A large building or group of buildings where goods are made, usually by machines in large quantities.
From Late Latin “factorium” meaning “office or place of a factor,” from Latin “factor” meaning “maker” or “doer.” It shifted from meaning a trading post to meaning a place where goods are produced.
A factory is literally a “place of doers” or “makers,” built from the same root as “factor” and “manufacture.” The word remembers a time when human workers were seen as the key “factors” driving production, long before machines dominated.
Factories have historically been sites of gendered labor division, with women often confined to lower-paid, lower-status roles despite major contributions, especially in textile and wartime industries. Language around factories has sometimes erased women workers by defaulting to male imagery like 'factory men' or 'workmen.'
Use gender-neutral terms for workers and managers, and avoid assuming factory roles are predominantly male or female unless historically accurate and explicitly stated.
["plant","production facility","manufacturing site"]
When discussing industrial history, explicitly acknowledge women’s roles in factories, such as munitions workers, textile workers, and assembly-line operators whose labor was often minimized or unpaid.
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