Struggles, Strikes and Solidarity - Women Workers in the 1900s IN PERSON

In 1907 a branch of the National Federation of Women Workers was formed in Taunton after a strike by women and girls at a shirt and collar factory. The women had to pay for the cotton they used to make the firm’s garments and when the employers increased this charge, the women made their feelings plain and walked out.

Their story bears similarities with the working conditions and experiences of thousands of underpaid women industrial workers in the early 20th century. This talk examines some of the challenges and struggles faced by women and highlights the extraordinary efforts, often against the odds, to organise them into an all-women trade union, led by the charismatic Mary Macarthur.

Speaker Cathy Hunt is an independent historian who is fascinated by the everyday lives of women workers in Britain in the first half of the 20th century. Her publications include a history of the National Federation of Women Workers and a biography of its leader, Mary Macarthur.

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Host or Publisher South West Heritage Trust