The Women's Industrial Council (WIC) was a British organisation active from 1894 to about 1917, promoting the interests of women at work.

Federation

The organisation originated as the Women's Trade Union Association, founded by Clementina Black in the

East End of London The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

in 1889. It was intended to be a

federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...

of women's trade unions, with early affiliates including the East London Ropemakers' Union, led by Amie Hicks, and the confectioners' union, whose leader, Clara James, became assistant secretary of the association. The federation was supported by leading figures from 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 ...

, including Hicks, and also male trade unionists such as

John Burns John Elliot Burns (20 October 1858 – 24 January 1943) was an English trade unionist and politician, particularly associated with London politics and Battersea. He was a socialist and then a Liberal Member of Parliament and Minister. He was ...

and

Tom Mann Thomas Mann (15 April 1856 – 13 March 1941), was an English trade unionist and is widely recognised as a leading, pioneering figure for the early labour movement in Britain. Largely self-educated, Mann became a successful organiser and a ...

. However, its membership soon began to fall, and it was refounded as the "Women's Industrial Council" in 1894, with a focus on investigating and reporting on the conditions under which women worked.

Investigation

Under the new leadership of

Catherine Webb Catherine Webb (born 1986) is a British author. She also writes fantasy novels for adults under the name Kate Griffin, and she writes science fiction as Claire North. Life Webb was educated at the Godolphin and Latymer School, London, and th ...

, this new mission proved more successful, with more than one hundred trades investigated. Most research was conducted in London, but some in other British cities. Hicks and James objected to the research focus and finally left in 1908, but many other women, later to become prominent, became involved. They included

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 ...

, Ishbel Gordon, Elizabeth Leigh Hutchins, Mary Macarthur, Margaret MacDonald, Lucy Wyatt Papworth and Dorothea Margaret Zimmern, and suffragette Louise Eates. The work of the organisation slowed during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and it appears to have disbanded around 1917.

References

Feminist organisations in the United Kingdom 1894 establishments in the United Kingdom Organizations established in 1894 {{fem-org-stub

Federation

Investigation

Archives

References