The Docks in the Twentieth Century
Women workers in other industries
A large number of women were employed in the industries that had grown up around the docks and along the river.
A lot of the jobs involved packing or processing the great variety of commodities which came into the docks. Food-processing firms were particularly large employers of female labour.
There were also many jobs in other manufacturing industries, such as paint and chemicals, as well as all types of assembly work and office work. Many women worked as machinists in the numerous clothing firms to be found in East London.
Their wages, although in the main low, were an important part of the family income. This was particularly the case if the male members of the family were dockers as the casual nature of their work meant that a regular income could not be guaranteed.
D: 'I always worked in Bermondsey or the East End, doing machine or packing work. When I got married I had to get a bus through the tunnel to Whitechapel to make children's clothes.
At the time my husband was doing casual work in the docks and if there wasn't any ships in you didn't get paid much.
My mother looked after my son Monday to Friday and we had him at weekends. Lots of women worked either full or part-time to help with the family budget.
Before the war when women got married lots of firms would put them off. But when the war came and soldiers went off, women were taken on in the factories and warehouses around the docks doing packing, assembly and machine work. They were kept on in this type of work after the war.'
Joyce Stevens, 1989.
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Contact
Nigel Sagar
Design and Technology
London Borough of Barking
and Dagenham
Email: nigel.sagar@lbbd.gov.uk
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