The history of the Interior ministry's inspectresses during the Third Republic resembled that of education colleagues in several noticeable ways but differed in one important respect. The obvious similarities were, first, duties specific to gender, dating from a prison inspectress's appointment in 1843. Second, the addition of new inspectresses for children's services during the 1880s produced a backlash that limited women's role in this administrative arena, as in school inspection, for several decades. Third, challenges to their professional competence spurred women to defend their talents and the value of their work to the state and larger society. The major difference stemmed from changes in the formal responsibilities of the Interior ministry before and particularly after 1914. Whereas school inspectresses saw their contingent gradually enlarged, Interior inspectresses found their duties largely reassigned to other ministries. The number of prewar Interior inspectresses was small, but, as with school inspectresses, their roles illustrated how women and men had shaped maternalist arguments to secure public employment for women.