The Role of Women in Late 19th Century

The Role of Women in Late 19th Century
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The Role of Women in Late 19th Century
Women in history have had to endure difficult life experiences, particularly in the form of gender inequality, which unfortunately is still evident in some parts of the world up to date. Up until the early 19th century, women in most civilizations, including America, were marginalized in many ways, including their roles. In the early years, the roles of women primarily revolved around domestic work and mainly raising children. With the advent of industrialization in the mid and late 19th century, the roles, attitudes, and expectations of women towards society and themselves changed significantly, marking the late 19th century as a great juncture for the role of women (Library of Congress, n.d.). Despite the drastic changes in the role of women in the late 19th century, some duties typically assigned to the female gender remained unchanged.
The wifely roles of a woman remained prominent even towards the end of the 19th century, with the female gender tasked with the role of being a mother, taking care and raising children, as well as attending to all domestic chores. The looming world wars and the rampant industrial revolution led to the emergence of new opportunities that required an increased labor force, thus allowing women to join employment in the late 1800s. Urbanization and industrialization had greatly revolutionalized the market economy in the late 1800s, forcing families to abandon the old economic model that was centrally focused on the family and shift to an industry-led economy, which forced people, including women, to seek formal jobs. The need for both skilled and unskilled laborers working in the industries, in particular in the textile and clothing industry, employed many women in the second half of the 19th century, with the male counterparts taking more supervisory and skilled roles.
The looming world war that broke out in the early 20th century was the other driving force in transforming the women's role in the society who later played a pivotal role in nursing those injured in wars and even aided with the design and manufacture of weapons used in wars. Throughout the century, women had been assigned the role of shaping the morality of society, and it transpired through to the late 19th century. This also inspired the women to champion some of the social issues affecting the female gender, such as gender inequality and low wages for female workers. Bold women came out to express the expectations imposed on women by society through various mediums, including articles, essays, speeches. Their presenc...