Women's Project

The Women's Project is a snapshot of topics that have affected women's lives in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Nationally, the position of women as subordinate was being challenged by the women's suffrage movement. However it was the call for women to take over work that was previously done by men, during WW1 and WW2, that would challenge women's perceptions of their role in society.

Within working-class communities a woman's role was vital to the well-being of the household. Women had to be good at 'making do' on the limited income of their husband or father and most worked to supplement the family budget. Within the home, domestic life was hard work.

An informal network of women supported each other, not only through sharing the little they had, but also in giving of their time and skills to help a neighbour. Women had roles within their communities and a family would know who to call in if help was needed, for example: to scrub a floor, bodge a rug, or layout the dead.

The people who have contributed oral histories recall the efforts of their mothers and grandmothers to raise their children and 'make ends meet'. The consequences of failing to manage were dire, with families being taken into the workhouse or children into care.

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