Image of a group of young women working in a New York Sweatshop. Courtesy of Irving Howe's World of Our Fathers

Married women who immigrated to the United States often found that life in the new country gave them  less independence outside of their homes. While young girls were often expected to work in order to provide more income for their families, it was considered inappropriate for married women to work outside of the home. Instead, they often took in boarders, helped their husbands manage “mom and pop stores”, and took on piecework. Such work did not provide these women with much income and left them financially dependent on their husbands. This financial vulnerability especially became dangergous to women in the event of their husbands’ deaths or desertions of the family. According to acclaimed writer Irving Howe, the United Hebrew Charities sector in New York City received over one thousand applications from deserted Jewish wives desiring to receive financial support only in the year 1903 alone.

1911 sketch portraying a sign seeking young female workers. Courtesy of Library of Congress

Immigration to the United States caused changes in family expectations about unmarried young women. Many girls were now expected to work in order to contribute to their families’ incomes. In the early years of the strong waves of Jewish immigration, girls were expected to give over their wages to their parents entirely. However, toward the 1920s, more girls were being given the freedom to keep a larger amount of their wages for their own personal expenses. Many factors influenced this growing independence that many young girls were able to earn from their parents. Working outside the home gave adolescent girls opportunities that they had not had while living at home in the shtetl. They were able to socialize with their peers outside of parental supervision, become exposed to the secular aspects of American culture such as films, music, and fashion, and obtain a sense of independence through earning wages for themselves. Some girls, like Anzia Yezierska and Mary Antin, were also able to attend universities such as Columbia University’s Teachers College and become teachers in American schools. Nevertheless, most girls were still expected to settle down and marry while they were young. Upon marriage, they, like their mothers, were expected to stop working outside of the home.

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