Feminist Archive North

The 1975 Sex Discrimination Act (SDA) didn’t immediately bring full equality for women. A new donation of materials to FAN collected by Bridget Robson contains press cuttings relating to the case of Marianne Schmidt, who was sacked by a Leeds bookshop in 1976 for wearing trousers. Marianne took a case of sex discrimination to an Employment Tribunal, but it ruled that since men did not have a choice of wearing trousers or a skirt there was no basis for comparison under the SDA. Marianne appealed, but lost.

Bridget’s collection also contains documents and photographs relating to her extensive peace activism, including photographs of her journey with the Red Lorry Women for Peace delivering donated supplies to former Yugoslavia in the early 1990s. Details in the Bridget Robson Collection.

“I think that was the beginning…some of the more feminist groups thinking we need to create … a democratic organisation that is feminist and that doesn’t allow one person to head it up.” (Liz Kelly, Women’s Aid founder member)
Join Feminist Archive North as we celebrate the launch of our new oral history project, which documents the founding of National Women’s Aid through the voices of the women who were there at the beginning. National Women’s Aid founders Elizabeth Woodcraft and Liz Kelly will be speaking and we’ll hear selected recordings that explore the origins of the Women’s Aid movement. It takes place in the gallery which is currently hosting the Animated Activism: Women Empowered exhibition, so it’s going to be a full-on feminist event.

We interviewed 12 women for the project, which was supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The interviews are now on our website: go to the Collections page and scroll down to Digital Oral Histories to find the link.

Perspectives from Feminist Archive North and Beyond

The UK’s Electrical Association for Women (EAW) was launched 100 years ago, on 12 November 1924. For more than six decades the EAW promoted women’s professional expertise in electrifying the home, and launched qualification schemes that enabled thousands of women to hold technical careers. Yorkshire was a major locus of activity, with many EAW branches inspired by the example of Laura Annie Willson: former suffragette, Halifax engineer-house builder and President of the EAW’s parent organisation, the Women’s Engineering Society (founded 1919).

Please join us at this free event to discuss Feminist Archive North’s historical collections relating to the EAW – books, journals, badges and tea-towels – and reflect with us on what the EAW’s legacy might mean for women’s roles in achieving a de-carbonised world.

Speakers: Lynette Willoughby (Former President of Women’s Engineering Society, & FAN Archive volunteer), Katie Carpenter (Lecturer in Public History, School of History, University of Leeds) and Graeme Gooday (Professor of History of Science & Technology, School of PRHS, University of Leeds).

Event details: Tuesday 12 November 12-1 (with free bookable lunch 1-2 pm). at Treasures of the Brotherton Gallery, Parkinson Court, University of Leeds, LS2 9JT.  Map location here.

Advance booking essential – please book no later than Tuesday 5 November. Booking

Our Textiles and Banners collection is one of our most used by researchers. We have recently reorganised it to make items easier to find and to see, and improved the cataloguing. The collection mainly consists of t-shirts and banners, but also includes other items such as tea towels, scarves, tote bags and placards. More items are being added regularly. You can see the collection at Textiles and Banners.

Feminist Audio Books (FAB) was set up in the 1980s to produce feminist, lesbian and woman-focused material in audio, and to act as a postal audio library for women who could not use print. FAB has been in abeyance for a number of years, and is currently in a spare bedroom. This is a waste of excellent resources which are still important today.

FAB has over 250 brilliant and important books on cassette tape that are not available commercially or from other audio libraries. They are looking to bring together a group who are interested in reviving FAB: identifying the best way to go forward, converting the current stock to digital media, and making more audio books available at low or no cost to women.

If you think you can be part of a group to move FAB forward, please email contact.feministaudio@gmail.com