Women's Roles and Economic Terms in Industrial Society

Women in Industrial Society

In the industrial company, a clear differentiation by gender was consolidated. The public sphere was reserved for men, while the domestic sphere was the field for women. Women were geared toward marriage, and their legal status reflected a clear inferiority. According to the Civil Code, a married woman was obliged to obey her husband, who was the legal representative of all her assets and whose permission was required for any legal act.

The lives of middle and high-class women transpired primarily at home. Their core tasks were the care of the house and the children, though depending on their social level, they could count on domestic service. Thus, female education decreased as one descended the social ladder, while labor activity increased. The situation was very different for rural women. Industrialization saw the emergence of female workers, since the salary of a man was often not enough to maintain the entire family.

Key Definitions of the Industrial Era

• Industrialization

  The process by which a state or territorial community passes from an agriculture-based economy to one founded on industrial development.

• Factory System

  Principally consisted of workers gathered in one physical place to produce goods.

• Economic Liberalism

  Economic theory developed during the Enlightenment and fully established by Adam Smith, which calls for minimum state interference in the economy.

• Capitalism

  An economic system in which human beings and companies carry out the exchange of production and services through transactions involving prices and markets.

• Bourgeoisie

  A term used principally in political economy and also extensively in sociology and history.

• Class Society

  A form of social stratification in which an individual's social position is determined by membership in a specific social class.

• Proletariat

  A term used to designate the lowest social class of the modern age.

• Protectionism

  An economic policy that protects a country's producers by imposing limitations on the entry of similar or identical foreign products.

• Free Trade

  An international trade system that favors abolishing tariffs and customs.