Gender at Work: The Dynamics of Job Segregation by Sex during World War II

The Working Class in American History

by Ruth Milkman

Winner of the Joan Kelly Memorial Prize in Women's History, the American Historical Association, 1987. Winner of the SOCIALIST REVIEW Book Award

Women's entry into so-called men's work during World War II sparked conflicts at the time and when men returned at war's end. Ruth Milkman delves into the issues in play and the prewar origins of traditional patterns of gender segregation in the workplace. Ranging from the dynamics on the shop floor to hiring patterns, Milkman pays particular attention to automobile and electrical manufacturing. She analyzes a number of persistent questions, including management's decision to re-embrace gender segregation after the war; women's lack of protest; the failure of unions to protect women; and how related employer strategies helped control labor by maintaining women's place as workers paid less than men.

Genres: History, Feminism, Labor

232 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1986

Reviews

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

We love a historical sociology queen, and a structural contingency one at that!! But I thought the main argument fell a little flat. Management chose to preserve male dominance in manufacturing, despite the potential to decrease wages by keeping women in the factories, because they...thought that the male workers would be mad? But she captured the complexity of the moment and provided some helpful mid-century context for me.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

(Hist 200- Univ Freshman)