Women, workplace protest and political identity in England, 1968-85 / Jonathan Moss.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Moss, Jonathan, author.

Series:

Gender in history.

Gender in history

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Women in the labor movement--Great Britain--History--20th century.

Women in the labor movement.

Working class women--Political activity--Great Britain--History--20th century.

Working class women.

Strikes and lockouts--Great Britain--History--20th century.

Strikes and lockouts.

Equal pay for equal work--Great Britain.

Equal pay for equal work.

Feminism--Great Britain--History--20th century.

Feminism.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (ix, 197 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Manchester : Manchester University Press, 2019.

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

This book draws on original research into women's workplace protest to deliver a new account of working-class women's political identity and participation in post-war England. In doing so, the book contributes a fresh understanding of the relationship between feminism, workplace activism and trade unionism during the years 1968-85. The study covers a period that has been identified with the 'zenith' of trade union militancy. The women's liberation movement (WLM) also emerged in this period, which produced a shift in public debates about gender roles and relations in the home and the workplace. Industrial disputes involving working-class women have been commonly understood as evidence of women's growing participation in the labour movement, and as evidence of the influence of second-wave feminism on working-class women's political consciousness. However, the voices and experiences of female workers who engaged in workplace protest remain largely unexplored. The book addresses this space through detailed analysis of four industrial disputes that were instigated by working-class women. It shows that labour force participation was often experienced or viewed as a claim to political citizenship in late modern England. A combination of oral history and written sources is used to illuminate how everyday experiences of gender and class antagonism shaped working-class women's political identity and participation.

Contents:

Contextualising women's workplace activism in post-war England

The Ford Sewing machinist's strike, 1968, Dagenham

The Trico-Folberth equal pay strike, Brentford, 1976

Sexton's shoe factory occupation and Fakenham Enterprises, Norfolk, 1972-77

The Ford Sewing machinists' strike, Dagenham, 1984-1985

Conclusion - Appendix: Timeline of women's workplace militancy in Britain, 1968-85.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 10 Jul 2026).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781526160430

1526160439

9781526124890

1526124890

OCLC:

1273307586