What does 'whereas' mean in this sentence?

[cooliegirly]

"This serves to confirm the view of one Victorian man, born in 1790, that whereas his mother had confidently joined in the family auctioneering business, the increased division of the sexes had seen the withdrawal of women from business life."

What does whereas mean in the above context?

[Mister Micawber]

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Here, whereas = while; when in fact; while on the contrary; the case being in truth that; although; -- implying opposition to something that precedes; or implying recognition of facts, sometimes followed by a different statement, and sometimes by inferences or something consequent. (to quote Webster's 1913 edition-- it is a word not used much now, except in formal documents)
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Canadian-American native speaker
who teaches English for a living at Mister Micawber's
ESL cafe: Interview with Mister Micawber

[cooliegirly]

So although his mother joined in the family business, other women were actually dropping out from the business world. Is that what it means?

[Alan]

Hi cooliegirly,

Exactly. Whereas is quite a literary word although it is used in formal speech also and simply means although especially when you want to make a contrast stronger. Look at this: Whereas most people start their working day around 8 or 9 in the morning, people delivering the post have to start at 3 or 4 in the morning.

Alan
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English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story The Name of the Game