1950’s Women in the Workplace

            Women in the past are known for just being housewives for families. That is their typical role. The society has their own set of norms for what women are allowed to do and what they are restricted from doing by the law. The role of a housewife was very important the norms I was describing, and to provide an excellent service to her husband she was to follow a set of guidelines. The guidelines are first gone into detail about having dinner ready when husband is home, be dressed appropriately and well pampered, and be upbeat and cheerful to bring the husband out of a rough day at work. In the terms of the children she is supposed to wash their hands, comb their hair, and seemed to be perfect because they are God’s creatures and must play the part. One of the most important things which most people in today’s society don’t follow anymore is that when you see your husband; do not start off with complaints or problems in your day. These are just a few of the many guidelines women have established to have a happy, successful and proper household to run. Time throughout of 50’s has changed what women have been allowed to do dramatically.

I am going to provide a brief timeline with some historical advancement women have received. In the year 1950, women were first allowed to be drafted in the Korean War, over the course of 5 years 120,000 were in the military serving their country as a marine and nurse. In the year 1951, women were seeking bigger employment other than the home, so a new peak of women’s employment reached 19 million. In the year 1953, Pauline Friedrich is hired by NBC reporting news. That is a provided a very big mark for women and introducing more culture/diversity. In 1955, the number of illegitimate births increases greatly, which boosts the adoption percentage by 80%. In the year 1956, the annual salary of a woman is $2,179 dollars, and a male’s salary is $4,466.

Women throughout the 1950’s had been following a picture or role model for the factory or military working class. This figure was formed because the United States were at WWII and needed a work force quick. The person they have established is known as Rosie the Riveter. She is supposed to represent this strong independent working class woman that is doing the tasks of a man and having no trouble in the process. Rosie the Riveter is the person most historians or teachers first talk about when the 1950’s are brought up for lecture. Rosie was established because women were needed to be working for the armed forces and make ammunition, weld metal for tanks, work on ships so they can transport materials. These women that have enrolled themselves in the factory style life loved every single minute of it and would love to pursue that task for the rest of their lives but that did not happen because by the end of the war, women were told to go back to the household tasks. This hit women and their workplace in a whole new way.   

-Henry Piatek