A brief history of women and work

In the middle of the 1800s, 42% of American women and 25% of British women were in paid employment. By the end of the 19th century, 50% of Dutch women were in the work force.

We have an imagine of women in the past at home caring for their families living in a tranquil environment. Life was anything but for the majority of the population, they were working out of necessity, men and women. It was the differences between food on the table and starvation . . . or the Workhouse. 

We can thank the myth to the literature of the day and the artists who have painted beautifully dressed women gliding about at home. These of course were the middle to upper class women and even at home, they had maids to do most of the work and nannies to care for the children. Life was leisure, something unknown to 100's of 1,000s of women. 

Throughout history women have moved in and out of paid labour, however, I am probably the first generation (Generation X) to make this decision according to my wishes and not the men in power. I use the word men as they have decided if women were allow to work or not, not women themselves. Sadly in past centuries, cutting women off from paid work has had detrimental consequences, especially for widows and spinsters. 

Most households during the Victorian era drew income from a number of sources, with many women and juveniles adding to wage earning even if their employment was usually more intermittent and low-paid than that of adult males. Even though the male breadwinner's wage was increasingly regarded as the ideal and even the norm, in practice many households were dependent upon female earnings, especially those households run by widows.

Family budgets from the Victorian era suggest that around 30-40 per cent of women from working class families contributed significantly to household incomes. Probably something similar to today.

Whilst literature (or perhaps more accurately propaganda) wanted to show women as "Angels of the Home", sadly for many women, especially widows and spinsters, it was anything but. These women,  including widowed middle class women were rarely women of leisure. Many carried on their husband businesses after their deaths, many were governesses, nannies or worked in trade such as dressmaking, book-keeping or office work.  Domestic service of all kinds was the single largest employer of women . . . 40% of female occupations stated in the census of 1851. As factories grew, more women became labourers and worked in the factories, women in places like Wales could be found in the mines. In rural areas, they worked along side their husbands on the farm. 

We often think of women in past eras as delicate and weak, in fact, they were strong women, probably much stronger than women today. We often think of women in the past having afternoon naps and feeling unwell (just think of Jane Austen books). For these working women, that wasn't an option . . . taking rest was for women of leisure, those in upper-class families. 

Like today, these women also had to care for their homes and their families. Older children helped their mother to care for the younger children, younger children went off to school during the day (only the wealthy could afford home-tutors) and when they reached 12ish, they too started to work and earn an income which was much needed by the family. Many of these women worked very long hours and came home exhausted (work life was far harder in 1850 compared to 2014) and many women (and children) worked in dangerous conditions as work health and safety was unheard of. Illness, disability and even death was an every-day possibility. 

Another change to working life was the move from almost all men working at home in home-based businesses to working away from home in larger businesses owned by someone else (i.e. a factory). In 1800 in New York, less than 5% of men had a workplace outside the house; by 1820, it was 25%, and by 1840, it was 70%. For centuries men worked at home and beside them was their wife working in equal partnership. These new practices also saw women leave the home to work in factories, workshops, shops or in domestic service. Homes that had once been the centre of activity as a place of work, became a private sphere as a place of family and child-rearing, but that is another story for another time.

The Victorian's were very good at creating myths that we still look back on today. They wanted to create the imagine of peace and contentment, good health and harmony. The new industrialists even commissioned paintings of happy mothers and children wearing crisp white outfits looking beautiful and feminine because it was in such stark contrast to reality - the life of the factory. Just watch the BBC mini-series "North and South" from the novel by Elizabeth Gaskell to see what life must have been like for the poor in Industrial Britain. Life was tough and hard and the smell and hunger must have been unimaginable at times. 

Many women today work in paid labour, just as they have in the past. However, mum is now working in much improved and safer conditions, her hours are shorter, she is earning more, someone is concerned about her rights in the workplace, her children are far better cared for and she has far more time at home. At least if women need to work today, they are in a much better environment.

Whilst it isn't perfect for mum to work with younger children, we can be thankful that women now have a choice - she can work or stay at home and if she does need to work, she can choose between full-time and part-time employment.  Many workplaces now have flexible hours that are perfect for mothers with school aged children. If she is a single mother as a result of widowhood or divorce, the government will support her until she can gets back on her feet. It is important to look at the reality of the past and not the glossy myth that has been created.  Life was not rosy for many women and women have worked for centuries and many have managed home and work just as many women do today. Women are able to do this, it can be difficult, but, as in the past, it isn't impossible. 

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