Women at Work
By 1900, five million of the twenty-five million Americans in the work force were women, most of whom worked at wages far below those of male workers. Note what the following sources reveal about the conditions confronting many female wage earners. How do they compare to conditions confronting male workers?
7 In 1869, a group of women petitioned the Massachusetts legislature to have the state help finance homes for them. Their demands were dis- cussed in a meeting held in Boston. This account is from the Working-
man’s Advocate, an influential labor paper.
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Sources 41
Women Make Demands (1869) A convention of Boston work women was held in that city on the 21st ult. at which some extraordinary developments were made. We append some of the discussions: