America's Working Women: A Documentary History, 1600 to the Present

by Rosalyn Baxandall (Editor), Linda Gordon (Editor)

“I am stunned by the scope and breadth of this splendid new collection of sources. It includes memories, stories, letters, poems and more, gathered from the pens and the hearts of women who lived and worked in these United States. . . . The selections are spell-binding, the introductory material illuminating, and the whole a lesson in how the multicultural and multiracial experience of work in America has been profoundly affected by gender.” ―Alice Kessler-Harris, author of Out to Work A landmark work when it appeared in 1976, America's Working Women helped form the field of women's studies and transform labor history. Now the authors have enlarged the dimensions of this important anthology; more than half the selections and all the introductory material are new. Spanning the years from 1600 to the present, selections from diaries, popular magazines, historical works, oral histories, letters, songs, poetry, and fiction show women's creativity in supporting themselves, their families, and organizations or associations. Slave women recall their field work, family work, and sabotage. We see Indian women farming, and we also see the white culture coercing Indian women to give up farming. We see women in industry playing a central part in the union movement while facing the particular hazards of women's jobs and working conditions. New selections show the historical origins of today's important sexual harassment, equal pay, "sex work,” work in the underground economy, work in the home, and shift work. With an expanded focus on women from all racial and ethnic backgrounds and regions, America's Working Women grounds us in the battles women have fought and the ones they are in the process of winning.

Genres: History, American History, Feminism, Nonfiction, Labor, Womens, Gender

404 pages, Paperback

First published September 12, 1976

Reviews

[Caeser Pink · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very interesting book. The stories are told through letters and essays of those who lived the historical experiences. And the range of experiences are extremely varied. It allows you to really walk in the shoes of so many women's experiences, most of which I could never have imagined.

[Drusilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dry read in parts but boy did I learn a lot. Recommend!

[Kara Merry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting very very interesting

[Darla Ebert · Rating 1 out of 5]

LOVED the pictures and the personal letters and writings of women of each era, however this could have been SO much more interestingly written

[tony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Surprisingly an easy reading and appreciated it, even though it was a required reading for school.