Feminization of Labor

Separate Spheres and Women's work

The notion of separate spheres dominated 19th- and 20th-century thinking about gender roles and perpetuated beliefs in intrinsic differences between women and men and in the inferiority of women to men. Patriarchal family relations that focus on women's subordination to men and essentialist notions that women are naturally suited as care providers for the family made it much easier to exploit the labor of women inside and outside the home. The development of the “cult of womanhood” in the 20th century glorified women as mothers and nurtur-ers and only exacerbated the devaluation of women's labor. Consequently, labor markets have been framed around the notion of separate spheres contributing to the gendering of work in the 20th century. Justifications of lower pay for women's work and assumptions about women's place in the home and the need for part-time or flexible work have put women at a distinct disadvantage in the paid labor market. Race and class further inform these gendered experiences. Not all women's experiences are the same: Just as gender ideologies are summoned to favor men over women, racial and ethnic ideologies are used to disadvantage groups and maximize profits by devaluing labor.

The Feminization of Labor in the United States

With the growth of U.S. industrialization in the 20th century, women's labor force participation increased [Page 319]remarkably, thus challenging the ideology of separate spheres. Regardless, gendered expectations of work remained. Industries such as textile manufacturing became predominantly female, whereas metal and steel industries primarily employed men. As Julia Blackwelder and others have described, technology is gender-laden. Stereotypical notions of women being good at “detail” work, or having “nimble fingers” better suited for textile and clerical work, contributed to, and in many ways cemented, occupational segregation. Women's work was regarded as less skilled, and consequently, of less value, and, more importantly, as only needed to supplement family income.

During World War II, women flocked to occupations that were previously inaccessible to them. Despite women needing employment to survive, rather than “pin money” to supplement family income, the wage gap remained. War-end layoffs and occupational demotions for women were significant. Nevertheless, the war's impact on the acceleration of the feminization of labor in the United States was far-reaching.

As the economy shifted from a blue-collar to a white-collar economy—that is, from manufacturing-based to service-based economies—women's labor force participation grew at rates greater than men's. Much of the growth of women's labor force participation took place in female-dominated “pink-collar” industries, rather than breaking occupational segregation barriers.

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