Working Mothers, Past and Present

Helen McCarthy
Online
29 Mar 2022 6:00pm - 7:00pm
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Image: ©Jonathan Ring

Working Mothers, Past and Present

Mothers are an unremarkable feature of the contemporary workplace, reflecting a steady rise in maternal employment rates in the period since the Second World War. But some mothers have always worked for pay, even in the face of hostile public opinion and opposition from husbands, and in the absence of adequate childcare provision by the state.

Helen McCarthy traces the diverse lives of working mothers from the Victorian era to the present day. She reveals how women came to demand a life for themselves beyond the horizons of family and home.

Helen is Reader in Modern and Contemporary British History at the University of Cambridge and a fellow of St John’s College. Her book Double Lives: A History of Working Motherhood was nominated for the Wolfson History Prize 2021. Previous books include Women of the World: The Rise of the Female Diplomat which won Best Book on International Affairs at the Political Book Awards 2015.

Please book  by 1pm on the day of the lecture.
Members: Free
Non-Members: £5 per lecture