The women's rights movement slowed during the 1920s, thanks in part to the War Department publicly associating feminist organizations with communist subversion and many women's preoccupation with the era's new consumer culture. Activists still fought fierce battles over equality and economic issues, and young women aggressively challenged social conventions.
America's Industrialization
America's transition from an agrarian to industrial economy opened new employment opportunities for women, but they received less pay than their male counterparts for the same work. After the Great Depression's onset in 1929, society stigmatized working women, viewing them as stealing jobs that rightfully belonged to men.
Equality Issues
Even after Congress gave women the right to vote in 1920, women's rights to own property and control their own affairs, particularly if they were married, were still severely limited. National Women's Party founder Alice Paul drafted the Equal Rights Amendment in 1921, but couldn't overcome fierce resistance from conservative organizations.
Shifting Moral Landscape
Young women of the 1920s aggressively rejected the previous generation's Victorian morals. Flappers epitomized rebellious young women of the era. Their provocative attire, open enjoyment of alcohol and tobacco and forthright attitudes toward sex were far removed from society's predominant vision of a proper, demure woman.
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