As Britain developed during the Industrial Revolution, and the masses moved from rural areas to towns and cities, the wide range of industries meant that women of all classes had more choice of employment, depending on their status and location.

The wealthy women of the upper classes did not need to work unless they became impoverished following the death of their husband or father, as any money and property would pass onto a male heir. The Married Women's Property Act was introduced in 1882, and for the first time women were recognised as having a legal right to retain ownership of any land, money or property they may have been given; previously it had passed automatically to their husband.

Middle class women may have worked within family businesses performing administrative duties, and it was also acceptable for them to work outside the family as a teacher or governess.

Women of the upper working classes generally had jobs that required an education and were not seen as strenuous or improper, such as shop work, bookkeeping, teaching, and nursing.

The women of the lower working classes had the most varied, but also the most demanding, jobs. The increased number of factories, cotton mills, pits, and wealthy households all needed staffing. Women were employed particularly in the textiles, clothing, and pottery trades, as they were seen as suitably 'feminine' industries. Paid lower wages than men, Victorian women rarely held a position of authority. Domestic service was possibly the most common employment, entailing long hours and low pay - at least twelve hours a day, seven days a week, with a starting wage of £10 per year. It was possible to "work your way up" the hierarchical system of domestic service to become a housekeeper, earning more money and commanding the respect of the staff below. Domestic servants lived in small separate quarters within the houses of their masters and mistresses, so that they were constantly on hand to aid their employers.