By the early 1930s, the Santa Clara Valley’s canneries were the largest employers of women in California. Margo McBane, SJSU History professor and Sourisseau Board member, tells us their story of 18-hour workdays, with employment opportunity divided along gender, ethnic, and racial lines.
This month’s Sourisseau Academy news video explores the experience of working in orchards and nurseries in Morgan Hill, where women’s work, though somewhat different than that in the canneries, was equally intense.