Women at Work. About the website.

The purpose of this website is for us, KvinnSam - National resource library for gender studies at Gothenburg University Library, to give an account of the road Swedish women had to take to get paid work in various fields of work. This is an extensive subject-matter, of which, evidently, no more than a fraction can be covered. The examples that we give are based on material in our collections. The website addresses itself to students and teachers at upper secondary schools, folk high schools, universities, university colleges, and others with an interest in the field.

The portal is part of our project of giving a description of the history of the women’s movement in Sweden. Other portals are

• Swedish Women's Struggle for Suffrage
• Kvinnors kamp för kunskap [Swedish Women’s Struggle for Knowledge], not translated
• Kärlek, makt och systerskap : 30 år av kvinnokamp [• Love, Power, and Sisterhood: 30 Years of Women’s Struggle], about the second-wave women’s movement, not translated
  

History gives an account of women’s work, especially from the 19th- and early 20th-century Sweden.

The section with the title Biographies portrays prominent women from different work fields, union activities and charity work.

Photographs are a database containing searchable photos from work places and societies, and of private persons.

The section Working professions is illustrated with the help of the material from Svenska Tobaksmonopolet [the Swedish Tobacco Monopoly] supplied by Herta Svensson, personnel advisor.Svenska Tobaksmonopolet was a major employer in Sweden, with factories all over the country.

Salaried employees contains material from Föreningen Kvinnor i statens tjänst [The Association of Women State Employees],, Yrkeskvinnors Klubb [Business and Professional Women’s Club], Föreningen Socialarbetare inom industri och affärsvärld [Social workers in industry and business] and a midwife’s – Jenny Charlotta Karlsson - posthumous documents.

Graduate professions gives an account of the judicial road to academic posts, by examples given from the physician and teacher professions.

The section Official publications concerns bills, government bills, and legislation - most of them in full text.

Notable years enables you to follow the development in Sweden. Another option in this section is the subsection called First women, which concerns different fields.

Further reading should help those who want to find more material in the field.

The history is written by Ulla Wikander, Professor of Economic History. The other texts are written by Berith Backlund and Anna Sjödahl Hayman, Librarians at KvinnSam. The English translation has been made by Librarian Lena Sundin, and the logotype is designed by Håkan Granath, Gothenburg University Library.

Photos and other material come from the archives of KvinnSam and from Gothenburg University Library.

Questions about KvinnSam and our activities can be posed via the web form on our web page.