Industrial Revolution And Its Effects example essay topic

There have been many stereotypical views and misconceptions about the role of women during and after the industrial revolution. Although the role of women did change, it is important to understand their position before the revolution in order to gage how their role changed and of course, to what extent. The reality of this has many implications; it would be unrealistic to assume that all women during this period fell into one category. There are many factors to consider and so it is vital to address how different types of women behaved in their varied working and living environments. In pre industrial Europe the life of a single woman can be regarded as extremely difficult from an economic perspective. Most single women, irrespective of age, belonged to a family, either as a servant or a daughter.

In both respects they were regarded as dependent. In a time when female wages were extremely low, the only way for a woman to obtain a degree of economic stability was to marry. The type of work a single woman carried out differed quite greatly from that of a married woman. As with all women their working role began in a similar way; helping within the home, assisting their mothers. Obviously the jobs they carried out varied according to the productive nature of their particular household, for example in agricultural areas daughters would often help with dairying, poultry, or the making of food and cloth. The daughter would serve as an apprentice to her mother, learning the appropriate skills relevant for adult life.

Scott & Tilly (1987) state that the labour needs of the family were often the deciding factor in whether the daughter went out to work. They use the example of weavers who needed thread provided for their looms would keep their daughters at home. Whereas, trades such as shoemakers when the wife and sons were ample work force, would send their daughters away. Although there were examples of women working within industry, such as the high demand for spinners, or in urban areas apprenticeships or work that was linked to the textile industry, the main source of employment for single women was domestic work. She would carry out a variety of menial tasks in return for wages and board. Young, single women would be disadvantaged from the outset due to the limited choice of work open to her.

Tilly & scott (1987) state that; ' a daughter worked as everyone did in lower class families in this period, to help support the unit of which she was apart. ' However, not all single women had this experience, an example of this can be found in the example of widows. It was often the case that when the husband died the wife was more than capable of taking over the trade and running of their production unit. They would legally become the heads of their husband's craft.

However, this was the best possible scenario, they often couldn't afford to support their children who worked within the home and had to send them away to find work. It was felt that prompt re marriage was often the best possible action, from an economic viewpoint. Married women in pre industrial society would have had a contrasting experience of work. Some historians regarded the communion of marriage as simply an economic partnership, which in effect ensured the financial stability of women.

This is emphasised in the work of Engels (1884) 'The origin of the Family'. Engels states his belief that if a woman no longer had a need to be supported financially, it would cause the disintegration of the family unit Married women of this time fulfilled many tasks within the household. They divided their time between general household chores and helping their husband within the production work. This contribution to aid the family trade was essential, as it took place in and around the home, it enabled the women to control the time and pace of their work. However, in cases where there was no specific work for the wife to do in relation to the family trade, they would often market their household activities; shopping and washing for other families etc. Some rural women even became wet nurses, nursing the infants of middle class women.

This practise was particularly noted in France. It has been suggested that in the late eighteenth century, approximately 10 000 Parisian infants were sent out to nurses. The types of job women did depended greatly on the economic position of the area in which they lived. The stereotypical view of a factory worker, is mostly connected to the work of young single women, and is not really consistent with married women, who are linked with more traditional employment. The Industrial revolution was a very gradual process, and as I have stated it is clear those women in working roles was a well-established part of life before the Industrial revolution.

Pinchbeck (1981) states that this assumption is hugely unsupported by fact. She says 'In every industrial system in the past women have been engaged in productive work and their contribution has been recognised as an indispensable factor. ' This is not to say that women's employment did not change, and to fully understand how it changed it is important to be aware of when these changes began. The agricultural revolution had an important effect on the employment of women in rural areas, which would in turn effect employment in urban areas. Even with regard to agriculture there was no unified effect on all women. There was a division that is linked to a woman's geographical status.

Rend all (1990) states that in the northern and western parts of England, a pastoral agriculture and alternative industrial employment, helped to maintain the demand and wages for women workers. In contrast in southern areas, in arable agriculture, young women were forced to leave the parental home to find domestic or manufacturing work. Married women struggled to support their families. This more specialised form of arable farming, had made a far clearer division of labour with regard to men and women. This was due to heavier and more complicated machinery, for example the sickle, that had been used by both sexes was replaced by the scythe. Women's employment was not confined to agriculture.

They were also employed in coal mining, which was extremely physical and labour intensive. Women were still being employed in some areas as late as the 1840's, but with the introduction of horses and wheeled vehicles, boys began to take over. Therefore, with employment levels within agriculture and rural societies declining, women began to look for work elsewhere. Linder t (1980) estimated that during the's e cond half of the eighteenth century employment in textiles more than tripled. Spinning and weaving were the most important processes, and women and children were mostly employed, due to the intricate nature of the work, and of course the cheap wages of women. However, during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, there were changes within the textile industry, starting with the invention of the spinning jenny, which made the work of women quicker and more efficient.

To bigger developments, such as Arkwright's water frame in 1773 and Crompton's spinning mule in 1779. These took the spinning profession out of the home and into factories. This however, did have some beneficial effects such as a higher demand for weavers. Pinchbeck (1981) states that by the 1830's it was usual for households to contain up to three looms. Women were also employed by other industries, such as the metal trades, hand made nails etc. in the black country, but this too would eventually become more influenced by new technologies. So we can now see how the work of women became influenced by the beginnings of the industrial revolution, there was less work available within the home.

So did the family economy and more importantly, the economic position of the woman suffer from this? With the development in industry, the economic and industrial position of women changed dramatically, and until they found their place in the new order of things, they were caused great distress. All women were forced to adapt to a new way of life, learn new skills and new trades. Often this was opposed either by the middle class, who did not view the classical image of a factory girl as appropriate, or by the male work force who felt that their jobs were threatened by, the new influx of women workers. An important factor within the employment to women was the Factory Act of 1833, which limited the child labour, therefore more women were employed in their place because their labour was as cheap as a child's.

Although even with regard to wages there is not a universal set wage for specific jobs. Pinchbeck (1981) states that there were different rates of wages in different places, for the same type of work, the figures given by Arthur Young for workers in silk mills clearly show this; in Sheffield in 1768 women earned between 5's. to 6's. a week, whereas in Knutsford at the same time they earned 4's. to 5's. There is some debate with regard the subject of working conditions as well. Although the newer machines, especially with the introduction of steam power, caused muggy, wet working conditions they also altered what would have been heavy work into the lighter labour of machine attendance. They also gained from the wider experience of working with people out side of their family. It is always apparent that the working conditions of these times were sub standard, but would probably have been what they were accustomed to, it seems that with the introduction of new machinery, the benefits and down sides to them, to some degree, cancelled each other out.

There is a common belief that factory work was mainly linked to single women and married women continued domestic labour based around their home. This view has been subject to debate, Simonton (1998) 'the image of the mill girl obscured the fact that women often took up factory work. ' He states that after the age of twenty-one, three fourths to nine tenths of women workers are married. In braid factories in 1885, 49.4% of women workers were over twenty-one, while numerous workers complained about the lack of cr " ec he facilities. Overall there was a huge rise in the amount of women factory workers throughout the latter end of the seventeenth century, although the majority of this increase occurred within the textiles or cloth related industries, it did effect others too, (see appendix 1) It is clear that the industrial revolution did not have a ubiquitous effect.

Women were affected according to their, geographical, marital, economic and industrial status. It also should be stated that the revolution was a very gradual process, and so women were effected differently throughout the ongoing transformation of industry. So it is only now, that we can analyse the industrial revolution and its effects overall. The business partnership that marriage had previously been seen as, began to decline. If married women, could no longer help with their husband's trade at home, they would often no longer be able to contribute to the family wage, and as a result became completely dependent on the husband. However, Pinchbeck (1981) views this as an advance, because it led to the assumption that the home making, and rearing of children was enough of a contribution to the household in itself Single women gained greater economic independence through factory work than they had ever had before, and although prostitution may have played a part in this during times of high female unemployment, other female workers such as dressmakers etc., also achieved this independence.

This prompted young women to take control of their wages. In a way this set a standard for young single girls, and it then became more acceptable to leave home at an early age, and be independent as their own mistresses. This can be seen as the starting point of a new attitude among women, their economic independence led to an increased social awareness, which is later high lighted at the end of the century with their demand for such things as education, and rights within industry. Although, the industrial revolution, did not have immediate benefits for women, especially as the changes were happening. It can now be regarded as a process that changed women's position for the better. ' The industrial revolution has on the whole proved beneficial to women.

It has resulted in greater leisure for women in the home and has relieved them from the drudgery and monotony that characterised much of the of the hand labour previously performed in industrial work under the domestic system. For the woman worker outside the home it has resulted in better conditions, a greater variety of openings and an improved status. '

Bibliography

Berg, M (1985) The Age of Manufacturers 1700-1820 London: FontanaLown, J (1990) Women and Industrialisation: Gender at Work in Nineteenth Century England.
Cambridge: Polity Pinchbeck, I (1981) Women Workers and the Industrial Revolution 1750-1850 London: ViragoRendall, J (1990) Women in an Industrializing Society: England 1750-1880 Oxford: Blackwell Simonton, D (1998) A History of European Women's Work, 1700 to the Present London: Routledge.