You do not read much, right?

Women and children worked at factories. Women and childre worked at the fields. Yes, even pregnant, women did worked those jobs. But were paid less and the money controlled by a father or husband.

What women lacked was rights, not incentives to work. In fact, in many contries women weren't allowed to work or open a bank account without their husbands permision.

Unsurprisingly, once women started getting rights, they also started working on better jobs and changed their behaviour.

You might want to read more history books.