Complex sentence: The women, most of who were recruited from the surrounding countryside, found transition to factory life and the tediousness of repetitive tasks difficult, and the competitiveness of the textile industry made the high standards of living and working conditions difficult to maintain.
Split into simpler sentences: The women, most of who were recruited from the surrounding countryside, found transition to factory life and the tediousness of repetitive tasks difficult. And the competitiveness of the textile industry made the high standards of living and working conditions difficult to maintain.