Working Women's Centre Melbourne. (1975-1984)

Function
Social support organisation
NLA Persistent Identifier
http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-633776

Biographies

The Melbourne Working Women's Centre was the first trade union women's research and advisory centre in Australia. Established in 1975, under the auspices of the white collar union peak body, the Australian Council of Salaried and Professional Associations (ACSPA), it operated as an independent lobby and research group concentrating on women's issues in employment. When the ACSPA amalgamated with the ACTU in 1979, so too did the Working Women's Centre. It became defunct in 1984.

The Working Women's Centre (WWC) was established in 1975 with the assistance of an International Women's Year seeding grant and received ongoing support from the National Women's Advisory Council. Mary Owen and Sylvie Shaw were coordinators and the service employed two part-time migrant liason officers. A multilingual poster was the Centre's first publication followed by a discussion paper on the particular needs of migrant women. The centre's periodical Women at Work saw a growth in circulation numbers from 6000 subscriptions in 1977 to 13,000 in 1982.

The WWC conducted a range of activities from researching issues affecting women in the workforce to running training programs dealing with women's work issues (occupational health, worker's compensation, trade union training, dealing with discrimination etc). It gave expert evidence in industrial tribunals, lobbied governments and unions for changes to women's position in the workforce, participated in government committees dealing with social security and job training etc., helped establish transition programs (at TAFE colleges) for women wishing to return to the workforce, spoke regularly at workplaces, conducted research on shift work, child care and occupational health problems including stress among 'blue collar' women workers, and developed a Register of Women in Non-Traditional jobs made up of women who would go to schools and community groups to talk about breaking the 'traditional' workforce mould.

View the full record at Australian Women's Register

Related people and organisations

Resources for Working Women's Centre Melbourne.

Selected resources (3)

Australian Women's Register

  1. Getting Equal: The History of Australian Feminism
    Lake, Marilyn
    [1999]
    Published: Allen & Unwin
  2. The University of Melbourne Archives: Working Women's Centre Papers (1907 - 1985)
    Minutes and agendas 1977-1981, reports, consultants, material on major womens'organisations, conferences including Womens' Trade Union on the problems of working women and labour. Also subject files on womens' welfare issues including education, employment, health and safety and equal opportunity. Subject files and photographs. Mainly offprints, cuttings etc., of articles and papers relating to aspects of women and work - unionism, equal pay, etc. includes copy of material about the First Exhibition of Women's Work, namely: 1 Copy of introduction from programme of opening ceremony; 2 List of office-bearers (includes JW Barret) 3 Series of articles written by Mrs EF Allan for the Argus describing exhibition in detail15/10-1/121907 NB A full catalogue of the First Exhibition of Women's. Work is now available on microfiche at the Latrobe Library Outwards correspondence files, 1975-1977 Subject files:- Women: Health; Education; Family Planning; Technology; Occupational health and safety; Equal pay; Discrimination; Other. Accession No 80 70, 86 89, 86 134, 88 102, 88 93
  3. State Library of Victoria, Australian Manuscripts Collection: Papers of Mary Owen (1951 - 1997)
    Records of activities of the Melbourne Working Women's Centre; submissions to various enquiries into matters concerning women; contributions to Progressive Reform Party; minutes of meetings of the Australian Council of Salaried and Professional Associations (ACSPA) Women's Committee.
    MS 13367

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