Annie "Anne" Gillespie Shaw

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(28 May 1904 – 4 February 1982) was a Scottish engineer and businesswoman. Shaw specialised in

time and motion studies A time and motion study (or time-motion study) is a business efficiency technique combining the Time Study work of Frederick Winslow Taylor with the Motion Study work of Frank and Lillian Gilbreth (the same couple as is best known through the biog ...

. In 1945, she founded the Anne Shaw Organisation Ltd, a consulting company.

Life and career

Shaw was born in

Uddingston Uddingston ( sco, Uddinstoun, gd, Baile Udain) is a small town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is on the north side of the River Clyde, south-east of Glasgow city centre, and acts as a dormitory suburb for the city. Geography and boundaries ...

, Scotland, on 28 May 1904 to Helen Brown Shaw, a politician who became MP for Bothwell in 1931, and David Perston Shaw. She attended St Leonard's School in

St Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fou ...

and Laurel Bank School in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

. She studied at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

before taking her postgraduate certificate at

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh: ) is a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded as a Quaker institution in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the Seven Sister colleges, a group of elite, historically women's colleges in the United St ...

Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania Bryn Mawr, pronounced , from Welsh for big hill, is a census-designated place (CDP) located across three townships: Radnor Township and Haverford Township in Delaware County, and Lower Merion Township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It i ...

. Shaw met Dr Lillian Gilbreth at Bryn Mawr College and became Gilbreth's research assistant in the field of Motion Study. Shaw then began working at Gilbreth, Inc. until 1930 when she returned to the UK. She was a personnel officer at

Metropolitan-Vickers Metropolitan-Vickers, Metrovick, or Metrovicks, was a British heavy electrical engineering company of the early-to-mid 20th century formerly known as British Westinghouse. Highly diversified, it was particularly well known for its industrial el ...

before becoming chief supervisor of women workers in 1933, and was the company's chief motion-study investigator between 1930 and 1945. She was also a consultant to the

Associated Electrical Industries Associated Electrical Industries (AEI) was a British holding company formed in 1928 through the merger of the British Thomson-Houston Company (BTH) and Metropolitan-Vickers electrical engineering companies. In 1967 AEI was acquired by GEC, to c ...

group of which Metropolitan-Vickers was a part. Shaw joined the

Women's Engineering Society The Women's Engineering Society is a United Kingdom professional learned society and networking body for women engineers, scientists and technologists. It was the first professional body set up for women working in all areas of engineering, pred ...

in 1935. At the 13th annual conference of the Society, Shaw gave a presentation on her study of motion at the

Science Museum A science museum is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, industry and industrial machinery, etc. Modern trends in mu ...

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

, London. In late 1936, Shaw helped produce a film for the

Electrical Association for Women The Electrical Association for Women (EAW) was a feminist and educational organisation founded in Great Britain in 1924 to promote the benefits of electricity in the home. History The Electrical Association for Women developed in 1924 from a p ...

which demonstrated the application of motion study concerning food preparation in the home. On 31 May 1937, she was selected by the National Institute of Industrial Psychology to lecture on modern developments in the study of time and motion. On 26 November 1937, at the Metropolitan-Vickers Debating Society, Shaw served as an opponent of a motion "That the Introduction of Female Apprentices to these works is to be deplored". As a result of her opposing voice, alongside those of Gertrude Entwisle, Dorothy Smith, and the speech of Dorothy Garfitt, a recently accepted apprentice, the motion lost by a margin of 17 votes. Shaw married John H. Pirie in 1937 and they had three children. To continue working at Metropolitan-Vickers as a married woman, and to ensure the continued employment of her colleague Margery Havelock after her wedding in 1937, Shaw persuaded the Company Board in 1938 to remove its marriage bar. Shaw was recruited by the Minister of Aircraft Production,

Stafford Cripps Sir Richard Stafford Cripps (24 April 1889 – 21 April 1952) was a British Labour Party politician, barrister, and diplomat. A wealthy lawyer by background, he first entered Parliament at a by-election in 1931, and was one of a handful of La ...

, in 1942 and during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, she worked on the Production Efficiency Board as an adviser to the aircraft industry. In 1945, Shaw established the Anne Shaw Organisation Ltd of which she was the chairman and managing director until 1975. Between 1964 and 1979, she was also the director of Wescot Ltd.

Death and legacy

In the

1954 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1954 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1954 to celebrat ...

she was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

for services in the field of personnel management. Shaw died on 4 February 1982 in

Macclesfield Macclesfield is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Bollin in the east of the county, on the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its east ...

, Cheshire, aged 77. In 2017, Shaw was inducted into the

Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame The Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame honours "those engineers from, or closely associated with, Scotland who have achieved, or deserve to achieve, greatness", as selected by an independent panel representing Scottish engineering institutions, aca ...

Publications

She published “An Introduction to the Theory and Application of Motion Study" in 1944, "The Full Application of Motion Study" in 1950, and "The Purpose and Practice of Motion Study" in 1952.

External links

Portrait of Anne Gillespie Shaw by Madame Yvonde - National Gallery

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaw, Anne Gillespie 1904 births 1982 deaths Scottish engineers People from Uddingston People educated at St Leonards School People educated at Laurel Bank School Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Bryn Mawr College alumni Metropolitan-Vickers people 20th-century British engineers 20th-century women engineers Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame inductees Women's Engineering Society Scottish women engineers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire