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Finding "A Woman's Place": The Perception of Black Women's Roles, as Seen through the Lens of Race and Gender

Sharon Hurley argues that the serious racial and gender discrimination of the late 19th and early 20th centuries encouraged black women to more readily embrace their "status as mothers, wives, aunts, and sisters than their more embattled status as wage earners" (Hurley 160). The years between the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the Great Depression (circa 1880-1930) are key, for the economic, social and racial factors of this time contributed to the ongoing change in society's perception of women's roles at home and in the workforce. Although women as a whole, regardless of race, gained significant entry into the labor market during this period, the phenomenon was coupled with growing racism across the country. Thus, black women seeking work faced the double barriers of being both black and female in a country simultaneously battling racism and sexism.

Gender factored largely into the differences between black female and black male labor. While the very fact of being classified as "black" denied many-both female and male-equal access to available jobs, black men had easier access to many jobs because of the preference for male workers that some employers harbored. As a result, greater numbers of black men held jobs compared with black females. In 1900, while 80 percent of the black male population aged 10 and over worked, only 57 percent of their black female counterparts held jobs. Despite black women's interest in the labor market, employers consistently hired black males over black females, even though black men commanded higher wages. Hurley argues that employers grounded this logic in "the popular assumption that men were the primary breadwinners" (Hurley 163). The relative difficulty some women experienced in finding work affected their wages, and status, accordingly. The preference for men in the workplace translated into fewer white-collar job opportunities, and fewer higher-paying jobs, for black women.

Mother with her children.

Mother with her children.
No single attitude concerning the "proper" role of the black woman existed, especially during the period of Migration. As the Migration occurred during-and symbolized-a period of ongoing change and growth, black women found their own way amidst a sea of voices dictating different directions to turn. While some black women wanted to work, others, whose husbands had trouble finding work due to racial discrimination, felt forced to do so. This situation presented a challenge for black women. They faced the two available social models at the time: the mother, and the working woman. While society recognized both models, individuals differed as to the acceptability of them. Moreover, many found difficulty in merging the two. Hurley writes, "For some blacks (and whites) the fact that black mothers (especially those who were uneducated and nonprofessional) had jobs was a blatant example of a lack of racial progress and family stability" (Hurley 164). The notion of a "proper" domestic structure was strong and influential. Gender played a key role in society's conceptions of home life and culture, which was, to many, to be "a refuge from the tensions of wage labor" that the woman prepared for "the man of the house" (Mertes 64). For many black men, the omnipresence of this model encouraged them to believe that black women should stay at home, care for the house, and be mothers. While this may have become an ideal for some black families, survival sometimes necessitated the dissolution of dominant social models. The wages that many black women earned functioned as a crucial contribution to the family's finances, a fact that many black husbands could not easily oppose.


Finding "A Woman's Place": The Perception of Black Women's Roles, as Seen through the Lens of Race and Gender

Sharon Hurley argues that the serious racial and gender discrimination of the late 19th and early 20th centuries encouraged black women to more readily embrace their "status as mothers, wives, aunts, and sisters than their more embattled status as wage earners" (Hurley 160). The years between the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the Great Depression (circa 1880-1930) are key, for the economic, social and racial factors of this time contributed to the ongoing change in society's perception of women's roles at home and in the workforce. Although women as a whole, regardless of race, gained significant entry into the labor market during this period, the phenomenon was coupled with growing racism across the country. Thus, black women seeking work faced the double barriers of being both black and female in a country simultaneously battling racism and sexism.

Gender factored largely into the differences between black female and black male labor. While the very fact of being classified as "black" denied many-both female and male-equal access to available jobs, black men had easier access to many jobs because of the preference for male workers that some employers harbored. As a result, greater numbers of black men held jobs compared with black females. In 1900, while 80 percent of the black male population aged 10 and over worked, only 57 percent of their black female counterparts held jobs. Despite black women's interest in the labor market, employers consistently hired black males over black females, even though black men commanded higher wages. Hurley argues that employers grounded this logic in "the popular assumption that men were the primary breadwinners" (Hurley 163). The relative difficulty some women experienced in finding work affected their wages, and status, accordingly. The preference for men in the workplace translated into fewer white-collar job opportunities, and fewer higher-paying jobs, for black women.

Mother with her children.	No single attitude concerning the "proper" role of the black woman existed, especially during the period of Migration. As the Migration occurred during-and symbolized-a period of ongoing change and growth, black women found their own way amidst a sea of voices dictating different directions to turn. While some black women wanted to work, others, whose husbands had trouble finding work due to racial discrimination, felt forced to do so. This situation presented a challenge for black women. They faced the two available social models at the time: the mother, and the working woman. While society recognized both models, individuals differed as to the acceptability of them. Moreover, many found difficulty in merging the two. Hurley writes, "For some blacks (and whites) the fact that black mothers (especially those who were uneducated and nonprofessional) had jobs was a blatant example of a lack of racial progress and family stability" (Hurley 164). The notion of a "proper" domestic structure was strong and influential. Gender played a key role in society's conceptions of home life and culture, which was, to many, to be "a refuge from the tensions of wage labor" that the woman prepared for "the man of the house" (Mertes 64). For many black men, the omnipresence of this model encouraged them to believe that black women should stay at home, care for the house, and be mothers. While this may have become an ideal for some black families, survival sometimes necessitated the dissolution of dominant social models. The wages that many black women earned functioned as a crucial contribution to the family's finances, a fact that many black husbands could not easily oppose.