New
New
Year 9

Women and the Industrial Revolution

I can explain the impact of the Industrial Revolution on the role of women in society.

New
New
Year 9

Women and the Industrial Revolution

I can explain the impact of the Industrial Revolution on the role of women in society.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Changes to the way people worked during the Industrial Revolution created new opportunities and challenges for women.
  2. In the 19th century, married women were expected to stay home to raise children and look after their husbands.
  3. Legislation was passed during the 19th century that limited working opportunities for women.
  4. By the end of the 19th century, there was a divide between work considered suitable for men and for women.
  5. The growth of professions like nursing and teaching created new opportunities for some women.

Keywords

  • Industrial Revolution - the Industrial Revolution was a period of great change during which improvements in technology changed how people lived and worked

  • Middle class - in this context, the term middle class is used to describe people who earn a living from professional jobs that require an education

  • Working class - in this context, the term working class is used to describe people who earn a living from carrying out manual labour e.g. in factories

  • Legislation - a law or set of laws passed by Parliament is known as legislation

Common misconception

The majority of women worked in factories throughout this period.

The work women did and whether they worked at all was largely determined by class. From the mid-19th century, legislation placed restrictions on the type and amount of work women were able to do and the number of women working in factories decreased.

Ask pupils to compare and contrast the role of women in the period 1750-1900 and the early modern period and to discuss the amount of change and continuity. Pupils could be asked to stand on an opinion line ('Significant change' to 'No change') and justify their positions.
Teacher tip

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which word describes a society that is controlled by men?
Correct Answer: patriarchal, Patriarchal, patriarchy, Patriarchy
Q2.
Which monarchs showed that women could wield power in the early modern period?
Victoria
Correct answer: Elizabeth I
Elizabeth II
Correct answer: Mary, Queen of Scots
Q3.
Which of the following were women not allowed to do in the early modern period?
become a churchwarden
Correct answer: become Members of Parliament (MPs)
Correct answer: vote in elections
Correct answer: become a lawyer
Q4.
Which word refers to a powerful and wealthy group in society who own land and have titles?
Correct Answer: aristocratic, Aristocratic, aristocrats , aristocracy, Aristocracy
Q5.
Which of the following jobs did women who lived in the countryside do?
Correct answer: working in fields
Correct answer: housework
Correct answer: brewed beer
drove tractors
Q6.
When women married, whose authority were they now expected to live under?
Correct answer: their husband's
their father's
their mother's
their brother's

6 Questions

Q1.
Match the words to their correct definitions.
Correct Answer:middle class,people who earn a living from professional jobs that require education

people who earn a living from professional jobs that require education

Correct Answer:working class,people who earn a living from carrying out manual labour

people who earn a living from carrying out manual labour

Correct Answer:aristocracy,people who own land, have titles and may be wealthy enough not to work

people who own land, have titles and may be wealthy enough not to work

Q2.
was passed during the 19th century that limited working opportunities for women.
Correct Answer: legislation, Legislation
Q3.
The describes a period of great change during which improvements in technology changed how people lived and worked.
Correct Answer: Industrial Revolution, industrial revolution
Q4.
Why could women be paid far less than men even if they did the same jobs during the 19th century?
Correct answer: It was thought that men worked harder.
Women only worked in factories so their work was easy.
Correct answer: Men were considered to be the main family provider.
Women were not as good as men at these jobs.
Q5.
Who campaigned to limit women’s work in factories and mines in the 19th century?
Prime Minister Edward Smith-Stanley
Florence Nightingale
Queen Victoria
Correct answer: Lord Shaftesbury
Q6.
The growth of which professions created new opportunities for some women?
Correct answer: nursing and teaching
nursing and mining
teaching and acting
childminding and sewing

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