<P> Women's historians have debated the effect of the Industrial Revolution and capitalism generally on the status of women . Taking a pessimistic side, Alice Clark argued that when capitalism arrived in 17th century England, it lowered the status of women as they lost much of their economic importance . Clark argues that in 16th - century England, women were engaged in many aspects of industry and agriculture . The home was a central unit of production and women played a vital role in running farms, and in some trades and landed estates . Their useful economic roles gave them a sort of equality with their husbands . However, Clark argues, as capitalism expanded in the 17th century, there was more and more division of labour with the husband taking paid labour jobs outside the home, and the wife reduced to unpaid household work . Middle - and upper - class women were confined to an idle domestic existence, supervising servants; lower - class women were forced to take poorly paid jobs . Capitalism, therefore, had a negative effect on powerful women . </P> <P> In a more positive interpretation, Ivy Pinchbeck argues that capitalism created the conditions for women's emancipation . Tilly and Scott have emphasised the continuity in the status of women, finding three stages in English history . In the pre-industrial era, production was mostly for home use and women produce much of the needs of the households . The second stage was the "family wage economy" of early industrialisation; the entire family depended on the collective wages of its members, including husband, wife and older children . The third or modern stage is the "family consumer economy," in which the family is the site of consumption, and women are employed in large numbers in retail and clerical jobs to support rising standards of consumption . </P> <P> Ideas of thrift and hard work characterized middle class families as the Industrial Revolution swept Europe . These values were displayed vibrantly in Samuel Smiles' book Self - Help, in which he states that the misery of the poorer classes was "voluntary and self - imposed - the results of idleness, thriftlessness, intemperance, and misconduct ." </P> <P> In terms of social structure, the Industrial Revolution witnessed the triumph of a middle class of industrialists and businessmen over a landed class of nobility and gentry . Ordinary working people found increased opportunities for employment in the new mills and factories, but these were often under strict working conditions with long hours of labour dominated by a pace set by machines . As late as the year 1900, most industrial workers in the United States still worked a 10 - hour day (12 hours in the steel industry), yet earned from 20% to 40% less than the minimum deemed necessary for a decent life; however, most workers in textiles, which was by far the leading industry in terms of employment, were women and children . For workers of the laboring classes, industrial life "was a stony desert, which they had to make habitable by their own efforts ." Also, harsh working conditions were prevalent long before the Industrial Revolution took place . Pre-industrial society was very static and often cruel--child labour, dirty living conditions, and long working hours were just as prevalent before the Industrial Revolution . </P>

When did the industrial revolution began in italy