ABSTRACT
The dairy industry was restructured during the early twentieth century, particularly with the economic crisis of the 1930s. As milk processing was consolidated, many rural dairies were closed. Larger scale workplaces, often located in towns, departed from agrarian traditions and employed men as skilled workers as well as managers. On the national level, dairymen outnumbered dairymaids in 1927, and the trend toward masculinization accelerated during the next decade. Men were more likely than women to be employed in larger scale, more mechanized dairies. Yet this correlation cannot fully explain why dairymaids were eventually pushed out of the occupation. The next four chapters, which are illustrated with rare documentary photographs, explore how gender differences in education, technological expertise, the labor market, and the professional association contributed to the long process of masculinization in the industry.
