Science Museum Vienna: 150 Years Women's Pavilion of the Vienna World's Fair
Starting next month, the Vienna Museum of Science and Technology will present an anniversary show focusing on women's work, referring to 150 years of the Women's Pavilion at the Vienna World's Fair.
The Vienna Museum of Science and Technology at the address Mariahilfer Straße 212 in Vienna's 14th district Penzing. / Picture: © Wikimedia Commons / C.Stadler/Bwag / CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)
With the "Women's Pavilion," the Vienna World's Fair of 1873 made history and was the first to focus on the world of female labor. For the first time, female forms of employment were also visible in the lower middle classes - something completely unknown to the majority of middle-class visitors at the time.
At the same time, the Women's Pavilion also served to promote networking within the women's community and spurred on the still young women's movements in their fight for equal opportunities in education and pay. From then on, the completely new type of exhibition found international imitation at all world exhibitions.
On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the Vienna World's Fair, from May 3 to July 2, 2023, the Vienna Museum of Technology will shed light on this hitherto little-noticed aspect of the major historical event. With unique original documents and an accompanying online exhibition, the anniversary show "Women at Work - 150 Years of the Women's Pavilion at the Vienna World's Fair" provides insights into the working and living realities of women at the time and reflects on the activities and initiatives surrounding the Women's Pavilion and their consequences.
Supported by funds from the Federal Chancellery and Women's Minister Susanne Raab, the special exhibition is also accompanied by innovative mediation formats aimed specifically at girls and women. On the one hand, stereotypical gender roles in the professional world are reflected and broken through, and on the other hand, special workshops are offered that promote an open and relaxed approach to MINT topics (mathematics, computer science, natural sciences, and technology).