Historical Context
"It is estimated that more than 2 million women were unemployed at the start of 1933, many of whom represented the sole support for their families. Thanks to the traditional view of a "worker" as a white male breadwinner, however, these women went largely unrecognized, not only by government officials, but also by the public at large."
-David Woolner, Roosevelt Institute
-David Woolner, Roosevelt Institute
"A lot of the New Deal programs . . . were highly discriminative towards women. And women for the most part did not vote for Roosevelt in the same proportion as men."
-Allan Lichtman, American University
". . . in its peak year only 13.5 percent of those in the WPA program were women."
-Digital Public Library of America "Women were given lower paying jobs such as sewing, bookbinding, caring for the elderly, and working in school lunch programs and nursery schools."
-Digital Public Library of America |
"Only seven percent of the jobs created by the FERA-backed Civilian Works Administration went to women, for example, and roughly 25% of the National Recovery Administration's wage codes set minimum wages for women at a rate lower than men for the same work."
-Martha H. Swain, Professor of History at Texas Women's University |
Although Roosevelt appointed several women to leadership positions in the federal government and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt advocated for women's rights, Roosevelt didn't try to eliminate discriminatory practices against women in the New Deal, unwilling to risk losing Congressional support for the programs. His political tact superseded his courage and empathy.
". . . I think he was able to really use [Eleanor Roosevelt]—and I don’t mean that in a way that sounds like he was being completely conscious about maneuvering her politically—but he was able to use her to solidify his position with African Americans, with women, at the same time . . . that his actual record was not all that progressive or impressive when it came to women and minorities." |
"The early years of Franklin Roosevelt's administration brought to Washington a remarkable group of women who eventually would rise to positions of power and prominence in government and politics."
-Frances M. Seeber, Presidential Studies Quarterly |
"[They were] intelligent, competent, well-balanced women...who represented Roosevelt's confidence in . . . [their] ability." |
"On the whole and much to their dismay, this extraordinary and unprecedented array of female brain power and access to influence could not assure a fair deal for women. As executive orders and legislation were put into effect during Roosevelt's first term, gender discrimination was the norm."
-Louise Bernikow
Legacy
". . . nobody knows yet how far the Government of the 'new deal' may carry the Place our dames principle in what seems to be a new age for women in public life . . . Future historians may dwell upon the feminine element in the Roosevelt Administration." These gains, though somewhat modest within the overall scope of the New Deal relief, nevertheless established the precedent that the plight of working women must be taken into consideration in any state or national effort to provide relief to the unemployed. |