The Clockwork Factory

the long version

Fascist ideology called for women to return to home and hearth, yet in Italy millions of women continued to work throughout the interwar period despite the precepts of Mussolini's regime. The Clockwork Factory focuses on the history of Magneti Marelli, near Milan - perhaps the most modern, Americanized firm in Italy at this time and its female workers. Perry R. Willson examines the development of the company before and during the Second World War, and traces its management's attempts to increase productivity by emphasizing the 'human factor of production'. Placing gender relations at the heart of this factory history, Dr Willson explores the factors which shaped women's lives, how they experienced work, leisure, maternity, and politics under the fascist state. Her book is an important contribution to industrial history, and offers vivid and illuminating insights into the lives of working women in Mussolini's Italy.