During the Depression years of the 1930's, many changes took place. Men were losing their jobs, and family life was severely stressed. "Middle class families had a sudden decline in status. In such families, wives often moved in to fill a power vacuum." (1) "Contradictory pressures"(2) were brought to bear upon women wage earners. "Public attitudes urged them not to work, but economic circumstances both spurred wage labor and in some instances made jobs available.” (3)

1. Woloch, Nancy, Women and The American Expirience (The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc11996) p. 285.

While there was significant job loss suffered by both men and women during these years, due to the "segregated occupational patterns" of women's jobs and the fact that "men did not seek 'women's work,'" women were "protected to an extent" by a division of labor within the work force(4). While many women maintained jobs, employment in some cases was very difficult. Wages were low and working conditions were unpredictable with "layoffs or speed-ups" (5). While "Frances Perkins sat as Secretary of Labor in Franklin Roosevelt's cabinet, massive male unemployment brought forth demands that married women be dismissed from jobs in order to spread the work" (6). At about this same time, the National Recovery Administration permitted lower minimum wages for women workers (7).

Some topics in this essay:
War II, York Times, Woloch Nancy, Colamn Penny, Hall Fame, Women's Bureau, V-E Day, Wasp_wwii Org/, War Department, Recovery Administration, woloch nancy, janeway elizabeth, nancy 302, war ii, woloch nancy 302, world war ii, world war, married women, chafe william, chafe 133, york times, women served, york times article, woloch nancy 287, judy bannet smith,