Maud M. A. Ward was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

socialist activist. The daughter of an Anglican vicar, she studied at the National Training School of Cookery and became a cook. She became interested in socialism and joined the

Social Democratic Federation The Social Democratic Federation (SDF) was established as Britain's first organised socialist political party by H. M. Hyndman, and had its first meeting on 7 June 1881. Those joining the SDF included William Morris, George Lansbury, James Con ...

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the Weald, High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Roc ...

, teaching a class on Marxist economics. Ward supported

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

, joining the

Adult Suffrage Society The Adult Suffrage Society was one of several organisations formed in the United Kingdom during the Victorian and Edwardian eras, with the objective of campaigning for the extension of voting rights to women. Unlike bodies such as the Pankhursts' ...

, and serving as its secretary from 1908 to 1909. She was also on the

Women's Labour League The Women's Labour League (WLL) was a pressure organisation, founded in London in 1906, to promote the political representation of women in parliament and local bodies. The idea was first suggested by Mary Macpherson, a linguist and journalist wh ...

committee and was a close friend of its leader,

Margaret Bondfield Margaret Grace Bondfield (17 March 1873 – 16 June 1953) was a British Labour Party politician, trade unionist and women's rights activist. She became the first female cabinet minister, and the first woman to be a privy counsellor in th ...

, who shared a house with her and Ethel Clarke at one time. In 1911, Ward gave up activism to become the Chief Woman Inspector for the

National Insurance Act 1911 The National Insurance Act 1911 created National Insurance, originally a system of health insurance for industrial workers in Great Britain based on contributions from employers, the government, and the workers themselves. It was one of the foun ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Maud Social Democratic Federation members Socialist feminists 20th-century British women 19th-century births 20th-century deaths Year of birth missing Year of death missing