Final answer:
Swift highlights the societal expectations and gender discrimination that prevented many women from seeking employment, despite the increase in women entering the workforce from the 1920s. Women faced wage inequality, relegation to lower-paying 'women's jobs', and termination due to marriage or childbirth.
Step-by-step explanation:
According to Swift, many women couldn't seek employment due to societal expectations and the prevailing belief that female employment outside the home was unnatural. This was exacerbated by the likelihood of being fired from industrial jobs, which women were expected to resign from once they married or had children.
Despite the growing number of women entering the workforce in the 1920s and beyond, most suffered from wage inequality and discrimination. By the 1960s, efforts were made to secure protections against termination for life events like marriage and childbirth, representing a tactical approach to tangible gains for women in the workforce.
However, these efforts faced resistance and were compounded by stereotypes and the relegation of women to so-called 'women's jobs', which were lower-paying. Additionally, societal norms and economic necessities often precluded women from obtaining the necessary education or training for better employment opportunities.