Women’s war efforts go on show
The contribution of local women to the war effort will be in the spotlight at a new exhibition at the Museum of Bath at Work. Equal in Everything will focus on the beginnings of the movement towards equality in the workplace for women, examining their experiences during the First World War. The exhibition funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund will show how women were making munitions and aircraft in 1914 as well as filling the jobs made vacant following the enlistment and conscription of the city’s young men. Director Stuart Burroughs said: “As part of the centenary events to mark the end of the Great War in 1918 and against the backdrop of the celebrations of women getting the vote in the same year, we thought we’d concentrate on the unsung working heroines of the home front in Bath during that war. “Many supporters of the suffragists and suffragettes thought the women getting the vote would lead directly to equality in the workplace and beyond. Instead it took until 1970 for Barbara Castle’s Equal Pay Act to come into law, for example. “While this exhibition is an historical one and concentrates on the work, the strikes and the working conditions between 1914 and 1918, we’ve looked at how the fight for women’s rights in the workplace, has carried on into our own time.” The exhibition features contributions from students at Bath Spa University who interviewed local people regarding their thoughts on how things have changed since 1918 for women in the workplace. B&NES Council has also helped fund the exhibition at the museum in Julian Road which opens on August 30 and runs until November 1.