Earning her daily bread: Women in industrial manufacturing in the rural Midwest, 1950–1980

Coreen Marie Derifield, Purdue University

Abstract

After 1945, the state of Iowa experienced significant industrial growth, as new manufacturing plants transferred to the state and innovative technology sprung from Iowa's entrepreneurs. Industrial development opened more opportunities for men and women to earn a living through factory work and women in Iowa took advantage of them and worked outside the home in greater numbers than ever before. Women brought with them their gendered notions of work and womanhood which stemmed from their rural Midwestern heritage. These gender and rural identities congealed in the creation of a class consciousness in the workplace and created a distinctive working class identity. The combination of gender, class, and regional identity framed women's understanding of themselves as workers, wives, and mothers. It also gave them a way to connect with other women in the workplace. This identity provided a niche for women to serve in the labor movement, and unions such as the United Auto Workers and the United Packinghouse Workers of America provided organizational spaces for their new female members. Women served on women's committees and in auxiliaries fulfilling domestic duties such as planning activities, helping the poor and needy, and hosting dinners or functions. Over time women grew restless with their limited roles and sought additional leadership opportunities within unions. As they struggled to overcome sexism in the union and the workplace, some women embraced the ideas of working class feminism to pursue their particular goals as working class women. Other women remained content with their limited roles. By the 1970s, division between women who pursued working class feminism and those who remained loyal to traditional roles caused a generational split among female factory workers. As long as working class women remained split over proper roles for women, gender discrimination remained a formidable barrier in the workplace. Relying on oral histories and union records, the dissertation provides a different story of unionism and class formation from those told from an urban perspective. It also argues that not all working class women embraced working class feminism, and shows how most of these working class women's gender identities were rooted in fulfilling traditional roles stemming from their rural heritage.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

Gabin, Purdue University.

Subject Area

American history|Womens studies

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