Milking and butter-making were important to the rural Irish economy. In the nineteenth century, dairy work was dominated by women. By World War One, it was dominated by men. The establishment of creameries and male-only agricultural colleges, in addition to legislation limiting female hours of employment, encouraged the substitution of male labour for female labour. Schemes to educate rural women in the new dairying technologies had minimal effect. Although the value of dairy production in Ireland increased, female status in the industry declined as managerial control came to be vested in men. The removal of women from the dairy was justified by reference to the need of increasing female investment of time in housework.
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