The 1970s Energy Crisis and the Women's Movement

The 1973 Arab oil embargo greatly intensified the problem, and the 1970s energy crisis ensued. By 1980, working was no longer a choice for women; by then, two incomes were needed to experience the same standard of living that was possible in the 1960s with just one person earning enough money to provide for an entire family. Some people believe President Reagan brilliantly architected a master plan to bankrupt the Soviet Union by suppressing global oil prices. Other people suggest it just happened to work out that way without any master plan conceived by the President.