Sylvie Schweitzer

Women Have Always Worked A History of Working Women in the 19th Century

For women, the victory of recent years is one of empowerment in their professional lives: they now have the means to compete with men in every field. Yet society’s traditional image of what is a male or female profession remains very powerful. In 2001, French women had managed to enter professions that were previously practically closed to them but French men are still reluctant to enter traditionally female professions. This book reviews two centuries of women’s work. It shows that women have always worked — but not everywhere. Women’s access to increasingly “prized” jobs goes hand in hand with economic and global development.