The First Gig Workers Lowell, Massachusetts. 1837. A 31-year-old woman from New Hampshire, Sarah Bagley arrives to work as a weaver. The job promises education, independence, a chance to send money home. The mill owners market it as a step up from farm life. It was pretty common at that time for women to work, especially if they were unmarried or widowed. Most working conditions were physically demanding, time intensive and insecure - working long hours, in unsafe environment