Gender, Rhetoric and Regulation : Women's Work in the Civil Service and the London County Council, 1900–55

Investigates women’s employment in the British Civil Service and London County Council during the twentieth century, providing a new perspective on the development of the women’s movement. -- .

The Civil Service and the London County Council employed tens of thousands of women in Britain in the early twentieth century. As public employers these institutions influenced both each other and private organisations, thereby serving as a barometer or benchmark for the conditions of women''s white-collar employment. This is the first book-length study of women''s public service employment in this period. It is also a new lens through which to examine the women''s movement in this period and a contribution to the debate about the effect of the First World War on women''s employment.The book examines three key aspects of women''s public service employment: inequality of pay, the marriage bar and inequality of opportunity. In so doing, it delineates the levels of regulation and rhetoric surrounding women''s employment and the extent to which notions about femininity and womanhood shaped employment policies and, ultimately, women''s experiences in the workplace. It draws on a wide range of archival sources, including policy documents, trade union records, women''s movement campaign literature and employees'' personal testimony.Scholars and students with interests in gender, British social and cultural history and labour history will find this an invaluable text.