Spring 2011 CLIO II Portfolio

My project will examine the working lives of 19th century shop women. Who constitutes a worker and when did class become a political force? For female shop assistants in the late nineteenth century, their role as workers was clear, and they were aware of their lower position within the social hierarchy of the shop. When the shop assistants unions were formed in the late 1890s women were included from the inception although women were not the majority of shop assistants over all. The shop assistants union advocated for better working conditions, better living conditions for assistants and most importantly in the early years, shorter days. In addition to the hardships of their jobs, female shop assistants faced numerous hassles in going about their daily lives both in the shop and on the streets they had to traverse.