Women Striving Forward Image

Lowell, MA - Portuguese mill girls between 1910 and 1915






At the time, there were few respectable ways for a girl to earn money. She could hire herself out as a domestic to work in someone else’s home for no more than fifty cents per week. She could set up her own business as a seamstress, or she could teach school, but only in the summer. During the regular school year, that position was reserved for men. She might also have worked as a book binder. Starting wages were $1.00 per week.

Source: George Grantham Bain Collection (Library of Congress).
Rights Info: No known restrictions on publication.