As part of our Black History Month celebrations, we commissioned a ‘long read’ from the fabulous Kesewa John. Enjoy! The sovereignty of Ethiopia was compromised from November 1934, when Italy attempted to claim land inside the border Ethiopia shared with…
Category: Blog
The Women’s History Network blog
A Hidden History: African women and the British Health Service, 1930-2000 by Olivia Mason
In a standout piece from Olivia Mason of the Young Historians Project, we hear about the latest project of the group: A Hidden History: African women and the British Health Service, 1930-2000. The Young Historians Project is a non-profit organisation…
Looking at Lady Rhondda: Businesswoman, Campaigner and Journalist: Professor Angela V. John
In this, our latest great blog post, Professor Angela V. John reflects on her keynote address at the 2019 WHN conference. I began by looking at how the teenage Margaret Haig Thomas (later Margaret Mackworth and, from 1918, the 2nd…
LIMELIGHT, UDDERS, AND WOMEN’S WORKING HISTORY by Dr Jo Stanley
The Dairy Princess of Leeds 1960 and I grabbed a station cab to Leeds Industrial Museum at Armley Mills last month to see the Queens of Industry: From Loom to Limelight exhibition there. https://museumsandgalleries.leeds.gov.uk/leeds-industrial-museum/ Celia Gledhill was lugging a holdall…
Deceitful bodies by Stephanie Fern Allen
In our latest blog, Stephanie Allen gives us an insight into historical notions of body modification and manipulation. In the twenty-first century, we are becoming encouraged to embrace our bodies as they are. To showcase their qualities and embrace the…
‘She made me stand on a wooden board when ironing…’ Suburban Domestic Life in 1930s Ireland, By Rachel Sayers
Our latest blog post mixes family, domestic, and Irish women’s history, and is written by Rachel Sayers. My maternal Grandmother, Doris Moran nee Hamilton, often recalled to me her experiences of growing up in 1930s Dromore, County Down a small…
Dr Marion Phillips: Sunderland’s First Female MP (1929-1931) by Dr. Sarah Hellawell
Heritage matters! In our latest brilliant blog post, Dr. Sarah Hellawell tells us about Dr. Marion Phillips, Sunderland’s First Female MP and the installation of a blue heritage plaque at the site of the Sunderland Labour Party’s former offices. Over…
Margaret Sanger and Elise Ottesen-Jensen: Their Early Connection, By Saniya Lee Ghanoui
In our latest blog, Saniya Lee Ghanoui gives us a fascinating glimpse into the epistolary relationship between Margaret Sanger and Elise Ottesen-Jensen. In the early 1930s, American birth control reformer Margaret Sanger began corresponding with Swedish sex education leader Elise…
Clothing in 17th-Century Provincial England by Dr Danae Tankard
In our latest post, Dr Danae Tankard gives us a sneak preview of her forthcoming monograph, Clothing in 17th Century England, which will be released later this September. My new book, Clothing in 17th-Century Provincial England (Bloomsbury Academic, 2019), examines…



