Gender at Work: The Dynamics of Job Segregation by Sex during World War II (Working Class in American History)

Winner of the Joan Kelly Memorial Prize in Women's History, the American Historical Association, 1987. Winner of the SOCIALIST REVIEW Book Award

Women's entry into so-called men's work during World War II sparked conflicts at the time and when men returned at war's end. Ruth Milkman delves into the issues in play and the prewar origins of traditional patterns of gender segregation in the workplace. Ranging from the dynamics on the shop floor to hiring patterns, Milkman pays particular attention to automobile and electrical manufacturing. She analyzes a number of persistent questions, including management's decision to re-embrace gender segregation after the war; women's lack of protest; the failure of unions to protect women; and how related employer strategies helped control labor by maintaining women's place as workers paid less than men.

Ruth Milkman is Distinguished Professor of Sociology at The CUNY Graduate Center. Her books include On Gender, Labor, and Inequality and L.A. Story: Immigrant Workers and the Future of the U.S. Labor Movement.