Feminist maternalists and the French state: Two Inspectresses General in the pre-World War I Third Republic

Although recent historians of women reformers' contributions to the develop ment of welfare states have underscored the importance of maternalist argum ents for opening new roles to women in the public sphere. French examples o f women filling such roles have been neglected. The careers of inspectresse s general Pauline Kergomard and Olympe Gevin-Cassal provide case studies th at illustrate the link between maternalism and women's access to positions of responsibility in public administration in pre-World War I France. Kergo mard, an inspectress general of nursery schools, and Gevin-Cassal, an inspe ctress general of children's services for the Ministry of the Interior, uti lized maternalist discourse to defend their positions and advocate new prof essional opportunities for other women. Their secular outlooks suited the a nticlerical Third Republic but differentiated them from Catholic women. Gen der-specific assignments gave women a place in some inspectorates before 19 14 but their numbers were restricted.