Eileen Louisa Powell (3 August 1913 – 19 July 1997) was an Australian

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...

ist and women's activist. She was

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

' first female industrial advocate. She joined the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms t ...

as a teenager in 1928, becoming assistant secretary of the party's Stanmore branch in 1929. She worked as a shop assistant at Grace Brothers on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

before becoming a journalist with the ''

Labor Daily The ''Labor Daily'' was a Sydney-based journal/newspaper of the early to mid 20th century. An organ of the Australian Labor Party, it was published in Sydney by Stanley Roy Wasson after the ailing ''Daily Mail'' was absorbed by Labor Papers Ltd, w ...

''. She worked for Labor Head Office from 1929 to 1936. Powell was employed by the

Australian Railways Union The Australian Railways Union (ARU) was an Australian trade union in existence from 1920 to 1993. The ARU was an industrial union, representing all types of workers employed in the rail industry, excluding locomotive enginedrivers and tradesme ...

(ARU) from 1937, working as de facto editor of the journal, the ''Railroad''. In 1938, the ARU took the Railways Department to the Conciliation Commissioner, based largely on Powell's findings during research on the Railway Refreshment Rooms offered for female employees. The Commissioner awarded the women a small pay increase but did not address the major issues of the case. 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 opposing ...

, Powell worked for the Commonwealth Department of Labour and National Service. Women were at that time performing many jobs on the

home front Home front is an English language term with analogues in other languages. It is commonly used to describe the full participation of the British public in World War I who suffered Zeppelin raids and endured food rations as part of what came t ...

, and Powell was instrumental in the creation of the Industrial Welfare Division to oversee that process. She then returned to the ARU, hosting a popular daily radio session on Radio 2KY (1944–52). She was then appointed as Australia's correspondent of the International Labor Organisation Committee of Experts on Women's Work by the Curtin Government, on the recommendation of Albert Monk, president of the

Australian Council of Trade Unions The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), originally the Australasian Council of Trade Unions, is the largest peak body representing workers in Australia. It is a national trade union centre of 46 affiliated unions and eight trades and l ...

. In 1948, she married Fred Coleman-Browne, a journalist with ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

''. Powell ran unsuccessfully as the Labor candidate for North Sydney at the 1951 federal election. She later gave evidence at the National Wage Case in 1969, which adopted

equal pay Equal pay for equal work is the concept of labour rights that individuals in the same workplace be given equal pay. It is most commonly used in the context of sexual discrimination, in relation to the gender pay gap. Equal pay relates to the full ...

for equal work, and was awarded the Silver Jubilee Medal in 1977. Powell died in 1997.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Powell, Eileen 1913 births 1997 deaths Australian trade unionists Australian feminists 20th-century Australian women