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Women often did not pursue an education because there were less jobs available to them, however this also worked the other way around; there were less jobs available to women because there were less educated women in many fields. It was not uncommon for women to get employment at some point in their lives, however it was more common for them to get jobs that did not require a degree. It was also common for women to get jobs that were not long-lasting careers. The separate spheres ideology was still present in the mid-twentieth century, which promoted the idea that men should be in the public sphere, including the working world, and women should stay in the private sphere at home. So although it was not uncommon for women to work, it was uncommon for women to work if they were married, and especially if they had children. The responsibility of a woman was to her family, according to the ideology of the day, so if a woman chose to have a family, she was also choosing not to have a career. Often women would work until they got married and then would stay at home. There are some stories of women who got married and continued to work, but it was very rare for them to continue working after having children. It was not unheard of for a woman to commit to having a life-long career, however this would almost definitely mean that she would not have a family.

When women did have jobs and careers, there was an inequality between them and their male counterparts. Within the same company, men would have greater opportunity for senior positions, whereas women would rarely get promoted. Not only within particular companies or fields of work, there were also differences between men and women in the working world in general. Women often had jobs that were considered more “caring” such as being a nurse or a teacher, or else she may work as a secretary or factory worker. In comparison, men were able to get more prestigious jobs such as lawyers, doctors, or engineers. There were many inequalities for working women, and there were many hardships that women had to face when considering work and family. So although it was not completely uncommon for women to work to some degree, it was uncommon to keep a job, especially one that was not considered feminine, or to keep one once she got married. These aspects of the working world is what made working women feminist.

One major change in the female working world that changed dramatically during this time period, was as a result of WWII, which you can read more about in the “Women in War” section here.