Working Women, 1800-2017: A Never-Ending (R)Evolution

This book examines how, over the past 300 years or so, women have adapted their work methods, means of subsistence and daily routine to fulfil their dual role as carers and breadwinners.

From the industrial revolution, which ended agrarian-based subsistence and meant an exodus towards the cities for many families, to the digital revolution, which redefined the work environment, working hours and even in some cases biological functions, women have succeeded in meeting the challenge of changing work practices, social expectations and economic and family needs.

Although women’s work, both past and present, is a much-researched area, this volume sheds new light on the subject by combining the approach of historians, sociologists, and language and culture specialists, and applying it to different countries. Drawing upon original fieldwork and little-known archives, the book will be of interest not only to an academic audience, but to anyone wanting to know more about gender, family, and labour issues across Europe between the 19th and 21st centuries.

Martine Stirling is Associate Professor in English Studies at the University of Nantes, France. Her main research interests are motherhood and employment in the UK since the 1900s. Her publications on this topic include “‘In our Hands’: Women’s Parliaments during the Second World War” in Women’s History Magazine (2013), “The ‘Abnormal Home’: Debates and Portrayal in the British Press of the 1950s” in Labelling the Deviant: Othering and Exclusion in Britain from Past to Present (2015), and “Reactionary Campaign or Humanist Crusade? The Ambivalent Politics of the League of National Life” in British Crusades for Moral Reform and their Ambivalent Politics (2015).

Delphine Sangu is Senior Lecturer in Hispanic Studies at the University of Nantes, France. Her current research interests focus on women and work in Spanish society and ecofeminism in Europe and America. Her most recent publications include “Nomadisme(s) et Stratégie Emancipatrice ou la Historia de la Monja Alférez, Doña Catalina de Erauso, Escrita por Ella Misma” in HispanismeS (2019) and “Catalina de Erauso : d’une Ville à l’Autre” in e-crini (2019).

There are currently no reviews for this title. Please do revisit this page again to see if some have been added.

Enrica Bracchi

Marie Charvet

Fanny Cohen

Louise Dalingwater

Susan Finding

Pierre France

Danièle Bussy Genevois

Emilie Lehours

Michela Sacco Morel

Gloria Paganini

Florence Pellegry