ABSTRACT
The feature that distinguishes most women workers from most other workers is the difficulty of resolving conflicts between the needs of their families and the demands of their work. Before industrialization brought workers off the farms and out of the home, there was little difference between men and women in reconciling the demands of work and family. Both parents worked all day, children could be integrated easily into the routine of the farm, and extended family members and neighbors were there to help out when a mother got sick or pregnant.
