One hundred years of women’s wage-fixing

What has the twentieth century meant for women’s paid work in Australasia? This article takes a broad historical perspective on this issue, in particular the implications of changing wage-fixing structures for women’s wages and conditions. It traces the changing perspective amongst feminist historians as the possibility of dismantling central wage-fixing became increasingly likely. The article explores the issues in an empirical context by drawing on the author’s collaborative/ comparative research with Canadian historians. It argues that such comparative analysis adds weight to the argument that arbitration has indeed offered a level of protection to Australian women workers that was not enjoyed by their counterparts in societies without an arbitration system.