Monday, April 16, 2012

Women in Victorian Society- Workforce

There was no workers' compensation until late in the Victorian era. Some women were employed in the caol and steel industry. Women and children worked underground as "hurriers" until the Mines and Collieries Act passed in 1842. The law did not have much of an impact on the employment of women in mining. Women were also big in agriculture in the all countries of England. Agriculture did not pay well, that caused the shift to the industrial industry. Industry laundry services employed many women. Women were also commonly employed in textile mills. Some women took a different approach as business women with animal breeding.

Women did not expect to be paid the same wage as their male co-workers. The men were being paid almost double what the women were being given. Pregnant women worked up until the day they went into labor. Straying away from the normal woman employment was rare and looked down upon. It was very difficult to get into a good paying, male dominated field. This makes Elizabeth Garrett Anderson's journey so remarkable. She never gave up and did not take no for an answer. She made her own path and created her own destiny.

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