Men, women, and children alike labored in sweatshops. But despite a nearly even sex ratio, the workforce was strongly gendered. Unlike Europe, where Jewish women were often household breadwinners, Jewish wives in New York were pressured to conform to American notions of respectability by remaining in the home. In 1905, only 1 percent of married Jewish women held outside employment. Most female garment workers were unmarried young women, a majority of whom worked for wages by age sixteen. Sewing machine operation was generally considered āwomenās work,ā while men monopolized better-paying positions such as cutters. Still other jobs, such as buttonhole making and pressing, employed an equal ratio of men and women, but women universally received lower wages.
Kenyon Zimmer, Immigrants Against the State
