What could women working outside the home during the Roaring Twenties expect?

Answer 1

It depended on the occupation. (It also depended on her race; America was still segregated, and while there were many new opportunities for black women up north, there was still racism in hiring.) Some traditional fields like teaching, nursing, and secretarial work welcomed female employees of any color. But even in the midst of so many changes in society (in music, in technology, in fads and customs, etc), gender roles remained very rigid, with men generally as the boss and women generally as the subordinate. Another thing that did not change was the belief that a married woman should quit her job. The culture back then believed the man should be the head of the house and his wife should focus on raising kids. Very few married women worked-- those who did were in non-traditional occupations like law, or they worked in Hollywood where they could use a pseudonym and nobody knew they were married. But for the most part, a female employee who got married was expected to resign. Many women in teaching or business remained single and did not have to give up their jobs as a result.

In the 1920s, many things were changing for women. The arrival of radio meant more women entertainers could reach a wider audience; and some radio stations even had women in management positions. More women were graduating from college, including more black women, and some of these graduates were seeking opportunities in law, medicine, Social Sciences, and the arts. Women were still paid less than men were, and certain occupations remained closed or resistant to hiring a woman (young ladies were not expected to become athletes, although a few did, mainly in Golf or tennis; nor were they expected to be doctors-- although a few women did enter this profession too; women lawyers often found that only male family members, such as a brother or a husband, were willing to hire them). There were also a small but growing number of women who wanted to fly airplanes, and a number of best-selling books were written by female authors. But to sum up, while things were better in some ways, women still encountered many cultural biases. They could now have shorter hair and wear casual clothes; they could be on the radio, or study at a university. But the belief that women were just working until they found a husband persisted.