The occupational history of Arkansas women resembles that of the entire nation. As early as the 1920’s women who dared to be different paved the road to greater freedom in obtaining a higher education and then selecting a career. In the 1930’s women worked mainly in domestic and agricultural positions. This held especially true for African American women. The average weekly wage for white women in these jobs was $8.45 versus $5.60 for black women.

An African American maid stands off to the side while women of the family she works for relax on the porch
Courtesy of Shiloah Museum of Ozark History and the Bella Vista Historical Society

World War II provided women with greater opportunities for work outside of the home in a variety of fields. As men went to war, women took their places in factories and ammunitions plants such as the Ford, Bacon and Davis plant in Jacksonville or the Pine Bluff Arsenal. In 1943, state legislators limited the workweek of women in private industry to fifty-four hours per week and required certain industries to pay women time and a half after forty-eight hours. After the war, women realized they enjoyed the autonomy they received from their jobs and income and desired to keep working despite the federal government’s attempts to force them back into the home.

Waitresses in the Orchard Room at the Harris Hotel, c. 1950
Courtesy of Mae Woody and the Rogers Historical Museum, Rogers, AR, #N005846

By 1970, more than a quarter million Arkansas women worked, comprising 38% of the state workforce. While most women workers continued to hold clerical positions, African Americans remained employed as domestics. Today Arkansas women work in a wide variety of occupations. While the majority of women work in retail and wholesale sales, technical or administrative support, fewer women in Arkansas work in these fields than in comparison to the nation. Arkansas also negates the national trends in that more women work in factories and fewer work in professional and management fields. When asked about job opportunities, however, while most women recognized that they vary regionally, many women believe that all jobs are open to them.

A local hairdresser working on a client, c. 2001.
Courtesy of a private collection

“When I went to college I was instructed to take home economics or secretarial courses. I wanted to be a doctor but was told that was out of the question because women doctors were homely old maids of questionable sexual preference. Because I didn’t see myself that way I compromised by becoming a medical technologist.”