1. Victorian Women at Work
Not all girls had husbands to support them. Some were never married, some became widows, and some were poor.
Career choices for Victorian women were limited. The only respectable jobs called for the skills girls learned at home.
Rate the following jobs “OKAY” or “NOT OKAY” for proper 19th century women.
Next
The Kentucky Library and Museum
Western Kentucky University
Created by Donna Parker
2006

2. Rate the Job Music Teacher Okay
Was this job okay or not okay for a Victorian woman?
Music Teacher
Okay
Not Okay
Click for the Answer

3. Music Teacher
OKAY. Teaching was acceptable since women were charged with training children to be proper adults, and a knowledge of music was a part of being proper. In 1900, 63% of Kentucky’s teachers were women.
Next

4. Rate the Job Okay Blacksmith
Was this job okay or not okay for a Victorian woman?
Blacksmith
Okay
Not Okay
Click for the Answer

5. Blacksmith
NOT OKAY. People thought women too weak and fragile for heavy outdoor work.
Next

6. Housekeeper Rate the Job Okay
Was this job okay or not okay for a Victorian woman?
Housekeeper
Okay
Not Okay
Click for the Answer

7. Housekeeper
OKAY. Marriage provided the ideal housekeeping job, but when poor or single women had to work, domestic service was acceptable. According to the 1900 census, 82% of Kentucky’s servants were women.
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8. Barmaid Rate the Job Okay
Was this job okay or not okay for a Victorian woman?
Barmaid
Okay
Not Okay
Click for the Answer

9. Barmaid
NOT OKAY. No proper lady would be seen in a bar. Census records from 1900 indicate that all Kentucky’s saloonkeepers were men.
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10. Telephone Operator Rate the Job Okay
Was this job okay or not okay for a Victorian woman?
Telephone Operator
Okay
Not Okay
Click for the Answer

11. Telephone Operator
OKAY. Menial labor that required attention to detail was deemed perfect for women. In spite of the telephone’s newness, 16% of Kentucky’s turn-of-the-century operators were women.
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12. Dressmaker Rate the Job Okay
Was this job okay or not okay for a Victorian woman?
Dressmaker
Okay
Not Okay
Click for the Answer

13. Dressmaker
OKAY. Knowing to sew was a must for proper ladies, so being a seamstress was a valid option for women who had to work.
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14. Rate the Job
Was this job okay or not okay for a Victorian woman?
Nurse
Okay
Not Okay
Click for the Answer

15. Nurse
OKAY. Nursing was sanctioned because like mothers, nurses cared for the sick with skills thought to be “feminine.”
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16. Rate the Job Okay Was this job okay or not okay for a Victorian woman?
Lawyer
Okay
Not Okay
Click for the Answer

17. Lawyer
NOT OKAY. The most prestigious jobs were reserved for men. Women, some people felt, were not smart enough of tough enough to handle them. None of Kentucky’s turn-of-the-century lawyers were women.
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18. Rate the Job Okay Was this job okay or not okay for a Victorian woman?
Stenographer
Okay
Not Okay
Click for the Answer

19. Stenographer
OKAY. Secretarial jobs in which women served men the way wives served their husbands became common at the end of the century.
Next

20. Rate the Job Okay Was this job okay or not okay for a Victorian woman?
Wife and Mother
Okay
Not Okay
Click for the Answer

21. Wife and Mother
OKAY. The awesome duty of training in the next generation made motherhood an honor, and to be a wife and mother was the dream of most Victorian girls.

22. Acknowledgements
Some images in this program are from the Kentucky Library and Museum collection. To learn how to obtain copies please call or send an to
Contact us. Phone Fax The Kentucky Library and Museum, Western Kentucky University, 1906 College Heights Blvd. #11092, Bowling Green, KY All Contents Copyright 2006©, Western Kentucky University.