The author reviews the entry of women into the teaching profession in nineteenth-century America, noting that, while the primary motivation for encouraging women to teach was that they could be paid less than men, this economic justification was obscured by sentimental pronouncements about women's superior moral and nurturant power. (SJL)

Black, Latina, and Asian women generally work in jobs that are less well-paying and lower on the occupational hierarchy than are the jobs held by their white counterparts. In addition, these women of color face higher unemployment rates than do white women. Whereas the entry of large numbers of white women into the work force is a fairly recent…