated’ by the same gender. The scale and permanence of the phenomenon are such that it is customary to talk about ‘traditionally male’ and ‘traditionally-female’ jobs. But there are five times as many male-dominated occupations in the OECD countries as there are female-dominated ones. Women’s employment is therefore narrowly concentrated in a small number of highly female-dominated occupations. Yet on average women account for over 40% of total employment in the OECD area."

"Women : Culture and gender roles" : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women#Culture_and_gender_roles

"According to sociology research, traditional feminine gender roles have become less relevant and hollower in Western societies since industrialization started. For example, the cliché that women do not follow a career is obsolete in many Western societies. [...] Women take on many roles that were traditionally reserved for men, as well as behaviors and fashions, which may cause pressure on many men to be more masculine and thus confined within an even smaller gender role, while other men react against this pressure. For example, men's fashions have become more restrictive than in other eras, while women's fashions have become more broad. One consequence of social unrest during the Vietnam War era was that men began to let their hair grow to a length that had previously (within recent history) been considered appropriate only for women. Somewhat earlier, women had begun to cut their hair to lengths previously considered appropriate only to men."

"In many other cases, the elements of convention or tradition seem to play a dominant role in deciding which occupations fit in with which gender roles. In the United States, physicians have traditionally been men, and the few people who defied that expectation received a special job description: "woman doctor". Similarly, there are special terms like "male nurse", "woman lawyer", "lady barber", "male secretary," etc. But in China and the former Soviet Union countries, medical doctors are predominantly women, and in the United Kingdom, Germany and Taiwan it is very common for all of the barbers in a barber shop to be women. Also, throughout history, some jobs that have been typically male or female have switched genders. For example, clerical jobs. Clerical jobs used to be considered a man's job, but when several women began filling men's job positions due to World War II, clerical jobs quickly became dominated by women. It became more feminized, and women workers became known as "typewriters" or "secretaries". There are many other jobs that have switched gender roles, and many jobs are continually evolving as far as being dominated by women or men."

"Gender role" : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_roles

Answer 2

Thank you, nationofswine--I had noticed that too.

Basically, once we had the right to vote, as the 1st person noted, a lot more things opened up for us. As our opportunites expanded, it brought us into more overt competition with men, which allowed the battle of the sexes to really take off--but that's more society overall.
We can vote, own property (this varied over the last 100-150 years, depending on state), decide who & when (or if!) we marry, get divorced, live our lives free of interference by the family if necessary, go to college & get degrees, work at any type of job we want, join the military & serve in combat if physically able. Some of the other changes are more cosmetic & fashion, like choice of clothes; I wouldn't count those as being different.
That's the some of the good side. On the other hand, we have picked up some bad habits; a number of women seem to go out of their way to show they're as bad as any male stereotype ("rude, crude, & socially unacceptable").
More openly competitive, tho I couldn't say if that's good or bad.

Of course, these are generalities, and I'm speaking mostly for the Western countries. Trying to be objective is hard!

Answer 3

Women have learned to THINK for themselves. A hundred years ago women were subservient to their fathers and then their husbands. There lives were planned for them. Formal education was not an option for the majority. They were expected to become obedient wives and mothers. Working outside the home was practically unheard of. When women got the vote it all begain to change. Durning WW2 women worked in defense plants and many other jobs while the men were away. After that we knew there was more we could do besides homemaking. Now we had a choice and could think for ourselves

Answer 4

Gaining the right to vote on most nations on earth is an important big step.

Not to mention that more are working outside the home and earning more $ for the family in most western democracies.

Unfortunately, there is still no shortage of gender inequality in many developing nations, and we still have a long way to go.

Answer 5

BOY! You sure can smell the misogyny in THIS crowd! (not you, asker, or "Erik"--good answer, but kind of long!). Women are FAR more open and free now than 100 yrs. ago. In 1907, they still wore corsets, long skirts, had to wear hats when they went out, needed chaperones when visiting with "gentlemen callers", weren't allowed to vote (in most countries), enjoy sex (even in marriage) and had to bow the wills of their male relatives, then their husbands.

Women who departed from this were often shunned from "polite society", unless they were artistic, rich and/or famous, like Edith Wharton. If they divorced, they were scorned. They were expected to put up with abuse (including rape) from their husbands and look the other way if he cheated on them. (It wasn't until the 1950's that a married woman could even legally accuse her husband of rape!).

Women were seen as less intelligent and not allowed to handle money or major decisions in a family.

In short, things REALLY BLEW for women, until around the 1940's, when they were needed in the work force (WWII), but then, in the 50's, they were sent home to have babies and cook, when the men came back.

It wasn't until the 1960's and more so, the Feminist mvt. of the 1970's, that women basically told people to get bent if they tried to control them, including would-be boyfriends and husbands. Women began real careers and put off having kids until later. They divorced and had affairs at almost the same rate as men.

Now, things seem to be backsliding, as modern young women see Feminism as "evil" or something. Personally, I'd MUCH rather have women around me who think for themselves and aren't obsessed w/fashion, gossip and cooking! Educated women are much more interesting, too.

Answer 6

women themselves or society's view of them? Women are now able to support themselves. It wasn't long ago that women could only get jobs as nurses, teachers, secretaries, etc. Those jobs never paid as much as any job a man had. They were expected to quit their jobs when they got married to stay home and raise children. Also women had to put up with men's advances etc at the work place. Now they don't.

Answer 7

To put it simply, women today do not put up with the crap they had to put up with a hundred years ago.

Our right to think for ourselves is now recognized, and we have proven ourselves perfectly capable of supporting ourselves and our families, and able to deal with the stresses of jobs and careers that were once believed to be too strenuous for our supposedly delicate physical and mental constitutions.

There have been some negatives trends, such as the increase in the amount of crime (particularly violent crime) committed by women.

Not having to rely on a husband or other male relative for financial support has enabled both women and men to carve out their own chosen path in life.

There are still some women who choose to be submissive to men, and that is fine as long as it is their CHOICE to do so.

Answer 8

Are you talking about women in the US? Women in the industrialized world? Many countries/cultures consider women the same as a hundred years ago.

Answer 9

Start with getting the right to vote and go on from there.

Answer 10

They were more virtuous and decent now only some still follow tradition and they are not religious just careful and truth ful . Alot of christian women are not virtuous . They are more independent now financially . Lesbian weddings etc.

Answer 11

it is due to women right