The Major Sources of the Changes in Patterns of Paid Employment for Women in Ireland in the 20th - Term Paper Example

Feminism is a belief in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes (Hartnett, n.d The first wave of the women’s liberation movementin Ireland started in the late nineteenth century and lasted until 1921. Women had always been characterized and treated as inferior to men. This belief was legitimized by excluding women from many social roles. This paper will discuss how changes in patterns of paid employment for women took place in Ireland in the 20th century. The Irish society in the 19th century remained patriarchal and women were expected to continue in the traditional role of a housekeeper and mother. Women were not allowed to stand for parliament; only single women could hold property in their name. After marriage women were expected to hand over their property and even their wages to their husbands. Towards the late 19th century, feminist movement gathered pace and the participation of women in this movement increased. Two women, based in Dublin and Belfast led the initial movement in the 1860’s to change the law on women’s property rights. Unfortunately the membership of the Irish feminist movement belonged exclusively to the middle and the upper classes of society. The credit for true feminist movement to attract women from all classes of society goes to James Connolly. He emphasized that women should become involved in the social struggle and this was reflected in the Irish Citizen Army’s insistence on treating women on an equal footing with men (Hartnett). During the late nineteenth century and the early twentieth century, labor and trade union movements in Ireland were stronghold of male supremacy and women made little progress. The protectionist policies excluded women and the male was supposed to support the family without the need of his wife to engage in paid employment. The women’s suffrage movement encountered opposition from the labor activists who were satisfied with the 1884 Reforms Act which gave all powers to the man to run the family (Richardson, 2004). The suffragists recognized the need that women should also have the right to vote by getting the vote for women on the same terms as men. This suddenly led to the fear that middle and upper class women might get the vote before many working men did. Women were constantly harassed and subject to organized and random acts of violence. The trade union activists resented women workers and were reluctant to offer any practical help. This hostility towards women damaged the entire working class. The women became a part of the trade union movement and their militancy and enthusiasm led to the improvements in working conditions and wages of even the men. Women since birth were taught to be submissive and had the slave mentality. This demoralized the Irish people and had a major role to play in the British rule in Ireland. The first half of the twentieth century was dominated by world wars and internal conflict. This opened up opportunities for women both at home and overseas, mostly as nurses. New staff was required to meet the growing demand. Nurses entered the war at different stages. As the war progressed, women were organized into auxiliary uniformed services. Various organizations like Women’s Legion, Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps [WAAC], and the Women’s Royal Naval Service [WRNS] enrolled and trained women not only for army work but also in various roles, including signaling, driving, cooking and general administration (Hill & Lynch, n.d.). Only 5.6% women were in paid employment in 1926 and the position remained the same until 1960. The legislative measures targeted at the working wives made it mandatory in 1933 for women to resign their jobs as schoolteachers on marriage. The 1935 Employment Act extended the marriage bar to all civil service posts. The woman’s role was characterized as familial and domestic and these legislative measures eroded their position in public life. In 1922 the women were accorded total and complete rights as citizens under the Irish Free State but the Bill of 1927 proposed that they should be excluded from jury service. Woman’s economic and political progress threatened the traditional values. The Second World War again brought about changes and the women in Northern Ireland were the beneficiaries. Female insured workers in six counties rose with opportunities in the aircraft industry, rope and twine making. Women could not work in engineering firms and also traveled to England in various professions. (Hill & Lynch, n.d.). After the Second World War different avenues for women opened up for work and employment, especially the ones which were considered predominantly male-occupations. Women started taking up jobs in the war industry and the armed forces. The allied governments had to reconcile that women would no longer be confined to home. It had become important for women to be employed in the mainstream labor force. The urgent need for women was felt and it became necessary to persuade them to relinquish the home in place of the workplace (Muldowney, 2006). Opportunities opened up in Britain also. Many women took up jobs to fulfill their ambitions or to develop themselves as they wished to. Northern Ireland was exempted from recruitment during WWII. Because of the economic incentives, women were attracted to take up jobs in Britain but during the WWII control were imposed on emigration which was lifted in 1945. Those already having a job in Ireland were not issued a travel permit to Britain. The capitalist system in the society looked upon women as a source of cheap, unorganized and submissive labor. Women started claiming their rights and in doing so also undermined capitalist domination of the working class. Apart from the pay and working conditions, the capitalist system also took a toll on women’s health and well-being. This enhanced the importance in supporting women’s right at the workplace. The socialist movement in Ireland encountered protests from the Catholic Church as it was considered to be a threat to traditional family values. James Connolly started the feminist movement but he pointed out that there was no connection between socialism and the teachings of the Catholic Church. (Richardson). Nursing training in Ireland has to be paid for by the applicant while in Britain the nurses were paid during the training period. This forced women from both parts of Ireland to travel to Britain. Financial and educational incentives encouraged women to travel to Britain for paid employment. Although Northern Ireland was at war and paid employment did increase, but it did not increase to the same extent as in Britain. Since pay was better in England emigration rate increased leading to a shortage of domestic workers in Ireland. The Irish women were good workers and even though pay was not primary reason of their emigration, they were certainly better paid than they would have been in Ireland. Women’s role in the military did not change her place in the society. Even when she was allowed to enter the military service, the terms were dictated. The impact of women’s involvement in the military was even more muted in Northern Ireland. (Muldowney, 2006). The two world wars had a positive impact on the paid employment of women. Shortage of workforce and fall in the birthrate led to the gradual return of the women to the labor market. Almost half of the women employees in 1933 worked part-time and the female hourly earnings were only 65 per cent of mens in 1993. Women held only a quarter of managerial jobs and they could scarcely be found in professional occupations, they could be found more at unskilled or semi-skilled jobs. Two-thirds of the women in labor force had no children. Female unemployment remained lower than male in all age groups. Women continued to be subject to a different economic and occupational status women had to undergo discrimination in pay, employment, education and training despite amendments to the various acts. Women had to prove that the work they did was different from men and was of equal value. Discrimination continued to persist in the labor market. Even though they enjoyed equal economic status as men, they were not allowed to join the state insurance scheme unless they entered the labor market. They could even be made to retire at 60, five years earlier than men. This implies that paid employment was the key to citizenship. While women were found increasingly in the work field, men were still considered the primary breadwinners. Women were only seen as supplementing the men’s wage. If unemployed she was not entitled to any benefits. Woman’s struggle for full and equal citizenship continued (Clayton, 1997). Concerns frequently surrounding ‘the family’ are issues of kinship, motherhood and social stability and modernity is also perceived as increasingly self-reflexive with individuals continuously engaged in the construction of personal biographies (Giddens, 1991 cited by Mitchell & Green, 2002). Fertility has been associated with women joining the labor force. According to the European labor Force Survey in 1999, 51.4% of the Irish women were in employment compared to 52.6% in the EU as a whole. These women were less likely to work part-time. They still nurtured traditional values as far as home and child-rearing was concerned. As the participation age varied and the participation rate grew, changes were observed. The younger group was having consistently higher participation. The trend had changed such that once women entered the labor force they were not likely to give up jobs as they reached the 30s or 40s. By the end of the 20th century, nearly three-quarters of women in the age group 25-34 had entered the labor force. Even on getting married, women are less likely to leave the work force. The young married women dominate the work force in Ireland. (Collins & Wickham, 2001). In many Irish families, especially in the rural areas, women were much less tied to the land than their male relatives, and so women often migrated to Britain. They had the support and encouragement of other family members and these women remained loyal and supportive of their family. Economic activity was not just critical to the decision to migrate, it continued to underpin their domestic and filial role even after migration. Migration to Britain gave the Irish many social and political rights in Britain. Sociological research on family relationships suggests that extended kinship networks can continue to operate geographical mobility. Mothers and daughters continue to provide emotional support and practical assistance but despite best efforts there are some insurmountable distances that migration can cause. Transnational families are complex and dynamic but class, gender and locality continue to remain important and influential factors within individual actor’s lives permeating personal relationships (Mitchell & Green, 2002). The Irish women basically escaped from the pressures of the Irish society and the expectations of the traditional family life. Most women left school on completing primary education as their families could not afford to send them to high school. They first started off with low paid jobs as general maids and child minders. In the hope of getting better jobs with better pays, they started migrating to Britain. Economic activity played a very important role in their lives. They were economic migrants and as they worked as house maids, helps or cleaners, they continued to work even after marriage. They were juggling paid work with their own housework and childcare. Being migrants, women felt outside the purview of both Irish and British constructs of the idealized wife and mother. Irish women working in Britain presented themselves as economic actors but did not see themselves as isolated individuals acting alone. Women have made a far bigger contribution by leaving than staying and opting for a local, low paid job. This conforms to the theory that middle class families may have less face-to-face contact but as studies from the 1950’s/1960’s (Rosser and Harris, 1965 and Bell, 1968) to the 1990’s (Mason, 1999) have demonstrated, kinship networks and relationships remain important (cited by Mitchell & Green, 2002). Loneliness and sadness was matched by the compensation that a migrant relative would fetch. It was usually women rather than men that maintained family links between Ireland and Britain. Migration gave them autonomy over their personal lives. Tension surrounded the newly gained rights of wage-earning children. Empowerment had to be negotiated through family expectations, duty, loyalty and obligations. Drudgery and tension were other reasons for escape from Ireland. (Ryan, 2004). The feminist movement initiated by Connolly did bring out the women from suppression and tension but due to wage discrimination, the patriarchal society, and low paid jobs, women migrated to Britain as economic actors. They still kept in touch with their kin and the family back home depended on them for economic support. Even though migration gave then autonomy, they were not spared the tension and responsibility, despite having left the familiar surroundings at a very early age. References: Clayton, P. (1997), Social Citizenship and Political Rights of Women in the United Kingdom, 27 Nov 2006 Collins, G. & Wickham, J. (2001), What Childcare Crisis? Report for ERC Labor Market Observatory, 27 Nov 2006 Hartnett, E. (n.d.), Feminism, 28 Nov 2006 Hill, M. Dr. & Lynch, J. Dr., (n.d.), Ireland: society & economy, 1912-49, 27 Nov 2006 Mitchell, W. & Green, E. (2002), ‘I don’t know what I’d do without our Mam’ motherhood, identity and support networks, The Sociological Review 50 (1), 1- 22. doi: 10.1111/ j.1467-954X.2002.tb02789.x Muldowney, M. (2006), New opportunities for Irish women? Employment in Britain during the Second World War, 27 Nov 2006 Richardosn, S. (2004), Republican, socialist, feminist:Connolly and the womens movement, 27 Nov 2006 Ryan, L. (2004), Family Matters: (e)migration, familial networks and Irish women in Britain, The Sociological Review 52 (3), 351-370. doi: 10.1111/ j.1467- 954X.2004.00484.x Read More