 The Lowell System combined large @-@ scale mechanization with an attempt to improve the stature of its female workforce and workers . A few girls who came with their mothers or older sisters were as young as ten years old , some were middle @-@ aged , but the average age was about 24 . Usually hired for contracts of one year ( the average stay was about four years ) , new employees were given assorted tasks as spare hands and paid a fixed daily wage while more experienced loom operators would be paid by the piece . They were paired with more experienced women , who trained them in the ways of the factory . 
