(Wo)Manpower on the Farm: How the Rural Electrification Administration improved the lives of women

Though women in the early 20^th century had fewer rights than their male counterparts on the farm, they were doing at least as much of the work. Women were responsible for childrearing, cooking, cleaning, and gardening, as well as various other farm tasks. Their lives were physically intense and difficult. Because of this, women started leaving the farm for jobs in the city.

Working as a stenographer or secretary was much less physically demanding than working on the farm. According to an interview with Louisan Mamer (Bringing light to rural America, 1998), women on the farm were living shorter lives than women in the cities due to the impossible demands on them. She said, “Look in the old cemeteries and you'll see that there were maybe two wives for one farm man. This heavy load of doing everything by hand the hard way, and bearing a lot of children, was killing women far earlier than they die today.” As Gallant mentioned, often the work of men on the farm was seasonal, with periods of rest, but women worked year-round. (Gallant, 2015)

As the work of farmers was so critical to the survival of the everyone, something had to give before women refused to stay on the farm. Utah Agricultural College (now Utah State University) realized that keeping women on the farm required two main changes: the work of a homemaker needed to be viewed as a legitimate and important profession, requiring education, and these women needed modern conveniences to cut down on their work load. (Sturgis, 1986). Degrees in Home Economics helped the first requirement, and a push for Rural Electrification met the other requirement.

And women were some of the main instigators that helped pave the way for the Rural Electrification Administration. Oftentimes they were the ones attending the meetings and encouraging other families to pay the $5 cooperative fee to help utility companies get electricity to their communities. (Gallant, 2015). The Rural Electrification Administration was good for everyone on the farm, but it undoubtedly changed the lives of the women more than anyone else. As life became significantly easier for women on the farm, more women were willing to give up lives in the city, as long as they had the conveniences of things like washing machines, electric stoves, and refrigerators.

References

Bringing light to rural America. (1998). Rural Cooperatives, 65(2), 33.

Gallant, F. (2015, September 2). Rural Electrification was a Woman’s Movement. Retrieved from http://remagazine.coop/rural-electrification-was-a-womens-movement/.

Sturgis, C. (1986). "How're You Gonna Keep 'Em down on the Farm?": Rural Women and the Urban Model in Utah. Agricultural History, 60(2), 182-199. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3743439