A Decade of Change---1960's

In the 1960's, women experienced many cultural changes. For the first time, women were becoming a bigger part of the paid workforce. But even though an income was important, most women still experienced lower pay than male workers. So how was this fair? Business owners saw women as "weaker" or "not as capable" of doing the work of a man. They thought that just having women in the workforce was a big enough change for everyone. The women fought for their rights and were eventually given bigger and better opportunities, and granted more equal paying jobs.

Another major change for women in the 1960's was the usage of contraceptives, such as birth conrol. Over 80 percent of wives at childbearing age were using the birth control pill. This was extremely controversial because women now had a choice of whether or not they wanted to have children. Many women saw this as having a little more freedom for themselves because it is their body and it is up to them what they want to do with it. This created women to become more educated, get better paying jobs, and control exactly how big a family they wanted.

Sexual assaults and domestic violence against women was also rapidly changing in the 60's. Laws began to take place in cities and states to prevent such things from happening. As women gained more rights, more and more laws came into play. Men were no longer able to "control" women like they were able to in the past. Women were able to go out, whether is be the grocery store, a job, or on the bus, and not have to worry about being discriminated against. This was a major turning point for women because they began to feel empowered and felt like, for once in their lives, they had as much freedom as men.

Overall, the women of the 1960's decade had a world of experience. The culture was changing, and so were the women. Feeling power and freedom can make the world of difference in life, and women were finally being granted that opportunity. Whether it was entering the workforce, using contraceptives, or battling violence the women of the 1960's made a huge difference in America; and it is something that sparked an everlasting change in the view of women.

Erica Hendzel