Protecting Women – Labor Legislation in Europe, the United States, and Australi…

Protecting WomenLabor Legislation in Europe, the United States, and Australia, 1880-1920\nAuthor(s): Ulla Wikander, Alice Kessler-Harris, Jane Lewis\nFormat: Paperback\nPublisher: University of Illinois Press, United States\nImprint: University of Illinois Press\nISBN-13: 9780252064647, 978-0252064647\nSynopsis\nEnacted in almost every industrial country a century ago, protective legislation directed toward women provoked bitter controversy, pitting men against women, women against women, and elected officials against political parties. Strong conflicts arose over what constituted 'protection.' Does this kind of legislation help preserve women's capacities to mother, or is it intended to preserve men's jobs? Does protective legislation help achieve workplace equality? Does it give the state the right to intrude into private family life and, if so, how far? In this international collection, thirteen historians explore the origin and array of protective labor legislation directed at wo.