Differences

The great depression

The era of the Great Depression had extremely unpleasant effects on large fractions of the population of both men and women, but those effects were not entirely alike. The types of employment that had traditionally been classified as men's work, mainly manufacturing jobs in heavy industry, were hit especially hard by the economic collapse and a resultant sharp drop in demand for most manufactured products. Many of the occupations previously defined as women's work, on the other hand, such as teaching, clerical work, and domestic service, were not as hard hit. Meanwhile many children were abandoned and those that werent found life considerable rougher
It has often been argued that men's roles in society have to be artificially created and so are fragile and in constant danger.many men unable to cope with their falls were stuck at home constantly brooding over their misfortunes. Their presence there both increased the chances for friction between spouses and underscored the man's apparent inability to fulfill his expected role. Many married men took to the road, initially seeking work, but also escaping from the reminders that home and family constituted of their lack of success in their expected roles. Although most husbands who left home to try to find work presumably did so with the intention of returning, it was not unusual for them to disappear permanently.
Women however found their status enhanced by their new roles. Left with little choice, they went against the historic opposition to married women working outside the home to help support their families. Black women especially found it easier to obtain work than their husbands, working as domestic servants, clerks, textiles workers and other occupations...Clerical workers, teachers, nurses, telephone operators.But women's wages remained a necessary component in family survival. This employment increased their status and power in the home, gaining them a new voice in domestic...