A Brief History of Women in the Workplace…

Sometimes a look back on the historical roots of a topic can shed light on current issues. It’s certainly a good first port of call when exploring workplace gender inequities, providing a review of progress to date & a taste of deeper socio-cultural elements at play. Let’s not wander back too far, perhaps just back to the days of the Industrial Revolution…

Back in the 19th century, the public sphere, particularly the workplace, was firmly considered a male’s domain. In the 1820s, factory owners discovered the economic benefits of securing women & children as low-paid staff. The introduction of cheaper labour was viewed as a direct threat to men’s employment, & unions strongly contested the diminishing male employment status. While framed as a means of ‘protecting’ women, barriers to women working outside the home indicated a deep resistance to changing firmly entrenched gender roles that privileged men in paid work.

“… it is wrong to permit any of the female sex of our country to be forced to work, as we believe that men should be provided with a fair wage in order to keep his female relatives from going to work.” Samuel Gompers (President, American Federation of Labor)

Unemployment rose steeply in the Great Depression (1929-39), with an average unemployment rate of 29% in Australia. Women were criticised for stealing from men the few jobs available (‘men’s jobs’), & lots of emotional pressure was applied to force them home to care for their kids & hand over their jobs to men. Yet, despite many employers refusing to hire women (even when trying to support their family when their husbands were unemployed), the percentage of women in the workforce kept rising through this period. In addition to working long hours in often harsh conditions, women were required to maintain domestic responsibilities including housework & managing the emotional health of the family through this incredibly challenging period (perhaps the origins of the second shift).

In WWII, women entered the workforce in droves, taking jobs previously held by men now engaged in the war effort, and keeping the wheels of industry turning over. When WWII ended, although many women were forced to relinquish their jobs for men returning from war, women continued entering the workforce in unprecedented numbers. Work roles settled into distinct gendered occupations, with women generally working in the fields of nursing, teaching, office work, and retail. Gendered occupational categories that largely persist to this day… something we’ll explore in another post.