To what extent did the position of women improve in the period from 1865 to 1992?

The position of women improved only to a certain extent during the period 1865 to 1992. This can be
evaluated through the fact that although women were protected against sexism by law by the end of the
period in 1992, the social issues and everyday sexism that women faced still persisted until the end of the
period. Although there were some successes in the women’s liberation movement, the successes should
still be considered in the light of the situation women faced in 1992 and persistent ideas regarding
women’s roles in society. This discussion can be evaluated on the basis of 4 mini-themes: women in
politics, the nature of women’s work, second wave of feminism and the world wars. It is possible to find
points of comparison within these mini themes in order to come to the judgement that the success of the
women’s liberation movement was limited.

One must consider the factor of women in politics when examining the argument that the position of
women did improve during the period of 1865-1992. One can evaluate this factor by looking at the two
periods in particular- the periods of the progressive era of 1900-1920 and the period of 1960-1992 at the
end of the period. It is important to pass a judgement on the role of women in politics since women’s
involvement in the political sphere is an indication that their position in society has improved, since if their
political aims are entertained or pursued, this would suggest that women were being taken seriously in
American society. This can be said to be the case during the period of 1900-1920 known as the progressive
era since women had an increased involvement in politics. This was particularly relevant due to the torrent
of women’s suffrage activism that emerged during this period. For example, the National Women’s
Suffrage Association which had been established in 1869 played a part in the passing of the federal
suffrage amendment of 1918 in the House of Representatives, and although the amendment was voted
down by the Senate the persistence of NWSA’s activism meant that it was finally ratified in 1920. This
shows that women were becoming increasingly involved in politics and the politics that affected them,
showing that the position of women was improving due to this instrumental factor. The fact that the
Women’s Trade Union League of 1900 opposed suffrage was not a travesty since they opposed it for valid
political reasons, arguing that it could lead to the overturning of fundamental women worker’s civil rights
legislature of the 1890s. What was important was not that the WTUL opposed suffrage, but that they
played a role in politics, showing that the position of women improved during the progressive era.
Additionally, the Women’s Christian Temperance Union established in 1873 was the second biggest
temperance organisation after the Anti-Saloon League, boasting 344,873 members in 1920, and their
campaigns therefore had a significant influence upon the introduction of Prohibition in 1920. The fact that
women were being taken seriously in the political sphere is an indication that their position in society had
improved by 1920. However, there is also no evidence relevant to this mini-theme that would argue that
the position of women did not improve. Although the National Women’s Party secured the first
congressional hearings for the Equal Rights Amendment in 1923, the ERA had still not passed by 1992 and
its deadline extension from 1972 ended in 1982, showing that although there were some successes in the
progressive era, the position of women had not improved to a great extent by 1992.

The factor of women in politics is also relevant when examining the period of 1970 to 1992. Women played
key roles in politics during this era, showing that the position of women had improved since, for instance,
1915 when there were no women in Congress. The 1970s saw the passing of the 1973 Roe v Wade case as
well as several influential female figures in politics, such as with the appointment of Geraldine Ferraro in
1978 who co-sponsored the Economic Equity Act of 1981 or Sarah Weddington, Assistant to the President
on Women’s Issues 1978-1981. This shows that the position of women had improved because they were
being taken seriously in politics and playing important roles in the federal administration. However, once
again, although it is important to acknowledge these successes, one should also take into account that
many aspects of the position of women had not changed. Reagan’s conservative ethos of the 1980s
involved many female members of his administration being promptly dismissed, and a 1992 baking
competition in Family Circle challenged women to recreate the cookie recipes of Hilary Clinton and Barbara
Bush. This shows that, despite the fact that there were 47 women in the House of Representatives in 1992,
women were still not being taken seriously in politics and so their position in society had not improved on
a societal level. Even though 50% of the American population was female, in 1992 only 19 of 100 mayors of
major American cities were female. The position of women in society had not improved in regards to
political representation to the extent it may have appeared to, and women were still not being taken
seriously in politics even when they held prominent roles such as Foreign Secretary.

One should also examine the nature of women’s work as a factor when discussing whether the position of
women had improved by 1992. Women saw a surge of employment during the period of 1865 to 1900 due
to the distribution of the typewriter by E Remington and Sons in 1876 and Bell’s telephone in 1876 opening
women up to more employment opportunities besides domestic service. This meant that by 1900 there
were 900,000 female trained typists, and when the YWCA offered typing training in 1881 they received
more requests than they could handle. This at first appears a limited success since it is low-skilled work,
but in the historical context of the late 19th century it was still a success and improved the position of
women by giving them economic independence. However, the point at which one must look at this theme
and consider the fact that it was not necessarily wholly progressive for the position of women is by looking
at the position of women in the 1950s and 1960s. By the 1950s, despite women’s involvement in WW2, the
majority of women workers were still in clerical work. The 1961 musical ‘How to Succeed in Business
Without Really Trying’ was a good representation of attitudes to women in the workplace in the 1950s and
1960s, showing that work was seen as a way to gain a husband rather than to gain independence and that
women were routinely objectified in the workplace. The fact that clerical work still dominated the female
employment sphere in the 1950s and 1960s after it had done the same in the late 19 th century would
suggest that the position of women had not changed much since 1900.

One must also consider the factor of the world wars when evaluating whether the position of women had
improved by 1992. WW1 gave 1 million women employment during the period 1917 to 1918, but these
women were expected to return to their homes and give their jobs to returning servicemen in 1918, a
societal pressure that was generally accepted with only 19,000 women being empowered trade union
members in 1919 following the war. This attitude was also adopted during WW2 when despite the fact
that there were 5 million more women in the workforce during the period of 1940-1945, attitudes to
women did not dramatically change with polls in 1945 showing that 65% of men thought that women
should give their jobs to returning servicemen if they had a husband to support them. 75% of women
wished to stay in employment in 1945, but the return to clerical work in the 1950s and 1960s as the most
common occupation for female workers would suggest that the position of women was not dramatically
altered by the world wars defining wars as a continuity in the period for temporary female emancipation.

The fourth factor one should consider when evaluating whether the position of women had improved by
1992 is the factor of the second wave of feminism which principally relates to events in the 1960s and
1970s although even this factor involves limited progress in the position of women. Inspired by the African
American Civil rights movement, a new feminist political awakening emerged in the late 1960s with the
foundation of two women’s rights organisations that functioned on a national scale- The National
Organisation for Women in 1966 and the National Organisation for the Repeal of the Abortion Laws in
1969. This showed that the position of women had improved because they were able to found powerful
and influential women’s rights associations during this period that were taken seriously and that were able
to influence government legislation. For example, it was the National Organisation for the Repeal of the
Abortion Laws that headed the 1973 Roe V Wade case which gave women bodily autonomy- a follow up
from 1965 Grimslow v Connecticut which overturned the 1873 Comstock laws against contraception- and
further successes were made in legislation in the 1970s die to pressure form women’s rights activists such
as the 1974 Equal Credit Opportunity Act and the 1972 Child Development Act, the latter of which
provided daycare centres resulting in 53.4% of women with preschool age children being able to work by
1985.
However, the successes of second wave feminism during the period of 1960-1992 were limited and one
can judge that the position of women had not improved to the greatest extent. Despite the Roe v Wade
case, in 1992 1 in 3 American women had experienced sexual assault during their lifetime, showing that
bodily autonomy was still not being respected, and by 1900 there had been 170 acts of vandalism against
abortion clinics and 8 bombings. Additionally, the attitudes of the president had a considerable impact with
Nixon vetoing the 1972 Child Development Act which did limit the ability to which women could improve
their economic position. The advancement of the position of women due to second wave feminism was
also limited due to the anti-feminist movement. The radical feminism of the 1970s which was responsible
for instances such as the controversial 1970 Miss World flower bombs turned some women away from
feminism meaning that in the 1970s only 37% of women thought feminism was positive, showing that the
advancement of the position of women was limited by the attitudes to radical activism. Although in 1986
56% of women considered themselves feminists according to a mass national poll, by 1992 the emergence
of the term ‘feminazi’ meant that women were less likely to turn to feminism because of its association
with extremism. Feminism was essentially conflated with misandry- the fact that the issue was brought
back to men was a clear indication of the persistence of the patriarchy. The emergence of the terms ‘black
feminism’ and ‘intersectionalism’ in 1989 thanks to academic Kimberlé Wiliams Grenshaw complicated the
movement further, making something that male dominated society found difficult to understand even less
comprehensible. This shows that the ability of second wave feminism to improve the position of women
was limited because the attitudes towards women being vocal and having a political voice remained
misogynistic, including the issue of internalised misogyny, showing that even by 1992, the position of
women had only improved to a certain extent.

The position of women did improve by 1992, but only to a certain extent. In all four factors- women in
politics, women’s work, second wave feminism and the world wars, the successes of the women’s
liberation movement and female empowerment were overshadowed by persistent counts of
discrimination. Although the position of women had improved in regards to more women being involved in
politics, attitudes towards women being vocal about politics and sexism were still very much slowing the
pace of change meaning that everyday sexism ruled supreme in America even in 1992. There were also
several instances where opportunities for a rapid pace of change did not take-off such as through the way
that female employment was not maintained after the world wars and such as through the fact that the
nature of women’s work had not progressed greatly from 1900-1950, a microcosm for the slow-pace of
change in the position of women. Although by 1992 women were protected by law against sexism and
discrimination in employment, and although the 1873 Comstock Laws had been overturned and abortion
had been legalised, the fact that the Equal Rights Amendment had still not been passed is a clear example
of the fact that the women’s liberation movement still had much to do in 1992. In the law, women were
equal to men, but in society the case was dramatically different whether one is considering internalised
sexism as an obstacle to second wave feminism or attitudes to female politicians in 1992 and the way their
politics was portrayed as trivial. Women had the vote, but they did not have a vote of confidence. The
position of women had significantly improved during the period of 1865 to 1992 in regards to legal equality
but there had not been sufficient change in regards to social equality.