Women's work and industry in 19th century Padua: a reappraisal

This paper examines the female participation in the labour market at the end of the 19th century. The three chapters of this thesis focus on the study of work, in all its facets, including the issue of gender, and above all they focus on the analysis of the census carried out in Italy in 1871 and of a study carried out in the province of Padua and published in 1878; these analyses are followed and concluded by a comparison of the two works. Through the in-depth study of bibliographic sources, it emerged how little consideration was given to the presence of women in the world of work until, at least, the end of the 20th century. Although there were many women employed, for example in industry, their presence was always ignored and the importance their work brought to the family economy downplayed. There was a tendency to uphold an idea that was highly prevalent during the century under review, according to which women were better suited to looking after the home and children, while men had to take care of the family's sustenance, all this according to the male breadwinner model that every 19th century family reflected. Proof of this, is the census conducted at the beginning of the last two decades of the 19th century, which shows significantly fewer women than men in every labour category. However, contradicting the census data, there is a study conducted a few years later, which instead shows strong female participation in the labour market, particularly in the industrial sector. The comparison of the two works thus led to show how strong the female presence in the labour market was and how substantial her contribution to the household economy was. A more truthful picture of the working reality of the late 19th century is thus painted.