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FROM HOME ECONOMICS TO TEXTILE ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Author:
Laufey Axelsdóttir
Þorgerður Einarsdóttir
Issue
Saga: Tímarit Sögufélags 2023 LXI:II
Year:
2024
Pages:
124-151
DOI:
10.33112/saga.61.2.3
Textiles and handicrafts have long been considered women’s work, and women’s work and contributions in that field have been multifarious, with an unclear distinction between private and public spheres. Throughout history, women have provided clothing for their households by knitting and sewing, sold their knitting in shops, and worked with textiles in factories. Although women have also been selfemployed in such capacities, that history is less known. In this article, the history and development of hand weaving and wool processing in Iceland is discussed with a focus on the lives and contributions of women textile entrepre neurs. Special emphasis is placed on the work of Guðrún Vigfúsdóttir and Þórdís Bergsdóttir, both born in the 1930s. The article examines their part in promoting societal changes by creating work opportunities in the public sphere for domestic tasks. Theoretical perspectives are employed that criticize masculine norms of entrepreneurship and the marginalization of women’s entrepreneurship and their contribution to job creation. Guðrún’s and Þórdís’s contributions are examined with regard to women’s status in society and the conditions for paid work in their time. Moreover, we also explore how they conceptualize their own work and contributions in coherence with prevailing ideas about women’s roles, societal changes, and technological advancements. The study concludes that both Guðrún and Þórdís did valuable work in their field and played a role in bridging the gap between the private and the public spheres, that is, between domestic tasks and women’s paid work in textiles. Despite their important contributions, there is still a long way to go until so-called feminine fields like the textile sector are valued on equal terms with more “masculine” fields.