Working women in Greece

Working Women paid for their work in 1850-1940

Not until recent years it was not always given that women got paid for work, necessary for themselves or the community. What the world believed and still believes in some places is that her place where she belongs or what belongs to her is family. Her “nature” sort of speak, her reproduction ability was associated with family and that transformed into the goal of her life, her complete-completion of her existence.

That idea dominated into the centuries and formed the belief to everyone that this is not only her role but the purpose of her existence. For the women it was forbidden to get paid for work, while they never stopped working, especially within the family. They started working outside of the family now and then but most of the times without any reward.

The massive participation of women into paid labor started with the industrial revolution in all the countries. In Greece they started some decades after the independence and creation of the Greek state, in the middle 19th century, with the appearance of some fundamental industrial and craftwork-factories. These years the Greek women where nowhere to be seen in the public places of industry and work, it was forbidden.

In all the constitutions which had been voted until 1927 there are articles which guarantees the equality of all Greek people or the free access in the public jobs. But they only apply to men who work, although they do not exclude explicitly women. Slowly and in miserable conditions, Greek women joined in the working business, without the public acceptance and only in certain jobs. That because of their need or the employers demands for cheap, submissive and temporary workers.

The first time that the working place is separated from the work in the family in Greece is in the 19th century. Their responsibilities and duties to the family are kept without any minimum reduction. They stay dominant in womens lifes while even themselves don’t question them. In the biggest cities in Greece a problematic urban class starts to emerge which needs this particular working labor force in various areas. The jobs for the women that emerge those years are jobs that don’t demand even the most basic grammar or professional knowledge.
They usually worked as maids, field workers, laundry, porters, dressmakers, weavers, midwifes or nurses.

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Women start to work in a younger age than the men, 10-12years old, 12-14hours a day for everyone, in the same conditions but being paid differently. Women got paid 1/3 of what men did.


In 1887 the first strike occurred by women workers at the Retsina factory because their salary was reduced.

A bit later a small group of educated women rise the question of girls education and work.

The educated women of the middle class started to realize that they were living within the strict boundaries of their gender. Slowly more and more women started to take initiatives. In most cases where women worked it was unmarried women and women who were trying to gather something for their dowry. Men didn’t like women’s involvement in work, at that time not only men but also women believed that work did make a woman get out of her main goal in life, which was off course to have children.


TEACHER
When girls started to go to school and get educated women started to become teachers. They began their teaching profession at the age of 16-17 and where often faced with difficult situations as a female teacher, often she worked in a small village far away from her family and women teachers were not yet completely accepted from many.

Work inspectors in 1920-30s stated that 50% of the women who worked were very young (10-19y.old) without any education and they provided for at least one member of their family. After 1922 1/3 were immigrants, orphans and most of them worked at a factory until they got married. Their salary was much lower than men’s even if they were specialized and the men were students.

Unfortunately the laws were not always followed. They often worked more hours than allowed and health circumstances were often miserable.

Changes for the better and a more equal situation followed very slowly and after many resistances in the 19th century.