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The Diversity of Women's Experiences
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The 19th century marked the beginning of the industrial revolution era. Therefore, there were plenty of available job opportunities and this, provided women with the chance to participate in education and jobs. As well, there were substantial changes in the manner in which society viewed women. Different cultures began to appreciate the efforts of a woman in feeding the family. Before women could get exposed to the changes of the industrial revolution, they were considered as objects of childbearing. Therefore, it was difficult for them to participate in education. However, this changed a lot in most parts of the world during the 19th century. Women in the 19th century experienced phenomenal educational opportunities from the start of the century until the end of the century.
The main reason as to why women experienced educational opportunities was the need to fill the opportunities created by the industrial revolution. This occurred after the ban of the slave trade, and therefore, Europe was in the process of building trade empires and incorporating technology in the world. The cost of living began to rise, and therefore, women were forced to work in order to provide for their families. The uneducated women could only get low paying jobs, and hence, they saw the need to take advantage of the educational opportunities so as to raise their class in the society. In Britain, the middle-class women with some education were able to secure better-paying jobs as compared to the uneducated women. This motivated most of the women to attend school for them to build a stable future for their families. For instance, female-only schools were in the rise hence providing more chances for women to attend schools. The Columbia Female Academy was one of such schools which were began in 1833 (Dyhouse, 2016). The fact that it was a female-only school increased the opportunities for women to gain access to education since most of the universities were not admitting women. As well, the Georgia Female College was started in the year 1836, and its main aim was to allow for women to get bachelor's degrees. Catherine Brewer became the first woman to attain a bachelor's degree in 1846. This was an indication that women were dedicated to achieving the highest levels of education. Hence, the industrial revolution acted as an eye-opener towards the empowerment of women into getting an education.
In addition, women were experiencing educational opportunities as a result of the various campaigns that were advocating for women to have equal rights as men. Among the equal rights was allowing women the opportunities to gain knowledge by going to school as the men. During that time, most of the universities were only accepting male applications and hence, this was a challenge to the women who wanted to further their education (Srivastava, 2000). Through the various campaigns, women were given the opportunity to enroll in universities. This was a turning point for most of the women and was able to get an education. The efforts made by such campaigns are reflected in today's world whereby most of the culture allow equal rights and opportunities for all genders. For instance, the Victorian...