Woman at Work

The Autobiography of Mary Anderson

Mary Anderson, Mary Nelson Winslow

• Publisher: Barakaldo Books
• Year: 2020
• eBook ISBN: 9781839746000
• Edition: 0
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: North American History
• Index: History

This is the story of a remarkable woman whose life has been devoted to the betterment of working conditions for women. Mary Anderson was director of the Women's Bureau of the U.S. Department of Labor for twenty-five years, from shortly after its inception until her retirement in 1944. Her autobiography encompasses almost every movement in this country, and international efforts as well, for the benefit of women workers.
In her own simple diction, as told to Mary Winslow, who was associated in many of the same movements, Miss Anderson reveals an almost incredible life story. She recounts her arrival in America as a Swedish immigrant of sixteen and her early years as domestic worker, exploited factory hand, and trade union organizer. She describes her bitter struggles for unionization of the garment, shoe, and other industries in Chicago, and the activities of the Chicago and National Women's Trade Union leagues in helping factory and mine workers gain a start toward living wages, shorter hours, and safer working conditions. She tells, finally, of a quarter-century of federal service—setting standards for women's employment during two world wars and serving the cause of labor effectively under five presidents. As the first U.S. government representative to the International Labor Organization, Miss Anderson championed principles of equality for women that were subsequently embodied in the United Nations Charter.
Through the story there are side-lights and appraisals of such notables as Frances Perkins, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Mrs. Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, John L. Lewis, and many others. It is an absorbing book, and one that documents an important aspect of our country's social development.

Table of contents

• Title page
• TABLE OF CONTENTS
• Foreword
• 1-From the Old World to the New
• 2-A Casual Worker in the Promised Land
• 3-The Young Trade Unionist
• 4-Women’s Trade Union League
• 5-Arbitration and Negotiation
• 6-The Organizer at Work
• 7-Women in Trade Unions
• 8-Working for Legislation
• 9-New Channels of Work
• 10-Women in Ordnance
• 11-The Woman in Industry Service
• 12-Women Workers in World War I
• 13-The Women’s Bureau Is Established
• 14-Paris 1919
• 15-International Congresses of Working Women
• 16-Activities of the Bureau
• 17-Equal Pay for Women
• 18-Discriminations against Women
• 19-The So-Called Equal Rights Amendment
• 20-Presidents and Secretaries of Labor
• 21-Personnel Problems
• 22-Ventures in International Relations
• 23-Cooperation: Failures and Successes
• 24-New Quarters and New Friends
• 25-The Bryn Mawr Summer School
• 26-Home Life in Washington
• 27-Irons in the Fire
• 28-Women Workers in World War II
• 29-Honors and Retirement