Women In Public Life

1. Women In Public Life Chapter 9-2

2. Women In The Workforce • By the late 19th century many upper & middle class women had the means & time to devote to social issues while the majority of women were resigned to work for wages outside the home • Those in rural areas were forced to raise the children, take care of the home as well as help with the farm chores • Women who worked in industry earned a little more & the options were far & few in between & as they were barred from union membership • By 1900 one in five women worked outside the home with 25% of those jobs in manufacturing, ½ in the garment industry • Wages were half of their male counterparts • Women did see an increase in those that attended college as by 1890 women graduates outnumbered male graduates • Domestic work also claimed a large number of women workers, especially in the African American community

3. WOMEN LEAD REFORM • The push for reform would come from those working in industry • Dangerous conditions, low wages, & long hours were the norm • The push would grow after 146 workers were burned to death at the Triangle Shirtwaist factory • Women also began to discuss issues at women's clubs which would grow into reform groups

4. Women in higher education • By the late 19th century marriage was not a woman's only option as many entered the workforce or college • Many of these women would never marry as half of the educated women would remain single & independent & applied their skills to needed social reform

5. Women and reform • The unskilled workers started the reform movement but it was the educated that would strengthen & lead it • Because women were not allowed to vote they would concentrate on social issues such as workplace reform, housing, education, & food & drug regulation • In 1886 the National Association for Colored Women was established (NACW) • In 1848 after Seneca Falls convention Susan B. Anthony & Elizabeth Cady Stanton emerged as a leaders in the fight for women's suffrage founding the National Women Suffrage Association (NWSA) • NWSA would later merge with another suffrage group forming the National American Woman Suffrage Association

6. A Three-part strategy for suffrage • Suffragists tried 3 approaches to gain the vote • Convince state legislatures to grant them the vote • In Court challenging the 14th Amendment • A national amendment • By the end of the century only moderate success had been gained in the area of suffrage but considerable progress had been made in the area of food & drug regulation as well as in the workplace