Working Wives of Nowadays

In 1923, as more married women started to work outside the home, the New York Times Magazine interviewed 50 of them for a feature titled "Working Wives of Nowadays."

The faithful and devoted wife has wandered far from the hearth that was formerly her one respectable abiding place. Efficient and unashamed, she works side by side with her unmarried sisters. She helps to swell the subway jam, she punches the timeclock, and, most important of all, on Saturday nights she drops her own pay envelope on the table next to the offering of her lord and master.

How was this nascent development playing out? According to the 50 interviews, surprisingly well.

All the stories pointed to one definite conclusion: that a woman can — if she will — run a household and a career at the same time. The two are not incompatible. ... The home does persist; and the couples that have followed the new order seem to get on extremely well in their confined quarters.

And in the modern era?

In 2022, far more married women were working outside the home than had done so a century prior. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2022, married women had a 71.1% labor force participation rate.

That was considerably lower than the 93.7% rate for married men.

Working Wives of Nowadays

Published: Sunday, May 27, 1923