Employment Organisations

Abstract

Two major types of working women's organisations developed around the turn of the century. The first type, women's unions, began with the tailoresses in the late nineteenth century. The second type, professional or 'white blouse' associations of businesswomen, women teachers, nurses and doctors, made clear their distance from trade unionism. The waves of institution-making which followed in the twentieth century were fashioned along this axis. Sometimes, bonds of sisterhood led to alliances between the two, for example for mobilisation during wartime, or equal pay. At other times, working women's organisations disagreed, and class consciousness appeared to be in conflict with female culture. Thus there was no consensus on how to deal with the shortage of domestic servants, or female unemployment during the Depression. Relationships among working women is one major theme of the history of their organisations. Their relationships with their male co-workers is a second theme: here the issue is one of sexual separatism – separate organisation by women – versus integration. Show more