Women's Roles in Society (Essay Sample)

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Women's Roles in Society
In the past decades, the role of women has been greatly overseen, but in the contemporary world, things been changing. In early days, the duties of women were limited to cooking, cleaning, siring and take care of the children. Their rights were limited, and there were things they were not allowed to do. Despites their significant roles, women are still viewed as the weaker sex and inferior to men. Over the past few decades, the altitude towards the role of women in the society has greatly revolutionized in different parts of the world, due to educational systems and changes in laws regarding women.
The demand for woman suffrage and woman’s rights movements emerged in the early nineteenth century. Suffrage was the key goal for the movement in the nineteen fifties and remained so until nineteen twenties, when women achieved right to vote. The second great awakening, changing of the women ideas and industrial revolution inspired many Americans to actively participate in the reform movements (Greensberg117). At the beginning, women organized themselves and formed charity organizations, which mainly concentrated on feeding the hungry windows, reforming the prisons, helping the prostitutes to quit the vice, protecting the wage earning women who were being oppressed by their employers and many others. These movements removed women from the domestic cocoons and elevated them to public arena (Jefferson 4). The movements changed some of the pious middle-class women, who were found in front of prostitution houses, and tenements. Most people believed that impious politicians and corruption could be defeated, if women were allowed to vote. They argued women were less corrupt and ethical than many of their male counterparts
Lowell Mills, a textile mill located in Massachusetts town offered employment opportunities to young women as young as 16 years. These women lived in boarding houses, owned by the company, exposing them to freedom and opportunities away from their homes. The number of women working on the Mills was high when compared to men. Most of these girls usually left their jobs when their marriage was due and never went back. At first, the working conditions at mills were favorable, they disintegrated with time, and the employs were required to work for longer hours, with harsher working conditions and less pay. These prompted these women to protest and speak out.
A wide range of reforms strengthened the bid of women, giving them strength and powers, for instance temperance, which was a response for the exaggerated rates of alcohol consumption. The move helped many people to reduces alcohol consumption, and increase their productivity in their work places and at home (Wayne 56). Women were actively involved in the temperament movement, with their biggest concern being women equality. They claimed that the consequences of women with drinking problems are more severe, when compared to their male counterparts. Over the past few decades, women have made massive improvement especially in the job market and political field. Women are believed to bring sanity in the public arena, and their contributions in alienating vices such as corruption have been recognized.
In conclusion, women are integral unit of the society. Their contributions cannot be neglected, because the society cannot function ...