Emma Patterson
Encyclopedia
Emma Paterson was an English
feminist
and trade union
ist.
In 1875 Paterson founded Women's Protective and Provident League (which in 1903 became the Women's Trade Union League
)
, aimed at creating trade unions in all trades branded by working women. With this group she helped organize a strike in Dewsbury
of weavers
.
Paterson put emphasis on the importance of women in the labour movement
and her League was initially aimed at establishing women-only unions. This was in part due to the resistance of some of the more traditional trade unions some of whom believed that woman should not work.
The failure of the trade union movement to embrace women into the movement is a reflection of the time and the role of women in that context.
In general the demands of the WTUL were the same as other male unions, however it is notable for asking for maternity provision, co-operative homes for working women, and the vote for all women, not just women who were property owners.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
feminist
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
and trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
ist.
Life
Paterson was the daughter of a schoolteacher and married to a cabinet-maker.In 1875 Paterson founded Women's Protective and Provident League (which in 1903 became the Women's Trade Union League
Women's Trade Union League
The Women's Trade Union League was a U.S. organization of both working class and more well-off women formed in 1903 to support the efforts of women to organize labor unions and to eliminate sweatshop conditions...
)
, aimed at creating trade unions in all trades branded by working women. With this group she helped organize a strike in Dewsbury
Dewsbury
Dewsbury is a minster town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. It is to the west of Wakefield, east of Huddersfield and south of Leeds...
of weavers
Weaving
Weaving is a method of fabric production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. The other methods are knitting, lace making and felting. The longitudinal threads are called the warp and the lateral threads are the weft or filling...
.
Paterson put emphasis on the importance of women in the labour movement
Labour movement
The term labour movement or labor movement is a broad term for the development of a collective organization of working people, to campaign in their own interest for better treatment from their employers and governments, in particular through the implementation of specific laws governing labour...
and her League was initially aimed at establishing women-only unions. This was in part due to the resistance of some of the more traditional trade unions some of whom believed that woman should not work.
The failure of the trade union movement to embrace women into the movement is a reflection of the time and the role of women in that context.
In general the demands of the WTUL were the same as other male unions, however it is notable for asking for maternity provision, co-operative homes for working women, and the vote for all women, not just women who were property owners.