According to society, not just any woman was allowed to work. After all, a woman's duties lied with her family. Single women provided a satisfying answer. Unwed women reconciled society's ideals and the industry's needs.5 Their employment appeared to fulfill the responsibilities of their families. During the 1830s immigration increased. Immigrants brought heavy competition. They were willing to work for lower wages and in harsher conditions. Eventually, single American-born women left the work force.6 The 1900s brought more jobs for women. Thus, the amount of working women heightened. The 1900s found five million women employed. Therefore, about 1 in 5 worked at some type of mill.7 Many of the jobs available to women included such industries as manufacturing, domestic service, and farm work. These jobs provided low wages and no skills. Young women's employment was perceived as temporary. Eventually these women married; or at least that was the assumption. The initial years of industrialization proved extremely difficult for females. Year by year women discovered improvements. The journey that began in the 1800s would continue. Fortunately, in the twentieth century women discovered an increased need for their labor. However, with more jobs would result in more problems. .
By the twentieth century men had taken over the workforce. Men absolutely dominated the technological areas. In these areas people were paid the best salaries. At first, men and women earned close to the same amount during this time period. They worked side by side. They even encountered the same type of labor. By the 1970s more women accepted the idea of work. Women desired the higher pay that was being offered to them.8 The United States requirements for living increased. Many women desired employment to share the burden of this rising price.9 The amount of women graduating from college and other professional schools is rapidly increasing.