Challenge and Change

 

 

Watch our film of women councillors around Yorkshire talking about their experiences.

 

The Centre for Women & Democracy was delighted to receive funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund to research and record the history of women's participation as elected councillors in the Yorkshire & the Humber region.

Women have been able to stand for election to smaller councils since 1870, but only became eligible for election to larger authorities early in the twentieth century. In many cases all we know of the  women elected until relatively recently are their names, although more information may lie undiscovered in council archives. As time went on there were very small increases in the numbers, with many women pioneering both council membership and front-bench responsibilities. In 1920 there were 20 women councillors in Yorkshire; by 1980 15% of the region's councillors were female and by 2010 this had increased to 33%.

Many of these women - particularly those who have been in office for any length of time - have encountered sexism and discrimination, but they have also had valuable support and achieved a great deal. They have  frequently had to manage families and jobs as well as public office, and most had little access to childcare or any other help. Some women elected more recently came through contentious selection procedures such as all-women shortlists, whilst others - a very small number - are from BME communities and (together with women council leaders) are the current pioneers.

What We've Done

We interviewed 75 current and former women councillors in Yorkshire & the Humber. They told us some fascinating, inspiring and sometimes little-known stories, and we found many more in the region's archives.

We produced an exhibition, a booklet and a film (see above), as well as an archive which is being deposited with the Feminist Archive North . Some parts of the collection will be available in other archives.

 

The booklet - Challenge and Change: A brief history of women councillors in Yorkshire & the Humber - is available to download here in pdf format.

If you would like a free hard copy just email us with your name and address at cfwd@cfwd.org.uk.

 

 

If you would like to host the exhibition please contact us at cfwd@cfwd.org.uk, or by phone on 0113 234 6500. It is suitable for a variety of spaces, including libraries, schools and council chambers, and is free.

We are also devloping a special section of this website which will be devoted to some of the stories we heard during the course of the project. This will be launched shortly.

We's like to thank everyone who was involved in the project, and, in particular, the volunteers who gave us their time and the women who allowed us to interview them. The result is a real insight into women's involvement in local government over nearly a century, and the archive which has been created will be of real value to researchers in the future.