As with the upper class, a middle class of doctors, lawyers, small businesses owners, and teachers had existed since the colonial times. However, by the late 1800s the rise of modern corporations had swelled the ranks of the middle class with accountants, clerks, engineers, managers, and salespeople. Despite the demand for middle-class professionals, few women were permitted in professional occupations. Rapid urban growth did provide greater opportunities for women to work outside the home. The rise of big business created a variety of new jobs, such as salesclerks, and secretaries. Business owners increasingly hired young, single women to fill these positions, paying them lower wages than men. By 1910 thirty five percent of the 2 million clerical workers were women. Most married middle-class women worked in their homes. Smaller families, increased reliance on purchased goods, and new household technologies such as running water changed middle-class women’s domestic work. Many women joined reading and social…