In the 19th century, women were seen as the safeguard of the home in American society. Limited to the domestic sphere, women were considered dependent on men, emotional, with limited knowledge and tending to deal with trivial problems such as marriage and socialization. Their job was to take care of the house and have children. Men, on the other hand, were productive citizens, family providers, rational and were property owners. However, throughout the 20th century, this vision was challenged by several significant forces, social, economic and, above all, political, which over time led to an immense change in the role of women in society. The tendency for women to abandon the domestic sphere has meant that women's roles have become defined by things other than "strenuous domestic work." Between 1900 and the 1950s, women's rights changed. This means that, above all, progressivism has had far-reaching political and social effects on the lives of American women. The Progressive Era, 1900-1920, was a time of change; an explosive growth of urbanization and industrialization. By 1920, America's urban population was more than 50 percent, and millions of people worked in factories where they faced long hours, low pay, and dangerous working conditions. Meanwhile, the urban middle class expanded rapidly, providing educational and employment opportunities for women. In 1920, 8 million women worked for wages. For white women, jobs have increased; 25% of women were clerks or typewriters and only 15% worked in domestic services. .” It was these privileged middle class women who sought to correct the "evils" of rapid industrial expansion by seeing the harsh conditions of women and children...... middle of paper...... of the second half of the century. This is evident in the leadership of Eleanor Roosevelt, an American politician, diplomat, and activist who took a strong stance on civil rights. Thus, women's roles and interests were changing, moving from exclusively domestic affairs to challenging social injustices as moral guardians not only of the home but of broader society. While this de jure change did not affect an immediate overall change in society's expectations regarding the role of women, Progressive Era activism and changes led to the breaking down of some barriers, making it more acceptable to women work and the increase of the "ideal woman": more political, sporty and in search of equality. Thus further supporting the thesis that this was the main force in challenging the traditional roles of women in the first half of the twentieth century.