Abstract
A 1903 strike of tobacco worker's was triggered by the layoff of the first four women who joined the labor movement in the city of Recife. To understand why these women workers organized politically, the article analyzes events related to the strike and social representations of female work in factories as morally reprehensible. The examination of the questions raised reveals that the tobacco workers appropriated the platforms for action provided by the labor movement to gain visibility in a process of establishing a work-related gender identity.
Labor Movement; Strike; Women Workers; Gender Identity