This is Part Four of a series, Women in the Workforce: We Can Do It!, exploring topics related to the history, challenges, and accomplishments of working women in America. Topics to date include: Women in the Workforce: We Can Do It!, War Opens the Doors for Working Women, and The Rise of Jobs, The Rise of Inequality
The New Deal. Franklin Delano Roosevelt took office during the worst economic crisis in U.S. history and immediately worked to secure the country. FDR implemented The New Deal, which included programs, work projects, and policies. Influenced by the strength of his mother and wife, Roosevelt had a great appreciation for the abilities of women and saw them as his peers. He named 22 women to senior groundbreaking appointment of Frances Perkins as the Secretary of Labor. Perkins was the first female to hold a cabinet position in the U.S. Under her leadership, a minimum wage was enacted, a maximum workweek was established, child labor was outlawed, the social security system was implemented, and unemployment insurance was made available. Interestingly, when she was named Secretary of Labor, Perkin’s husband was suffering from extreme mental illness, and she was her family’s sole financial support.
➡️➡️Read More: The Rise of Jobs, The Rise of Inequality
Work Opportunities exclude Married Women. It was socially acceptable for single women to work, but during the Depression, married women were urged to leave the workforce. Ironically, even Secretary of Labor Francis Perkins advocated against married women competing for jobs with men. Perkins stated, “The woman ‘pin-money worker’ who competes with the necessity worker is a menace to society, a selfish, shortsighted creature, who ought to be ashamed of herself.”
Twenty-six states introduced laws banning the hiring of married women, but Louisiana was the only state to pass it. Thankfully, it was quickly declared unconstitutional. Other prohibitions discriminated against married women, including more than three-quarters of the nation’s public-school districts refusing to hire married teachers unless they were male.
Inequality in Wages and Conditions. The Civil Conservation Corps, or the CCC, was one of Roosevelt’s most successful New Deal programs providing millions of men with work on environmental projects. It originally excluded women until Eleanor Roosevelt and her peers protested this practice. Eleanor said that “as a group, women have been neglected in comparison with others and throughout the depression have had the hardest time of all.”
Through her persistence, a female version of the CCC was established in 1933 and was mockingly called the “She-She-She camps.” However, when women could participate, the wages and conditions were not equal, nor was the impact. More than 2.5 million men were a part of the CCC, while there were only spots available for 8,500 women. Men spent a minimum of six months working on national park projects and received $30 per month plus room and board. Women had to apply and prove that they were single and destitute. At the camps, they could stay only four weeks while they focused on education, vocational training, and leisure. They received only $5 per month plus room and board. There were many critics of this program as people felt that women should be at home and the government should not focus on helping women. Some even said the camps promoted communism. Funding for the female camps ended in 1937, but at its peak, there were 28 camps in 26 states, including specific camps for African American women and Native American women.
➡️➡️Read More: War Opens the Doors for Working Women
The Works Progress Administration. The Works Progress Administration or WPA had a greater impact on women. Sewing centers were established, and more than 200,000 unskilled women were hired to make clothes and blankets for the needy. The WPA also helped educated women by employing them as teachers, librarians, and researchers. Female artists were employed to establish art programs, teach music lessons, and write WPA travel guides.
Women in the Workforce: We Can Do It!
Whether married or single, with children or not, working part-time, full-time, or even two jobs, as a stay-at-home mom or a community volunteer, American women can do it! Throughout history, American women always have. And I am so proud we do! Over the next few months, I will explore how topics about women in the workforce from the early 1900s until the present. Also, I want to note the changing trends of women in the workforce that this series contemplates will focus on white, middle-class women. Women of color have had very different experiences, and their work lives have been defined by racism, sexism, and financial necessity. I have pointed this out, when possible, but please keep in mind that this series is not a complete picture of all women.
Please check back to read the next blog in the series, Women in the Workforce: We Can Do It! as we explore The Rise of Female Empowerment.
Propel HR President Lee Yarborough
-- Lee Yarborough, President, Propel HR
Active in many professional and community organizations, Lee recently served as Chair of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations (NAPEO). As NAPEO Chair, Lee focused on diversity and initiatives to deepen member relations. Under her leadership, she formed Women in NAPEO (WIN), a networking group designed to engage, empower, and encourage women working in the PEO industry. On the local level, Lee also served as the Chair of NAPEO’s Carolinas Leadership Council for more than a decade. In 2015, she was named a Fellow of the eleventh class of the Liberty Fellowship Program and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.
An advocate for public education, Lee has served on the executive board as Chair of Public Education Partners and is the founder and director of Read Up Greenville, a young adult and middle grades book festival in downtown Greenville, SC.
When she breaks from board meetings, client visits, and networking, most likely, you will find Lee reading, camping, or spending time with her family. She also enjoys volunteering at her church and staying involved with her children's schools.