Triangle Shirtwaist Company Fire

On March 25, 1911 the Triangle Shirtwaist Company Fire was the worst industrial fire in New York's History. The fire killed 146 garment workers, mostly all women. The fire was a vital event in sparking labor and progressive movements. The government's attention was also turned to review factory safety and working conditions all throughout the city.

The Triangle Shirtwaist Company was one of the largest garment manufacturers in New York city. 500 employees worked there, mostly Italian and Jewish immigrant workers under 25 years old. The factory had poor conditions, no sprinklers and the exit doors were kept looked to prevent the women from taking breaks. The ventilation systems and fire escapes were in bad condition as well. The fire only lasted for 15 minutes. The building itself was covered with flammable bolts and scraps of fabric. Many of the women were unable to get out because of the locked doors and the exits were hard to open because they opened inward. Fire escapes had collapsed and many women hurled themselves from the windows to their deaths.

The following week after the first a march of nearly 10,000 sympathizers went into the streets. The two owners of the company, Max Blanck, and Isaac Harris were tried for manslaughter, but the all-male jury were not convinced the men should be found guilty. In response the the fire, the New York State legislature passed many laws in order to improve working conditions and worker safety. The fire was the only event that struck the public attention to the poor working conditions towards women laborers.

"Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 31 Jan. 2010. .

The Equal Pay Act

On June 10, 1963 the Equal Pay Act required equal pay to both male and female employees for jobs that had the the same skill, effort, and jobs with similar working conditions. The Equal Pay Act is still in effect today, and at the time was a way to eliminate sex discrimination. The Act was put into place because of the significantly different treatments of men and women in the workplace. Because of women's lower wages and living standards, their health was in danger. The unfair paying standards resulted in many labor disputes that disrupted commerce and it constituted an unfair method of competition. The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 was amended by adding the Equal Pay Act into a new subsection. The Act stated that no employer, when hiring, is able to discriminate based on gender. No employer has the right to not pay a women equally if they have the same skills, put in the same effort and responsibility as a man. Employers are however able to distribute wages based on the seniority system, a merit system, a system that measures earnings by quantity or quality of production, or a differential based on any other factor other than gender. Even though the Act was put into place as a way to try and stop sex discrimination, it did not prevent employers from hiring women into lower paying jobs. Secretaries and stenographers were two occupations that were popular from women to uphold in the 1960's. These two jobs were based off a lower pay scale, which went around the Equal Pay Act. Women were still not gaining the respect they were hoping for. Men still found ways to undermine women's labor rights. The outcome of this is act is similar to what the African-American race went through during the 1960's as well. Even though slavery had ended, the blacks were still not treated equal to the whites. The institution of "Separate but Equal" was a way to still treat blacks unfairly without technically going against the law. The employers would do the same thing to women, by not breaking the law but still hiring women in lower paying jobs.

"Equal Pay Act (1963)." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 31 Jan. 2010. .

Fighting for Women's Rights

This article was based around the idea of women and their "private sphere." The article suggested that women were surrounded by this private sphere that contained their homes and the moral and spiritual welfare's of their husbands and children. As society generated men being stronger and more capable than women, their
sphere consisted of everything out the home, working and politics. As women were constantly denied their rights to work outside of their private sphere, acts of rebellion began to occur. In Seneca Falls, New York in 1948, three hundred women gathered in order to initiate the Women's Suffrage Movement. Elizabeth Cady Stanton led this gathering, and her movement adopted a Declaration of Sentiments in order to specify the ways in which American society discriminated against women including how numerous laws and social conventions associated women only with taking care of their families and homes. The declaration stated certain rights for their gender so women could play a much more significant role in protecting their "sphere." During the second half of the 19th century, the Women's Suffrage Movement began to fight for their right to vote. During the 20th century, the Woman's Suffrage Movement began to argue that women deserve the right to vote because they were citizens of the United States and were entitled to a vote in all that affected them. World War I was a vital time period for the Woman's Suffrage Movement. While thousands of men were sent to fight the war in Europe, women played an increasingly important role on the home front by filling many traditionally male jobs to keep the U.S. war effort moving. After 50 years of debate what the Woman's Suffrage Movement constantly fought for was finally achieved. The Nineteenth Amendment was passed in 1919 which guaranteed women the right to vote in all local, state, and national elections. The more that women continued to fight for what they wanted, the more opportunities came about that enabled women to gain equal rights.


"Women in Government." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 29 Jan. 2010. .

Women in the Workplace

The role of women in the workplace has definitely changed throughout time. During the 19th and 20th century women began fighting for their rights in the workplace. American women were denied job opportunities by law. After reading this article, I realized that women were discriminated against no matter what race or ethnicity they were. African American women during the 18th and 19th century had jobs the were not common for a normal white women. They would work in the fields, picking cotton and other raw crops in plantations. Two factors for women's job opportunities to increase, were wars and industrial movements. By the 1830's women would be found taking jobs in the shoe and textile factories. Although women began entering the work place, their wages were low, conditions, and little time off. While reading this article, I kept thinking to myself, why were women treated this way? What made women so different from men that they weren't able to have the same job and/or no job at all? As I continued to read, the article suggested that,
"the cult of domesticity of the time held that women should remain in the home to provide a refuge for men from the difficulties of the industrial workplace." The stereotype, that still exists today, is that women are only good for cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the children while their husbands are at work. This connects back to the stereotype of slaves during the 1800's. White slaveholders believed slaves were only good for work and nothing else. Blacks were mistreated because they were black, and they were limited to their rights. Women were mistreated in the work place because they were females. As women continued to fight for their rights, the statistics show how much women progressed. One statistic that I found very interesting was that in 1948, 25% of married American women with children worked outside the home. In 1960, 40% of married women were working and by 1980 the rate increased to 60%. In 2010, many working women have trouble trying to find a balance between work and family. In the 1800's, it wasn't even a possibility for women to work at all. As history presents itself, women have gained their rights and have proven they are just as capable of any task as men are.

"Women in the Workplace." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 28 Jan. 2010. .