Women At Work: 
Work History of Women in America

Domestic Service

Another option for young women wanting to move into the labor force was to become a domestic servant. Many Irish and other immigrant women took advantage of domestic service opportunities. In some ways it was superior to a factory job because you received room and board. Nevertheless, wages were as low as in a factory, the hours were longer, and privacy was non-existent.

< The maternal pose in this professional photograph suggests that this African-American nanny held an important place within the family. The presence of a book also suggests that the woman is partially responsible for educating the children meaning that she must herself be educated.

Elderly Man and Woman
in Front of a House
Thomaston, 1909
Photo CD: 2821 File: Img0054.pcd

< The elderly woman sitting next to the elderly man is his housekeeper. Often older women who never married or were widowed became domestic servants. This image is interesting because it does not clearly portray her as a servant

Nursing Students and Cook
Hartford County, ca. 1990
Photo CD: 0543 File: Img0001.pcd

< This is a photograph from a nursing school. The African American woman is a cook. At a school with many students, the process of preparing three meals would have consumed most of the day and the cook’s job would have been an important and responsible position.

Link to other essays in this Journey:

>> Introduction: Women At Work
>> Women on Farms
>> Factories and Unskilled Wage Labor
>> Church and Charities
>> Women as Educators
>> Improved Educational Opportunities for Women
>> White Collar Employment
>> Women in War
>> Women in Music, Art, Literature

>> Guideposts
>> Suggestions for further reading