The years leading up to the First World War were exciting and successful times for women’s trade unionism. Membership increased and many female trade unionists were in positions of leadership. These trends did not continue. The years that followed the War proved to be a period of decline for Women’s trade unionism in Britain
During the First World War, with millions of men in the armed forces, large numbers of women entered the workforce for the first time. Women were encouraged by important trade unionists, such as Mary Macarthur of the National Federation of Women Workers (N.F.W.W.), to join a union in order to gain protection from long hours and low wages. Many women did join, and overall female trade union membership increased from less than half a million to well over one million..
When the War ended, some men and women’s unions decided to join together. This decision seemed to cause female trade union membership to fall. Whereas in 1918 1.2 million women had been unionised, in 1933 the figure stood at just 0.7 million.
A decrease was to be expected as many women had left paid employment following the end of the War, but other issues also caused membership to slump. Women members felt excluded and viewed the recruitment of new male members as taking top priority. Women also seemed to play only a minor part in the management of mixed unions and their local influence declined as female officers died or resigned and were replaced by men.
The high male unemployment that existed after the War led to women workers being resented by some male trade unionists. Women were accused of taking jobs from men who had families to support. It was rarely taken into account that some women had no choice but to work. Many women had been left widowed by the War or could not marry because of a shortage of men. It was also unfair to accuse women of stealing male jobs as they rarely worked in the same industries as men.
By July 1933 only one out of seven women workers was in a union and so the T.U.C. finally decided to take action. The TUC General Council began a ‘Back to Unions’ campaign where they distributed leaflets, posters and a monthly newsletter. A number of articles promoting trade unionism also appeared in Reynolds’ News, the Daily Herald and the Star.
It was an improvement in economic conditions, rather than union recruitment efforts, which led to an eventual increase in women’s trade union membership. By 1939 female membership once again stood at over one million. However, it was to be a long time before female trade unionists were to reclaim the high profile they had enjoyed in the first two decades of the twentieth century.
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| Reference: | 759 |
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| Updated: | Wed 9 Jul 2008 - 10 |
| Interpretation written by | Lynn Sinclair |
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