1. Women and children and working conditions
By: Tamar Weinger and Sara Holand

2. Why Children Were in Demand?
Workers didn’t have to pay children a high wage
Children could fit between or in machines were adults couldn’t go
Helped parents with extra income
Children weren’t smart enough or old enough to fight back or ask for better wages

3. Continued They would do anything that was asked of them
Parents bound children to work; Child labor will not be addressed until the Progressive Era
1890:  18% of the labor force had children between the ages of 10 – 15 years old

4. Effects
The birth rate increased, it was normal for most families to have about ten or more kids
A lot of children were killed because of explosions, they were over worked, and sometimes because of what they were told to do

5. Factory Act of 1833 First law involving improving factory conditions
Passed by Parliament
Limited amount of hours children of certain ages could work

6. Women who weren’t men Unions were generally hostile to women
Men believed they shouldn’t work for wages because they would undercut wage levels
Some separate women’s unions existed and they sought special legislation for female workers
International Ladies Garment Workers’ Union led a strike against New York City sweatshops

7. Continued
19th Century:  No concern existed over the welfare of children and women doing hard labor
New Jobs for women were created during the Industrial Age
From 1880 – 1900, the number of employed women went from 2.6 million up to 8.6 million
In 1880, 4% of clerical workers were women
By 1920 the figure was 50%, but women couldn’t get work in management positions

8. Continued
Middle Class married women were able to at stay home, but other women and children had to work
Truant officers, who patrolled factories to get children into school, were often thwarted by struggling parents that needed the extra income.