Half the sky on half the pay: Resistance and revolution

peacock:a workshop for art, is a printmaking workshop in the north east of Scotland established in 1974. We offer a wide range of artistic techniques, such as relief printing, intaglio, screenprint, lithography, and risograph. We are a charity supported by Aberdeen City Council & Creative Scotland. We are a charity supported byAberdeen City CouncilandCreative Scotland.the worm:a space for art, is a contemporary visual art gallery in Aberdeen, Scotland. We showcase artworks from all over the world, focussing on printing and publishing. Our exhibitions show work by contemporary artists, fine art prints from our archives and objects related to Aberdeen’s rich print history. Entry is always free.On ourprint shop, we have a wide range of contemporary art prints for sale by local, regional and international artists, many of which have been published and editioned at the Peacock Visual Arts.

peacock & the worm

Presented by Chris Aldred and Cath McKay, this webinar focuses on the demand for equal pay and better workers' rights in the 1970s and 80s

Equal pay was the first of the four demands of the Women’s Liberation Movement agreed in 1968. Like the other four demands, it had a long history of struggle from the matchgirls’ strike in 1888 to 1968, when the Ford sewing machinists’ strike finally pushed forward legislative change and the Equal Pay Act (1970) became law, giving employers until 1975 to make the necessary changes.The Women&#x27;s Liberation Movement saw this legislative victory as deeply flawed. Local women’s groups shared their experiences of paid work through the consciousness raising process. Inspired by this, many discussed women at work and began to research the new law. In Aberdeen, letters were written to local MPs calling for amendments to the law and every opportunity to argue for better legislation was taken. It soon became clear that much more was wrong than simply rates of pay. Women tended to do different jobs, even where they worked alongside men. Women were less likely to belong to a trade union, and when they were, they were underrepresented in influential trade union roles. The problem of the double shift – paid work for an employer and unpaid work at home – was not on anyone’s agenda. Struggles rapidly shifted from rates of pay to demanding fundamental change in the way work, paid and unpaid, was organised. As women took up the fight, links to the other demands became more obvious. For example, the practical impact of the ‘double shift’ meant women also had the responsibilities of childcare to consider. Childcare provision was woefully inadequate and pushed women into part-time and poorly paid employment. The revolutionary fourth demand for freely available 24-hour childcare was another step too far for the state and employers.Chris Aldred (Durndell) was active in various Aberdeen’s women’s liberation groups in the 1970s. This involvement inspired lifelong work in adult education and work with communities, both organising and teaching a range of community-based courses, especially those for women. She contributed to early STUC and TUC initiatives in trade union education for and about women and continues to be an active trade unionist.Cath McKay was influenced by the Aberdeen Women’s Liberation work in the 1970s, particularly the educational developments and the arguments about childcare being essential to allow women with children to work and learn. After graduating in 1981, she developed women’s discussion-based work in Kincorth using the WEA and health-based materials. Crèche provision ran alongside these groups, which enabled women with young children to attend. Many of these women gained confidence and went on to more formal qualification-based learning. This led Cath to a lifelong focus and interest in work with women particularly in community based settings.

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Half the sky on half the pay: Resistance and revolution

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