Women and Work after the Second World War: A Case Study of the Jute Industry, Circa 1945-1954

This article examines the attempts by the Dundee jute industryto recruit women workers in the years circa 1945–1954.It locates its discussion of these attempts in the literatureon the impact of the Second World War on the participation ofwomen in the British labour market more generally, and the forcesdetermining that participation. It stresses the peculiaritiesof jute as a traditional major employer of women operating invery specific market conditions, but suggests that this casestudy throws light on the broader argument about the impactof war and early post-war conditions on women's participationin paid work.