ABSTRACT
Although in the early history of the kibbutz movement, men and women, in accordance with kibbutz ideology, worked in the fields side by side, it became apparent fairly soon that the attempt to abolish sex-role differentiation in the economy did not entirely achieve the expected results. First, their ideology of cultural determinism notwithstanding, the pioneers soon discovered that (so far as work at least is concerned) biology is a variable: most women came to realize that they were incapable of performing certain agricultural jobs —field crops, for example—as adequately as most men. Simply put, they lacked the requisite stamina and strength. In addition, the relatively high incidence of miscarriages in the early history of the kibbutz was attributed by doctors to the fact that women worked with heavy equipment, such as tractors; hence, women who wanted to bring their pregnancies to term were disinclined to continue such work. As a result, many transferred from the more strenuous agricultural to the less strenuous horticultural branches, such as the vegetable gardens, vineyards, and fruit orchards.
