Feminism Didn't Invent the Working Woman

Recently, I watched an interview with "tradwife" influencer Savannah Stone on the Next Gen podcast, hosted by Elliot Bewick. During the conversation, she challenged the popular claim that women didn't have careers before feminism. Her comments sparked my curiosity and sent me on a deep dive into history to examine the evidence for myself. What I found was fascinating. From ancient Egypt and Sparta to medieval Europe, colonial America, and the 1800s, women owned businesses, managed estates, practiced medicine, created art, governed kingdoms, and helped shape civilizations—all while balancing economic responsibilities with marriage, motherhood, and service to their communities. While women did not enjoy the same legal rights or opportunities in every society, the idea that they had no meaningful careers or public contributions before feminism simply does not align with the historical record. This article explores the remarkable women, and the often overlooked history, that challenges one of the most common myths about women's place in society. Ancient Egypt: A civilization that recognized women's abilities Ancient Egypt provides one of history's strongest examples of women exercising legal and economic independence. Unlike women in many neighboring civilizations, Egyptian women could own property, inherit wealth, buy and sell land, sign contracts, appear in court, and conduct business in their own names. Marriage did not erase a woman's legal identity or automatically transfer control of her property to her husband. Women worked as physicians, merchants, textile producers, musicians, artisans, priestesses, and estate managers. Elite women often supervised large agricultural operations that required managing laborers, finances, and trade. One of the earliest known physicians in recorded history was Peseshet, who lived around 2400 B.C. She held the title " Lady Overseer of the Female Physicians, " indicating that women practiced medicine and held positions of leadership within the profession. Female leadership and professional accomplishment are as old as recorded history. Egypt also produced remarkable female rulers. Hatshepsut ruled as a pharaoh during one of Egypt's most prosperous eras. Rather than seeking conquest alone, she expanded international trade, commissioned ambitious building projects, and strengthened Egypt's economy. More than a thousand years later, Cleopatra VII proved herself a gifted diplomat and strategist who navigated the dangerous politics of the Roman Republic while preserving Egypt's independence for decades. These women remind us that female leadership and professional accomplishment are as old as recorded history. Sparta: Where strong women strengthened society Ancient Sparta presents another challenge to the myth. While Spartan men devoted much of their adult lives to military service, women managed households, supervised estates, and controlled significant property. Ancient writers, even critics such as Aristotle, acknowledged that Spartan women owned a substantial share of the city's land . Spartan girls also received formal physical education, something almost unheard of elsewhere in ancient Greece. Their society believed physically strong, disciplined women were essential to raising healthy children and preserving the strength of the state. Queen Gorgo , the wife of King Leonidas I, was admired for her wisdom and political insight, and ancient historians recorded that she offered valuable counsel during Sparta's most challenging years. Another notable Spartan woman was Cynisca , the daughter of King Archidamus II, who became the first woman in Olympic history to be declared a victor when her chariot-racing team won the four-horse chariot race. Her achievement reflected the confidence and opportunities afforded to elite Spartan women. Spartan women enjoyed unusual economic influence not because they rejected family life, but because their responsibilities within the family made them indispensable to society, reminding us that strength and femininity have never been opposites. Medieval women: Builders of local economies The Middle Ages are often portrayed as a time when women disappeared into domestic life. The historical evidence tells a different story. Across Europe, women worked beside husbands in family businesses and often managed them independently. They brewed beer, produced textiles, baked bread, raised livestock, copied manuscripts, sold goods in marketplaces, and operated inns. Female brewers, known as brewsters, once dominated England's brewing industry before commercial brewing gradually shifted toward larger male-owned operations. They brewed beer, produced textiles, baked bread, raised livestock, copied manuscripts, sold goods in marketplaces, and operated inns. Religious life also offered women opportunities for education and leadership. Hildegard of Bingen became one of medieval Europe's greatest scholars. She was a physician, composer, scientist, philosopher, theologian, and abbess whose writings influenced medicine, music, and theology for centuries. Meanwhile, Christine de Pizan became one of Europe's first professional female authors. After being widowed, she supported her family through her writing, producing works on politics, ethics, history, and women's education. Far from being absent from society, medieval women helped sustain local economies, preserve knowledge, and strengthen their communities. Renaissance women left their mark The Renaissance produced women whose accomplishments earned international recognition. Artemisia Gentileschi became one of Europe's greatest Baroque painters despite working in a profession dominated by men. Her paintings earned commissions from royalty and wealthy patrons throughout Europe. Sofonisba Anguissola gained fame as a portrait artist and served in the Spanish royal court. Queen Elizabeth I guided England through one of the nation's most transformative periods, overseeing expanding trade, naval power, and cultural flourishing. These women proved that excellence, leadership, and femininity could coexist. Early America: Women building businesses and communities The early history of America provides another example of women contributing to society long before modern feminism. Women worked alongside their families as farmers, merchants, artisans, educators, healers, and business owners, helping build thriving colonial communities. Betsy Ross is remembered as a skilled upholsterer and successful business owner in Philadelphia during the Revolutionary era. While historians debate whether she created the first American flag, there is no question that she practiced a respected trade and operated her own business. Elizabeth Gooking Greenleaf became one of colonial America's first female medical practitioners, offering health care at a time when few women entered the profession. Deborah Sampson demonstrated extraordinary courage by disguising herself as a man to serve in the Continental Army during the American Revolution, proving that some women contributed directly to the fight for American independence. These women represent countless others whose work helped build early America through service to their communities. Women were already working in the 1800s Perhaps no historical misconception is more widespread than the belief that women entered the workforce only because of feminism. The truth is that women had always worked. During the 19th century , millions of women earned incomes as teachers, nurses, domestic servants, factory workers, seamstresses, farmers, writers, clerks, and shopkeepers. Others managed boardinghouses and family farms, or worked alongside husbands in small businesses. The Industrial Revolution changed where many women worked, but it did not introduce women to work itself. Perhaps no historical misconception is more widespread than the belief that women entered the workforce only because of feminism. Several remarkable women emerged during this period. Elizabeth Blackwell became the first woman to earn a medical degree in the United States in 1849 after overcoming tremendous resistance. Florence Nightingale revolutionized modern nursing through sanitation, statistical analysis, and professional education. Ada Lovelace wrote what is widely recognized as the first published computer algorithm, laying the foundation for modern computer programming more than a century before computers existed. Across Europe and America, countless women ran businesses, taught children, cared for the sick, wrote books, and supported their families through work. Why does this myth persist? One reason this myth persists is that we often judge the past by modern definitions of a career. Today, careers are typically associated with paid employment outside the home, but for much of history, economic life centered on the household. Women contributed as business owners, artisans, farmers, merchants, healers, and estate managers, often alongside their families. Another reason is that history has traditionally focused on kings, wars, and political leaders while overlooking the everyday work that sustained communities. Many women's contributions simply received less attention because they were not always recorded or celebrated . Finally, discussions of women's history often emphasize the barriers women faced without giving equal attention to the ways they contributed despite those challenges. Looking only at the obstacles can leave the mistaken impression that women had little influence before feminism. What history actually tells us The historical record shows that women were contributing to society long before modern feminism . Although legal and social reforms expanded opportunities in the 19th and 20th centuries, they did not mark the beginning of women's achievements. The examples throughout this article represent only a small fraction of the women whose work, leadership, and ingenuity helped shape history long before feminism. The myth that women had no careers before feminism doesn't just oversimplify history—it erases generations of women whose labor, leadership, and ingenuity helped build civilizations. I'm grateful that Savannah Stone's comments inspired me to examine the historical record more closely. What I found was not a history of women waiting for opportunities to appear, but a history of women who had been contributing all along. Their stories remind us that women have always had the ability to lead, create, build, and serve, and they were doing so for thousands of years before feminism.