Ever so true the cliché "Women's work is never done." A classic on the topic since its publication, Women Have Always Worked brought much-needed insight into the ways work has shaped female lives and sensibilities. Beginning with the colonial era, Alice Kessler-Harris looks at the public and private work spheres of diverse groups of women―housewives and trade unionists, immigrants and African Americans, professionals and menial laborers, and women from across the class spectrum. She delves into issues ranging from the gendered nature of the success ethic to the social activism and the meaning of citizenship for female wage workers. This second edition adds artwork and features significant updates. A new chapter by Kessler-Harris follows women into the early twenty-first century as they confront barriers of race, sex, and class to earn positions in the new information society.
The Center for Women’s History new exhibition showcases approximately 45 objects from New-York Historical’s own Museum and Library collections to demonstrate how “women’s work” defies categorization. Curated by the Center for Women’s History curatorial staff and fellows. The Exhibition is on view July 21, 2023 - July 7, 2024.
