After the American Industrial Revolution
Did all the Women's work give them equality in the end?
At the end of the Industrial Revolution in the year 1914, women had finally almost gotten the rights they worked so hard to gain. In 1920, women gained the right to vote, thanks to the women's suffrage movements started decades before. That same year, "the Women's Bureau of the Department of Labor is formed to collect information about women in the workforce and safeguard good working conditions for women". As early as 1933, women were introduced into the presidential cabinet. The lady in the left picture's name is Francis Perkins, and she worked under the Roosevelt administration as the "Secretary of Labor...1933-1945". In the 1940s, women were paid the highest they had ever been, due to the men going overseas to fight for World War Two. On June 10, 1963, "Congress passes the Equal Pay Act, making it illegal for employers to pay a woman less than what a man would receive for the same job". This was huge for women, and it was all thanks to the strikes made much earlier, such as the Lowell Mill strikes all the way back in the 1830s. If it had not been for the women fighting for freedom during the Industrial Revolution, women would have gained rights much later on, if at all. Even today, the equality women have is all thanks to the Industrial Revolution--it was when women finally decided to use their voice.
Conclusion
Acting as a catalyst for women's rights, the Industrial Revolution not only was it the time some rights were being granted, but a time where women were becoming equals. Factory conditions were both similar to men, women fought to make their wages fair, and by using their voices, they gained the rights they did. During the Industrial Revolution, women realized it was okay to be themselves, and to speak up for themselves when they felt something was wrong. Without it, America may have never seen the amount of equality it has today.