the woman behind the new deal by kirstin downey

Her areas of focus included poor conditions in cellar bakeries, long hours and poor wages for women, workplace fire hazards, and above all, the elimination of child labor. Following graduation with a master’s degree in political science in 1910, she took a job with the National Consumers League in New York, which advocated for workers’ rights and protections. While there, she became a leader in the suffrage movement. She then received a Fellowship at Columbia, so she moved to New York to continue her studies and focus her work on the problems of the poor. During this time, she realized she needed to deepen her understanding of economic and social issues, so she enrolled at the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce at the University of Pennsylvania, which had only recently begun accepting women. Perkins took a new job in Philadelphia investigating and assisting in the prosecution of persons who were tricking immigrant woman into sexual slavery. Perkins took several teaching jobs, eventually landing in Chicago where she became involved in social work, including at Jane Addam’s Hull House, a life-changing experience. Perkins’ time there-and Florence Kelley-executive secretary of the National Consumers League, who became a mentor and friend.įollowing college, Ms. Woolley-a feminist who became the president of the college during Ms. Perkins earned her undergraduate degree at Mount Holyoke, where she was influenced by Mary E. She had an unusual father for the time, because he taught her to read Greek at age 8 and supported her attendance through both high school and college at a time when only 3 percent of women went on to higher education. Not only was Frances Perkins a trailblazing woman, she was a crucial figure to many government programs that are the backbone of the social safety net today.įrances Perkins was born in Boston in 1880. That is truly a shame and an indictment of our educational system. I have mentioned Frances Perkins to many of my well-educated friends and almost none could tell me who she was. Cabinet? Until I read, “The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life and Legacy of Frances Perkins,” I could not. Can you name the first female member of the U.S.

The woman behind the new deal by kirstin downey