A Woman's Journey from Norway to America

The country of Norway was sparsely populated with few opportunities to offer its

citizens, especially women. Gretta, an American citizen who immigrated from Norway to

America, came to have a better possibility of a better economy, equal pay, and more job

opportunities. As a seventeen year old educated woman, seeking job opportunities, there were

not many options to choose from. The role of women in the 1950s in Norway was to look after

the household, while the man worked and brought home income to support the family. She

decided that she wanted to move to the United States where she could have a fresh start. In a

small amount of time, she got a one year visa and took a ship to America. When she first came to

the United States, she noticed a difference in the number of jobs that were available to her right

at her fingertips. Her first job of drafting car mufflers was considered a “manly job” in Norway

compared to America where she was not paid the same amount as the men she worked with.

Soon enough her visa expired, and she had to go back to Norway. She didn’t end up staying long

and eventually got another visa to come back to the United States.

In Norway there were not many employment opportunities where women could make a

great amount of money, so when she came to America, it gave her a sense of confidence to do

well in her life. In the article by ​Sigbjørn Johnsen written in November of 2012,​ the minister of

finance of Norway could only explain one sentence about the jobs for woman in the 1950s which

was, “​The ideal of the housewife was strong in Norway in the 1950s and early 1960s” (Women

in work: The Norwegian experience) The expectations of a woman in Norway were to look after

their family while the husband worked. The jobs in Norway were either to be a housewife or find

a job that didn’t pay enough to live on your own. The date of this article is relatively recent. As
something to consider, a recent source may not have the best evidence because it was not written

in the same time period, making it hard to trust. Although this was written in 2012, it was written

by someone who was born and raised in Norway, Sigbjørn Johnsen, who is sixty seven years old

who was born around the 1950s era. With that in mind, he could take his evidence from growing

up in Norway along with older evidence to support his statistics about working women in the

1950s.

People search for a stable economy which they might not find in their country, causing

them to fled to another where the economy is far more advanced. At the time, World War 2 left

behind scars that were hard to recover from in Norway. The economy was not that great leaving

many people in search of employment. (Information from my dad) Once Gretta visited her friend

she was able to get her a job instantly and saw a difference between Norway and the United

States. She knew that if she could get a job that would pay well enough, she could start a “new”

life in America.

With many men in empowerment, Norway’s fishing industry kept them a float in their

economic crisis after World War 2. Many would seek for any fishing opportunity they could get

to provide for their families. When World War 2 affected the fishing industry Norway took

charge in building the fishing industry better than ever before,

“Further institutional changes were introduced after the Second World War. The strategy

devised to deal with falling fishermen's incomes was the establishment of mandated sales

organizations to replace a more laissez-faire system of fish sales. The purpose was to set

up a system of organizations that, through negotiations between and among themselves,

 would create stability and order within the fish trade” (Changes in the Organization of the

Norwegian Fishing Industry).

Norway used fishing as an advantage, and focused on trade to receive money from other

countries. This did not help Gretta in any way leaving her without many options to move forward

with her life in Norway. This article provides a clear understanding of where all their information

is from which makes this very trustworthy to use. Not only was the information cited, but it also

addressed the fishing Industry, which was very common for Norwegian man to work. This quote

helps with explaining more about the fishing industry, and how it related to women not having

jobs available to them.

Unequal pay drives many women in search of a secure job that will help provide for them

and their family. Norway did not allow women to work at high degree levels like men did, which

pushed Gretta to find a job where she could earn a high amount of pay. In the 1950s era, a high

school education was similar to having a college education today, making Gretta eligible to

acquire for more jobs than just being the typical housewife. ​When Gretta came to the United

States she was immediately drawn to the number of employment opportunities there were, which

was a factor for why people move. A quote from Wikipedia states,

“​The economic situation in Norway remained fragile, with rising unemployment that

mainly affected low-skilled occupations and women. The ideology of the housewife

arrived at this time, with the support of the state church. There were women who were

behind this movement and the creation of the Organization of Norwegian Housewives”

(Wikipedia). ​Wikipedia can While Norway took a turn in their economy, they made the

decision of building a movement where women learned how to be professional

 housewives. ​Women were perceived as not being equal to men, and not having their own

profession. After World War 2, America was moving forward into equal gender roles for

women and men. Women were starting to work where men usually worked which

attracted Gretta’s eye into becoming one of those women to earn money for herself.

Gretta was aware of the fact that if she stayed in Norway she was risking her future,

where the United States offered more options to thrive for a job instead of becoming a

housewife.

A crisis in a country can take time to recover, taking too much time leaving people

without secure employment to support themselves and their families. World War 2 had a

significant impact on Norway’s economy, causing people to reach out for superior opportunities

outside of their familiar surroundings. The downfall of having a gap in their economy showed

yet, another sign for Gretta to search for more than what Norway could offer her. In The

Economic History of Norway describes the thought process and primary goals for enhancing

their economy,

“​After the war the challenge was to reconstruct the economy and re-establish political

and economic order. The Labor Party, in office from 1935, grabbed the opportunity to

establish a strict social democratic rule, with a growing public sector and widespread

centralized economic planning. ​”

Only focusing on the political aspect and economy did not offer women any more of a brighter

future as they would cook and clean in the household. This did not benefit Gretta in any way,

giving her the confidence to move to America.

 People find that jobs in their own country do not have much to offer, which encourages

them to seek for better jobs. In this case, Gretta turned towards the United States where she

found herself searching for a job in the Midwest. The Midwest is best known for its

manufacturing business stated from Washington State University,

“​An overwhelming majority of immigrants during the 19​th​ and early 20​th​ Centuries chose

to settle in America’s larger cities once they arrived in the country, but the Germans and

Scandinavians flocked to the rural Midwest instead. This was particularly true in

Wisconsin, Minnesota and the two Dakotas, where they became either a plurality or

majority in most counties within decades.”

This quote was helpful by relating Gretta to when she went to the Midwest to find a job as well

as many other people did. This source is also very trustworthy because it is from a college where

all information is cited. The reasoning for going into the manufacturing business was because

many immigrants coming from Norway did not know how to speak English. The only way they

could obtain a job was by building instead of having to speak a whole other language, making

manufacturing very common for Norwegians to rely on.

Overall, the reason people move is to search for new options to better their life. In this

case, Norway was very sexist about jobs for women which was the reason for Gretta moving to

America. The role of sexism played a role in limiting options for women to flourish as

individuals, making them depend on men to support their families. If they would have allowed

women to have the same opportunity as men to work, Gretta would still be there today where she

felt safer. Choosing to take a big risk like she did is inspiring, and opens up many eyes to take

the chance of benefiting from moving to have a better life.