Summary: Two compatible lessons focus on women in the workforce starting during World War II. The Foundation for Economic Education activity focuses on the opportunity cost for women to stay at home. Students assume the roles of married women in the 1930s and 1940s in the United States. As they play their roles, they confront and learn to identify the opportunity costs involved in choosing whether to stay home or go to work. Successive rounds of the activity incorporate changing societal values and wage rates, both of which alter the benefits of the alternatives women face and thus influence their choices about whether or not to enter the labor force and take jobs outside their homes. The Conflict Resolution activity focuses on the changing values after World War II that slowly eroded gendered jobs and enabled more women to join the workforce in greater numbers.
Overarching Questions:
- CIVICS: Have the concepts of liberty, justice and/or equality changed during the time period? If so, how and what has been the impact?
- CIVICS: Have individuals and groups influenced public policy during this time period? If so, how and what has been the impact?
NJ Student Learning Standards for Social Studies:
- 6.1.12.HistoryUP.9.a: Analyze the impact of the Great Depression on the American family and ethnic and racial minorities.
Link to Lessons:
- Women and Work in American History - The Opportunity Cost of Staying Home - Foundation For Teaching Economics (fte.org)
- Add Link to Women in the Workforce after World War II from CRUSH.