A Belated Industry

In 1896, Jane Addams addressed the plight of women in domestic labor with her speech "Belated Industry. Women engaged in domestic labor were the most powerless of laborers: many of them were immigrants with limited English skills who served with little legal protection or organizing possibilities. In her speech, Addams stated that her knowledge of domestic laborers came from her experience with the Woman's Labor Bureau, one of the many Hull House projects. She went on to address the powerlessness of domestic workers, who were isolated from outside social contact and under an overwhelming power relationship. Household workers had no way to meet others of their trade or to attain dignity as a group. Men in the same situation would have resented it, considering it impossible to give up their family and social ties while living under the roof of the household they worked for. Addams repeatedly gave recognition to the experiences of women she knew in an effort to have them participate in the social philosophy she was trying to foster.