Women During The Industrial Revolution

The early Industrial Revolution had begun in textile production, hence women and their labor were deeply involved from the start. At first, when spinning was moved into factories and involved large machines, men often displaced women. Later unmarried women, mostly in the 1820's, became employed in factories, where they constituted the majority of workers. Their new jobs, however, demanded fewer skills tan those they had previously exercised in the home production of textiles. There was thus a certain paradox in the impact of the factory on women: It opened many new jobs but lowered the levels of skills they needed to have. The industrial revolution and the great economic success it also had a large variety of victims. Women faced different demands during the industrial age to those that they face today. Women of the working classes would usually be expected to go out to work, often in the mills or mines. As with the children and men the hours were long and conditions were
hard (A/B/C). Home life suffered as women were faced with the double burden of factory work followed by domestic chores and child care. It was quite common for workers to work 12 hours or more a day, in the hot and physically exhausting work places. Exhaustion naturally leads to the worker becoming sluggish, which again makes the workplace more dangerous (B/C). The Industrial Revolution in part was fueled by the economic necessity of many women, single and married, to find waged work outside their home.
Women mostly found jobs in domestic service, textile factories, and piece workshops. They also worked in the coal mines. For some, the Industrial Revolution provided independent wages, mobility and a better standard of living. For the majority, however, factory work in the early years of the 19th century resulted in a life of hardship (B/D). One of the effects of the industrial revolution was that it became easier for single women to earn a living than married women, since single women did not have to worry about what to do with their children while out at work etc. (A/C/D). Prior to the industrial revolution, married women were very often involved in economically productive labor, working on the family farm etc, but the separation of home and workplace made it much more difficult for married women to combine domestic life with profitable work
(A/C). The industrial revolution ultimately produced an immense impact on the home and family life of women. The domestic division of labor into separate male and female spheres had prevailed only among the relatively small middle class and the gentry. During the nineteenth century, that division came to characterize the working class as well. Nevertheless, compared to the previous century women had more options to choose from. Women's work was strictly confined to household productions with incredibly limited alternatives, which was often very unskilled compared to household industries.