ABSTRACT
This chapter questions that representation, suggesting that employment profoundly shaped social, economic and cultural aspects of young women's lives. It focuses on the importance of familial need in shaping young women's entry to the labour force and employment choices, the impact of their employment upon their family relations and household role, and on the importance of wage-earning in the construction of youthful culture and identity. The chapter suggests that young women's labour force participation and employment patterns were primarily shaped by household need. It argues that the transition from school to work did not mark a simple shift from dependency to independence. The chapter builds on local case studies undertaken by Alexander, Roberts and Sarsby in arguing that the demands of the labour market on the working-class household shaped a distinctive, working-class, youthful, feminine identity. It draws on employment and earnings data provided by the Census and government records, on contemporary social surveys.
