However, once women migrated to the new world, they were forced to live an entirely different existence than the one they had known. Women were much more sheltered than they had been back in Russia, they no longer left their small tenement apartment with the regularity they had back in the Pale.

Jews Working on Garters at Home, photo by Hine

Many turned to having boarders living with them as the main way to generate income for their families, with 56% of households having boarders living with them in 1917. Women had a much harder time assimilating than their husbands, who could learn English and American customs in the work place, or their daughters who could learn at school or from their factory work groups. Many women remained fluent only in Yiddish, severely reducing their economic role in the family.

Those that did choose to work were often drawn to the sweatshops; but, their working conditions were less than ideal. The sweatshops were cramped, oppressive, and predisposed to spreading serious diseases such as tuberculosis. Bosses took advantage of the naivete of their new workers, by having them work exceedingly long work days and for little pay, often having them come in on the Sabbath as well. The young girls usually only made three or four dollars for the entire week, and were harshly penalized for any mistakes made on the job.