The “Association of Home Workers and All Women and Girls Employed in the Home” was founded in 1902 as an offshoot of the social-democratic “Association of Seamstresses”, which had not gained a large membership. The target group of the new association was primarily those women who, in addition to their domestic duties, had to supplement their income through industrial wage labor, such as washwomen, servants, and other home workers. The aim was to provide them with the benefits of a labor union and, by doing so, strengthen their connection to the party organization. (…)
The association offered women services such as job placement, free legal protection, legal advice, maternity benefits, and support in case of illness. Despite these support services, it was difficult to attract home workers to the social-democratic women’s movement.
Membership numbers remained relatively low, even though the Arbeiterinnen-Zeitung (Workers’ Women’s Newspaper) repeatedly tried to encourage women to join. Adelheid Popp explained the low interest by saying that there was no group harder to engage than those women who worked from home. They were isolated from other women in their industries and were much less likely to feel a sense of solidarity.
Source: Wien Geschichte Wiki
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Vereinigung arbeitender Frauen, Wien 1901-1938
