Answer:
Before the World War I, women typically played the role of the homemaker. Women were judged by their beauty rather than by their ability. Their position and status were directed towards maintaining the annual duties of the family and children.
Women had worked in textile industries and other industries as far back as 1880, but had been kept out of heavy industries and other positions involving any real responsibility. Just before the war, women began to break away from the traditional roles they had played.
Before the wartime, it was unusual in this country for women to enroll in higher courses of mathematics because the women’s role wasn’t to work in male dominated industries. Therefore, getting higher education and obtaining specific skills wasn’t a common road that most women followed.
Women were paid half the wages of men and worked in conditions that were sometimes dangerous and unhealthy.
Few employers provided childcare for working mothers or even set aside toilets for female workers. Female workers were also less unionized than male workers, “This was because they tended to do part-time work and to work in smaller firms, which tended to be less unionized.” Also, existing unions were often hostile to female workers.
The Victorian Era: While women were making gradual and modest strides toward equality in the area of voting, the late 19th century as a whole was a time with clearly defined gender roles and expectations. This mid- to late-19th century time period is sometimes called the Victorian Era, after British Queen Victoria. This period lasted from 1837 through 1901. Victorian culture wasn't just limited to Europe; it was alive and well in the U.S. Under the social mores of Victorian culture, women wore long dresses and corsets underneath them. Women were understood to be the keepers of the home. Their lives were centered around domestic affairs like cooking, cleaning, tending to children, and among the wealthy, entertaining. Most women, especially among the middle and upper classes, did not work outside the home and were generally not as educated as men. All of this gradually began to change with the onset of the 20th century. Women were increasingly demanding greater political voice. They were even engaging in men's activities like riding a bicycle. By the early 1900s, the 'first-wave' of feminism was underway.
Explanation: this is all stolen from things online