‘Too delicate to work’? Breadwinners, Women and Work in Cape Town before the Second World War

The male-breadwinner model is at the centre of feminist research as well as research into women and work in the past. While there is much scholarly debate about the mechanisms of the model, the real-world implication is low female labour force participation rates, especially for married women, and lower wages for women than for men in that particular society. The origins and manifestations of this model have been studied and identified in different parts of the world, but research into its existence in South Africa is limited. Using a household survey conducted between October 1938 and April 1939 as its main source, this article seeks to understand whether Cape Town was a male-breadwinner society before the Second World War. This is determined by analysing the wages and working life cycles of both Coloured and white women in the city. It is established that Cape Town could be considered a male-breadwinner society just before the Second World War, but low wages caused by an array of factors excluded most Coloured households from being able to conform to this pattern.