Working Conditions of Young Women in Early Factories - Assignment Example

During this time, women began to shift their working base from home to workplaces for the obvious reason that they needed to take over the men’s responsibilities while the men were engaged in the war. As women were becoming an intrinsic part of workplaces, their confidence became enhanced with a newfound sense of power. As a result of the war, society became obliged to allow women to come out of their domain and step into the men’s world. With this, women got their first taste of independence which they have been holding on to till today.

This paper explores the pay and working conditions of young women in early factories with a major focus on the women labor force in Canada.With the emergence of factories during the industrial revolution, women became active participants in the labor force. It became a huge opportunity for women to extend their activities beyond their household responsibilities, mostly in factories. During the early phase of the industrial revolution, i.e. between 1780 and 1840, women held a prominent position in the labour forces.

Although most of the jobs included low skilled labourers, nevertheless the women because of their quick progression contributed largely to the production process. In spite of this, the wages earned by women were either half or less than half of their male counterparts. However, such a low wage structure did not have any adverse long-term impact on women's labor force. The working conditions were extremely harsh with long working hours, scanty food, crowded workplaces and overall difficult conditions.

This did not deter women from working since they were accustomed to doing large amounts of labour before the industrial revolutions. The only difference was that previously they worked from home in the cottage industry, while in the post-industrial revolution they worked outside of the home. However, it was also true that some of the working conditions were extremely severe for the women laborers especially in the coal mining industry where their job pattern resembled that of mules. Although supporters of reform movements exhibited exaggerated pictures of unhealthy working conditions of women resulting in the death of women laborers, the reality was that most factories had healthy and comfortable working conditions.