Weaving It Together
Life Cycle and the Industrial Experience of Female Cotton Workers in Quebec, 1910-1950
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3124398 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Gail Cuthbert Brandt (York University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1981 |
| Volume | 7 |
| Pages | 113 |
| Publication date | 1981-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Labour / Le Travail (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0700-3862 • E-ISSN: 1911-4842 |
| Publisher | JSTOR (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/25140024 |
| OpenAlex | W1588120882 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
BETWEEN 1891 AND 1951, women constituted a large proportion of the workforce in the Quebec cotton industry. Using life cycle analysis as a principal investigative tool, the author explores their work experience in this industry. By the 1940s a transition was occurring from a two-stage life cycle (gainful employment before marriage, permanent withdrawal from the work-force after marriage) to a three-stage life cycle (employment before marriage, temporary withdrawal after marriage for child rearing, and a subsequent return to work. Concurrently, female workers were entering the mills later and leaving them earlier to marry than had their predecessors. This trend, coinciding with a significant shift of the female work-force within the industry from skilled to unskilled labour, tended to reduce the female cotton worker's militancy. DE 1891 A 1951, les femmes formaient une forte proportion des travailleurs dans l'industrie du coton au Quebec. En analysant les cycles de la vie de ces ouvrieres, l'auteur essaie d'evaluer leur experience industrielle. Deja pendant les annees 1940, il y avait eu la transition d'un cycle de deux etapes (emploi a gages avant le mariage, desistement complet de travail hors de la maison apres le mariage) a un cycle de trois etapes (emploi a gages avant le mariage, desistement temporaire apres le mariage pour elever les enfants, retour plus tard au travail). En meme temps, les ouvrieres se mirent a travailler plus tard qu'auparavant et elles quitterent leur emploi plus tot pour se marier. Cette tendance, accompagnee d'un changement progressif des tâches specialisees aux tâches non-specialisees dans la production des cotonnades, eut pour resultat une attenuation du militantisme des ouvrieres
Weaving · Canadian Identity and History · Engineering · Mechanical Engineering
| Unique citing works | 5 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,13 |
| Citation span | 1986 - 2012 (27) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 4 |