The Effects the Industrial Revolution had on Women and Children

Life for Women and Children during the Industrial Revolution was no where near the way women and children are living today.  Working conditions in factories and other areas did not have many rules when coming to who works, how much the person gets paid, how long they are working for, what they are doing, etc.  Factory owners needed a lot of workers who did not need to get paid much, did not complain, and were not educated enough to think what was going on was wrong.  This is why kids were the perfect ones for the jobs.  Kids are also tiny enough to fit in smaller spaces or reach in smaller spaces adults can not.  Children began working in all different industries.  These kids also did not attend school during this time because of work, the expenses, and the fact that it was simply not a high demand.

Women during this time faced different demands than they do now.  Women were expected to go out to work in factories.  Some lucky women were maids for wealthy families, while other unlucky ones had to work in rougher areas.  Women were also pressured to have babies because of the high demand for working children.  The birth rate rapidly increased during this time.

http://www.schoolshistory.org.uk/IndustrialRevolution/womenandchildren.htm#.WKO5lDtllsM