International Industrial Relations Institute was an international organisation that existed from 1925 to 1947. The first proposal to establish an organisation for the "study and improvement of human conditions in industry" arose in the First International Conference on Industrial Welfare at the Chateau d' Argeronne, Argonne,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in 1922. The institute was led by

Mary van Kleeck Mary Abby van Kleeck (June 26, 1883June 8, 1972) was an American social scientist of the 20th century. She was a notable figure in the American labor movement as well as a proponent of scientific management and a planned economy. An American of ...

, an American social reformer, and Mary Fleddérus, a Dutch activist, and approached

scientific management Scientific management is a theory of management that analyzes and synthesizes workflows. Its main objective is improving economic efficiency, especially labor productivity. It was one of the earliest attempts to apply science to the engineer ...

from a particular perspective: what they termed the human factor. From the outset it had close links with women's organisations such as the World Young Women's Christian Association and the

Women's Trade Union League The Women's Trade Union League (WTUL) (1903–1950) was a U.S. organization of both working class and more well-off women to support the efforts of women to organize labor unions and to eliminate sweatshop conditions. The WTUL played an important ...

. It was founded by four distinct groups of activists: # State employed women factory inspectors # World Young Women's Christian Association activists involved in industrial reform # women employed by industrial welfare units # enlightened industrialists employing large numbers of women

Congresses

First Congress, Vlissingen 1925

The first congress was held in

Vlissingen Vlissingen (; zea, label=Zeelandic, Vlissienge), historically known in English as Flushing, is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands on the former island of Walcheren. With its strategic l ...

in 1925. This was entitled "The International Industrial Welfare (Personnel) Congress". The Institute was established and agreed to fold a congress every third year.

Kerstin Hesselgren Kerstin Hesselgren (14 January 1872 – 19 August 1962) was a Swedish politician. Hesselgren became the first woman to be elected into the Upper House of the Swedish Parliament after female suffrage was introduced in 1921. She was elected by sug ...

was elected President with three vice presidents:

Cees van der Leeuw Cees (Cornelis) Hendrik van der Leeuw, (15 March 1890, Rotterdam – 19 May 1973) was a Dutch industrialist and subsequently psychiatrist. He is also noted for commissioning the Van Nelle Factory. He was a representative of the reconstruction of ...

, the dutch industrialist,

Renée de Montmort Renée Lydie Charlotte Marguerite Loppin de Montmort (2 August 1881, Paris – 30 November 1960, La Haye-Malherbe, Eure), was the founder of social works and the international curator of Guides de France. Background Renée came from a wealthy f ...

from France, and

Louise Odencrantz Louise C. Odencrantz (22 August 1884, Gothenburg, Nebraska – 7 April 1969, New York City) was an American social scientist. She was an empirical labor economist who focused on women’s labor force experience. Education and early career Born ...

from the USA.

Second Congress, Cambridge 1928

The Second Congress was held in

Girton College Girton College is one of the Colleges of the University of Cambridge, 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college in Cambridge. In 1 ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, 27 June - 2 July. The theme was the "Fundamental Relationships between all Sections of the Industrial Community." Kerstin Hesselgren resigned as President and

Dorothy Cadbury Dorothy Adlington Cadbury (14 October 1892 – 21 August 1987) was an English botanist and director of confectionery company Cadbury's. Born in Birmingham, she was the oldest child of Dame Geraldine Cadbury (1864–1941) and Barrow Cadbury (18 ...

as Treasurer. Cees van der Leeuw became the new president with Charles E. Jacob as treasurer.

Third Congress, Amsterdam 1931

The organisation sponsored

Otto Neurath Otto Karl Wilhelm Neurath (; 10 December 1882 – 22 December 1945) was an Austrian-born philosopher of science, sociologist, and political economist. He was also the inventor of the ISOTYPE method of pictorial statistics and an innovator in mu ...

's presentation "Das gegenwärtige Wachstum der Produktionskapazität der Welt" at the

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

conference of 1931. Van Kleeck was the institute's associate director from 1928–1946. Over 200 participants came from over 26 countries to discuss how social-economic planning could affect industrial relations.

Prominent members

Adelaide Anderson Dame Adelaide Mary Anderson, DBE (8 April 1863 – 28 August 1936) was a British civil servant and labour activist, particularly interested in child labour and conditions in China. She served as HM Principal Lady Inspector of Factories from ...

Lillian Moller Gilbreth Lillian Evelyn Gilbreth (; May 24, 1878 – January 2, 1972) was an American psychologist, industrial engineer, consultant, and educator who was an early pioneer in applying psychology to time-and-motion studies. She was described in the 1940s ...

References

{{Authority control International economic organizations