Co-operative Women's Guild Posters

This collection of posters advertises the Women's Co-operative Guild as well as International Women's Year in 1975.

The Co-operative Women's Guild is a national organisation. The Women's League for the Spread of Co-operation was established in 1883, changing its name to the Women's Co-operative Guild in 1885 and the Co-operative Women's Guild in the mid-1960s. The Guild is run at a national level but organised into regions, districts and local branches. Annually, districts and branches from different parts of the country meet at congress.

Co-operative Women's Guilds were set up to provide women with a voice within the movement. Many of the societies would only allow one member per family and as such it was generally always the man that attended meetings. Some societies refused to accept women as members without their husband's consent. The Women's Guilds started when Alice Acland began an article called 'Women's Corner' in the Co-operative News. The aim of the article was to link co-operative women together and discuss subjects such as cookery, childcare, and needlework. It was then suggested that an independent guild of women be formed that would hold recreational and instructional classes for women. The first Women's Guilds were formed in 1883 and by 1889 there were 51 branches.

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Deposited by Lord Richard Balfe

Collection compiled by Luke Morris, Co-operative Volunteer, March 2014.