The Household Service Demonstration Project (HSDP) was a

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

(WPA) project designed to train women for domestic employment.

History

The project was an offshoot of the Household Workers’ Training Program. The WPA announced the project in March 1937. It got under way around July 1937 and ended it in January 1942. The project was formally authorized by

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

in 1938. It offered training and employment in WPA training centers giving demonstrations of housework. The WPA designed it to promote the employment of women certified as qualified for private household employment and to promote the techniques of household service.

Accomplishments

The project trained 30,000 women. Middle-aged women were preferred due to the perceived unreliability and increased risk of marriage of younger women. The project employed 1,700 women to give two- and three-month courses in cooking and serving food, house and

child care Child care, otherwise known as day care, is the care and supervision of a child or multiple children at a time, whose ages range from two weeks of age to 18 years. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(r ...

washing Washing is a method of cleaning, usually with water and soap or detergent. Washing and then rinsing both body and clothing is an essential part of good hygiene and health. Often people use soaps and detergents to assist in the emulsification o ...

ironing Ironing is the use of a machine, usually a heated tool (an iron), to remove wrinkles and unwanted creases from fabric. The heating is commonly done to a temperature of 180–220 °Celsius (356-428 Fahrenheit), depending on the fabric. Ironing wor ...

, and

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. Other skills taught included

table setting Table setting (laying a table) or place setting refers to the way to set a table with tableware—such as eating utensils and for serving and eating. The arrangement for a single diner is called a place setting. It is also the layout in which ...

, home management, budgeting and knitting.

The Program

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, during the course of their training, trainees were paid $46 a month. After passing written and oral exams, diplomas were awarded to graduates. After completing training, a graduate could make $60 a month as a domestic.

Locations

Demonstration sites were located at 400 South Capitol Street in

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, and at 217 E Boone Ave in

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Assessments

The HSDP was called

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt () (October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four ...

’s favorite project. It was part of the WPA’s traditional emphasis. The assistant state supervisor of seven household service projects in Pennsylvania was reported as saying, "There is something so obvious about a woman working in a home that I wonder why a project such as this wasn't begun many years ago."

References

{{Reflist Works Progress Administration 1937 establishments in the United States 1942 disestablishments in the United States