It was difficult for women to do much to change the situation; they had fewer rights than men and could not vote. There were no laws to protect women from discrimination; the suffragettes were the first to stand up for their rights. They were middle-class women who had an education and knew what they were talking about. They wanted the right to vote so they make the situation for women better, such as better working conditions and equal pay, however, men thought that women could not make sensible decisions, and politics was a man’s business. The suffragette campaign lasted until the war.
Work was divided into ‘women’s jobs’ and ‘men’s jobs’. It was assumed that women could only do light, indoor work which did not need strength or skill. Women were usually paid less than men, even though they worked the same hours. Many married women worked at home, either as housewives or making clothes. An alternative to this was for an unmarried girl was to work as a domestic servant. In domestic work pay was low, a fifteen-to sixteen-hour day was quite normal and there was hardly any free time, even at weekends.
In Stoke-On-Trent there were other opportunities for women in the pottery industry because of the delicate jobs such as painting. In some pot banks 30-40% of workers were women and unusually women often worked after they were married. However, promotion was limited and pay was about half as much, or less, as men for the same jobs. Another major employer of women was the textile industry; women could supervise spinning and weaving machines as effectively as men, however again pay was much lower for women. A description of working in a textile factory before the First World War shows the working terms provided for women:
Being in a mill was like being in a prison…
Most of us developed speed, but we lacked weight
and strength-the work made us human whippets…
This source shows how demanding work could be for women before the war. Terms for work involved low pay, excessive hours of work and unsanitary conditions. For instance working in the sweated trades who employed large numbers of women possibly as many as 950 000. The worst examples of sweated trades were clothing and dressmaking, where women worked in workshops in the houses of their employers. Some women worked at home and were paid piece rates (paid for each item produced). They made goods like jewellery, or painted lead soldiers. Women were easy targets for the owners of sweatshops. The workers could not afford to complain or they would lose their jobs, and it was impossible to set up trade unions because the numbers in each workshop were so small.
In conclusion, the reason why it was hard for women to get good jobs in good working conditions was because education for girls past the minimum age was scarce so they did not get the education needed to do the jobs, and even if they did they were expected to leave most jobs after getting married. Even middle-class women didn’t work because they didn’t need to and were just not expected to. Although generally, it was not difficult for women to get work, they would have to put up with the worst conditions and lowest pay, often, about two-thirds of a man’s or even less.
