How Women Were Empowered To Work In The Progressive Era Essay

Women have always been somewhat downtrodden in the field of work but one cannot not argue that huge leaps and bounds have been made in this area, largely thanks to the movement for more equality in the Progressive era.
Moccio (1993) in Back to the Future 1. argues that there was a substantial and dramatic transformation in the Progressive Era where women and work was concerned. He explains that the women of the YWCA realised that affirmative ledership actually translated into mutial activism gave concrete results in the areas of advocacy and public policy, both areas where women were severey downtrodden.
These initiatives by a number of brave and courageous women brought about a sea change in the women’s field of work especially through substantial lobbying for minimum wage laws and funding for federal housing. These achievments eventually translated into the Fair labour Standards Act, revision to the child labour laws as well as protective legislation for women in the field of work.
Other landmark achievments which came about were the Social security Act and important standards for immigrant labour which eventually also influenced legislation through the International Labour Organization (ILO).
Politicians such as Robert la Follette from Wisconsin 2 also got into the act and found women as able supporters for his progressive policies. Thus it may be seen that the progressive movement was an ideal catalysts for women to empower themselves in all walks of life but particularly in the fields of work and activism which also led to a rise in a number of women politicians culminating in Eleanor Roosevelt who was extremely influential on her husband, President Franklin D. Roosevelt.