Lowell Mills Girls

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Friends would cover each other so that the one who was absent could continue to make her wages, while taking time off to recover from sickness or to just go on a small vacation. This was another way that dependence developed among the female workers during work hours. The mill work itself rooted the interdependence of the women.
The living conditions at the factory also helped to develop a sense of community among the women. Most of the women working at the mills were provided housing in company boardinghouses. The people living in these boardinghouses lived in close quarters. A common boardinghouse had four to eight women living together in the same room, which left little opportunity for privacy. Also, with the hours of their jobs and the 10:00 P.M. curfew it was hard for the workers to associate with anyone outside of the mill. This created an atmosphere where there was heavy pressure to conform to the group. This pressure to go along with the group also helped to gain support for ...

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