Agrarian women, the gender of dairy work, and the two-breadwinner model in the Swedish welfare state / Lena Sommestad ; translated and edited by Grey Osterud.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Milk processing as women's work in agrarian society -- The transformation of dairying in the late nineteenth century -- Industrial restructuring and masculinization in the early twentieth century -- Gendered claims to knowledge and technical expertise -- The labor market and the workplace -- Professionalization and the Swedish Association of Dairymen -- Gender at work -- Agrarian womanhood and the two-breadwinner model.

"In this volume, Lena Sommestad explores the significance of rural womanhood in the formation of Sweden's gender-egalitarian welfare state in the early 20th century. Drawing on a rich array of documents, photographs, and interviews with women and men, she analyzes the changing gender division of labor in dairying and illuminates the dynamic processes and debates that shaped industrial workplaces. The book demonstrates the importance of rural women's gainful labor and organized activism to Sweden's citizenship-based social policies, which enabled married women to combine childrearing with breadwinning"-- Provided by publisher.