Members of Scotland's first Co-operative Women's Guild at the Kinning Park Co-operative Society in 1890.
The Kinning Park Co-op was founded in 1871 and the Women's Guild was founded nineteen years later. It was originally little more than a cookery class but soon grew to become what Patrick Dollan described as "a feminine university", where members were encouraged to discuss and debate politics and other important issues of the day. By 1923 there were 283 Women's Guilds in Scotland with 28,000 members.
Members of the Women's Guilds acquired the confidence and support required to participate in affairs of the Co-operative movement and to enter the traditionally male sphere of local government, standing for election to education authorities and local councils. Many of the women leaders of the Glasgow Rent Strike of 1915 and the Women's Peace Crusade had developed their political and organisational skills in the Women's Guild.
Reference: 345.86.21
Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Glasgow Museums
Keywords:
co-operation, Co-operative Women's Guilds, co-ops, cookery classes, fashions, Kinning Park Co-operative Society, Rent Strike, women, Women's Peace Crusade