Activists across movements (3)
Working with men (6)
Activists within ethnic minorities (4)
Activists within governments (2)
Transnational lives (3)
Activist researchers (3)
Radical women (4)
Traditionalist and activist (2)
Activists across movements
Often, women activists who simultaneously pursued the interests of working women as women and as workers found that no single existing movement or party addressed these interests fully. Activists combined participation in the women’s movement with trade union or party activism to achieve working women’s specific goals.
Working with men
How did women activists champion women’s labour-related interests in organizations and movements dominated by men? The challenges they faced and choices they made shaped their rich and diverse activist contributions.
Activists within ethnic minorities
In their activism, women coming from marginalized ethnic communities sought not only to address the problems of working women but also to elevate their communities as a whole. They combined these two sets of goals in their strategies and tactics.
Activists within governments
Governments could be platforms for women’s labour activism. Under different political regimes, there were women officials who found themselves in a position to champion women’s labour rights.
Transnational lives
Women activists from Central and Eastern were active internationally, fostering cross-border connections and cooperation, and participating in the work of international organizations. There were many ways of leading a transnational life: activists moved, travelled, and maintained correspondence.
Activist researchers
Learning about women workers and their conditions – often neglected in public knowledge – was a strand of activism in its own right. By researching, describing, analysing, and spreading knowledge about women’s labour and living conditions, women researchers could make a difference.
Radical women
Some women labour activists believed that only a radical transformation of the contemporary social and economic system could lead to meaningful improvements in working women’s conditions. Instead of advocating for incremental reforms, they pushed the boundaries of what was possible more visibly than others.
Traditionalist and activist
Left-wing activists were not the only ones to take up the cause of improving women’s labour conditions. Women activists espousing more conservative stances also offered their own solutions to the problems faced by working women.
Women’s Labour Activism
in Eastern Europe and Transnationally,
From the Age of Empires
to the Late 20th Century
This research project, led by Susan Zimmermann at Central European University (Vienna, Austria), has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant agreement No. 833691 – ZARAH).