Women's occupations 1861 census

[Kaliannan]

I am researching the community of Moseley Hole , 1861. about 50% of the population is female but there are very few giving occupations. In a mining community such as this would the women not need to work or did they not give an occupation for some reason? I observe that most families seem to have children spaced at about two years, could this be the reason? They had  more than enough to do! many had lodgers, again more work . Any comments would be welcome.

Thanks,
Phil

[BumbleB]

I think you will find that married women as a whole did not work (for a wage), unless they really had to. Even into the early 20th century, women were expected (if not forced) to give up their occupation on marriage.

[lizdb]

With large families and no convenience foods or household appliances, they certainly had plenty to do! The culture generally was that the man was the provider, bringing in the wage, and the woman ran the household.

[ThrelfallYorky]

Also, often, if the women worked in their own home - piecework, laundry, sewing, etc, they often did not mention it. In mining areas some women also worked on the surface, sorting coal, but although there are frequent references to them, they do not often seem to crop up in censuses. Perhaps there were womend working casually, but neither they nor the head of household liked to think that they were "workers" rather than full-time wives?

[Treetotal]

Hi Phil...You might find this interesting:

http://www.striking-women.org/module/women-and-work/19th-and-early-20th-century

Carol

[jim1]

Apart from the above the reason for the census was to track the migration of the population as well as growth. Much of this was work related to men so what women did wasn't considered important & it was pretty much left to the enumerator whether a woman's job was recorded as there were no clear directions as to whether a woman's occupation should be listed.

[stanmapstone]

In the England & Wales 1861 Census there were 5,752,085 women the age of 20+. The number of "no stated occupation or condition" was 87,289, or 1.52%, the rest had an occupation. 
http://www.rootschat.com/links/01hxx/

Stan

[stanmapstone]

as there were no clear directions as to whether a woman's occupation should be listed.

This is from the 1861 Census Householder's Schedule.
Stan

[Kaliannan]

Thanks everyone. It is as I thought. This was  a very cramped community. I have yet to work out the density of the co -residing units but there were some large housholds, lodgers  etc ,a large Irish community of miners from Rosscommon. Plenty of work for the women of the household.
Great to get others's input!

Phil