Women & Turn of the Century

The turn of the century created significant change to women in the US. This gave them the opportunity to do things they never could in the past. Women had the opportunity to work more, had better living conditions, but also endured new hardships.

Because of mechanization and new factories, women got the opportunity to work brand new jobs. This made many women move from doing housework, to actually working jobs that men would usually work. Going outside of home would also give women more experience and intelligence; giving them the opportunity to make lots of money. Life seemed to be much better for them.

Living conditions at home were advanced as well. With the turn of the century, electricity along with new machines made living at home much easier. Electricity made everything more efficient and safer. Women at home could now use dish washers and washing machines, instead of doing things like these by hand. Also with the addition of light bulbs, they could work more efficiently and later than when using candle light.

Even though women got the capability to work outside of the house and had advanced living conditions, they still endured new hardships. At the workplace, women were extremely discriminated. From getting lower wages than men doing the same work to being fired the second one would complain, women had it very hard. Also with new electricity, working all the time would put a lot of stress on women; physically and mentally.

Women were significantly affected by the turn of the century. Whether it was beneficial or problematic, they had a taste of what change felt like. This sort of change also led to future changes towards women; most importantly equality.