The
socioeconomic and political position and role of women in the European society in the late
nineteenth and early twentieth century was constantly changing. As far as women's history is
concerned, this period is mainly characterized by the women's rights movement and its fight for
equality, social reforms, and socioeconomic and cultural independence. One of the most important
achievements was the successful fight for women's suffrage. The first European country and the
second country in the world which gave the right to women to vote was Finland in 1906. Germany
followed in 1919, which also marks the culmination of the women's rights movement and the early
beginnings of feminism in the Weimar Republic.
Around this time, women also
began the battle for equal educational opportunities and demanded various traditional
institutions and universities to open their doors to women. Great Britain and Germany were among
the first European countries which gave women the right to pursue a higher level of education.
Motivated by their successes and armed with new knowledge and skills, women also began to demand
equal employment opportunities and equal pay. With the start of World War I, a growing number of
women were given jobs in sectors which were formerly reserved for men, such as clerks, farmers,
railway workers, and munition factory workers. After some time, the women began to advocate
against low wages and the overall unsatisfactory working conditions. Thus, during the late 1910s
and early 1920s, female workers led several equal pay strikes, and many women abandoned their
workplaces in order to demand a higher minimum wage.
The main goal of the
women's liberation movement was to destroy the stereotypical perception of women as the weaker,
secondary gender and allow them to equally participate in the socio-economic, political, and
cultural climate of the European society and the world in general.
According
to Helen Boak, author of Women in the Weimar Republic, the Weimar Republic
granted women many new freedoms and liberties; however, despite the progressive changes and
reforms, women still faced many obstacles and dealt with a lot of gender discrimination. Near
the end of and after World War I, many women were often given more "female-friendly
jobs," such as civil workers or nurses, and they were actively encouraged by the government
and the political leaders to focus on marriage, family, and household chores. Thus, the
so-called new and modern women in the Weimar Republic were, basically, forced to make a choice
to either partake in the new educational and employment opportunities or become housewives and
embrace more traditional societal roles and values.
As far as the book you've
mentioned, I wasn't able to find that exact title, but I did find
the Weimar Republic by Helen Boak (that I've mentioned earlier) and
by Ute Fervert, which I used as sources to give you some guidelines and
starting points for your essay.
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