Women organising in the International Working Men’s Association: the pioneering experience

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Women organising in the International Working Men’s Association: the pioneering experience of the Geneva women’s section (1864-1876)

Abstract

This article looks back at the activities of the Geneva Ladies’ Section, which later became the Women Workers’ Section, and which existed from 1868 to 1874 as a member of the International Workingmen’s Association (IWA). Created in a context where women had difficulty integrating and taking an active part in the International, the section allowed a group of women workers to participate in the militant life of Geneva. Through the development of solidarity actions (fundraising for strikers, cooperative organization, children’s festivities) and by taking a stand in favor of women’s work, the women activists succeeded in having an impact on the IWA even beyond Swiss borders. The recognition and the fame obtained allowed the propagation of a new model of workers’ organization: the women’s section, aiming for the integration of the demands of women workers with those of the male workers.

Keywords:

  • international workingmen’s association
  • Geneva
  • socialism
  • labor movement
  • women’s section

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Publikation Information

Autor_innen:

Lola Romieux

Verlag:

Association Mnémosyne, Genre & Histoire 32 | Automne 2023

Sprachen:

Französisch

Stadt:

Aubervilliers

Jahr:

2024

Themen:

Gender Studies

Disziplinen:

Geisteswissenschaften, Sozialwissenschaften

Forschungsthemen:

Kämpfe – Soziale Bewegungen – Aktivismus
Arbeit – Laufbahn – Beruf
Politik

Fächer:

Geschichte

Form:

Artikel