Thesituationofwomeninthefactoryworld

One of the results of women's inclusion in the factory world was the double workday, since female workers remained responsible for all the household chores, as well as caring for the children and their husbands. At the same time, in the factory, they were exploited through disguises that suggested women would have less exhausting jobs, and, in addition, they were constantly affected by the authority of department heads, who overstepped the bounds of work and harassed the female workers, who lived under a sign of unease, worried about keeping their jobs and about not being subjected to the stares and advances of all the men they interacted with in the factories.

Image description: This is a black-and-white photograph of an old factory. The image shows a large open area with several sewing machines spread throughout the space. On the left, we see workers seated on benches, focused on their tasks. In the center, groups of women are standing, interacting with one another or operating machines. On the right, more workers are seated, also engaged in their activities. The ceiling is high and covered with wooden beams, allowing for natural lighting.

These situations represent the non-recognition of women workers as protagonists in the world of labor - they were considered second-tier workers. In Brazil at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, white women - since Black women had always been part of the world of labor, especially during the slave regime - were relegated to a position of submission to their husbands or fathers. This view that they should behave in a manner that demonstrated refinement and fragility, remaining detached from the world of work and focused on caring for the home and children, followed women workers at least until the 1950s.

In this way, female workers were constantly assigned to sectors where the workload was lighter, putting them on the same level as child laborers. The frequent replacement of female labor with male labor, whenever it was available, helped create a mindset that women would not be capable of holding leadership positions or of being at the forefront of workers' struggles.

Image description: This is a historic black-and-white photograph of an industrial setting. On the left, we see a wall with ornamental decoration and several hanging cables. In the center, there is a large window with internal partitions. On the right, a series of suspended lights illuminate the space. In the lower part of the image, several women work at sewing machines, arranged in rows. They wear aprons and are focused on their tasks.

Practice, however, showed that women took on prominent roles in organizing marches and strikes at many factories in Rio, fighting for better wages, limits on the working day, better sanitary conditions, and the defense of their honor against sexual harassment.