Women were not allowed to study for ages. This started to change at the end of the 19th century and continued into the 20th. A wide variety of opportunities opened to them, thus the fine and applied arts came into picture. In my thesis I am going to research what allowed this progress and what kind of disincentives and assisting factors were in play in the lives of women who choose this path. I will go into more detail in the field of metalsmithing inside applied arts - which was considered as the least feminine profession at the time – depicting two careers and their professional circumstances, starting in the same decade in the first half of the 20th century, one here and one abroad. I find it crucial to assess the contemporary field and to summarize where we are in this process. I asked female and male workers and students currently in this field about their experiences to get a clear image.