June Hannam Professor of Modern History at the University of the West of England, Bristol; Founder member of Womens' History Network The future of Womens Groups June was the final speaker on the Sunday afternoon, talking to an audience of women about women's organisations - surely a win-win situation. She recommended Sheila Rowbottom's book 'Hidden from History' - 300 years of women's oppression and the fight against it. She started to tell us what could be achieved by women when they organise together in groups and why women have needed to get together in the past - Women organising together from the home. 'Looking at history in order to imagine the future' - Women's History. Why? This includes NWR and its origins. The writing of Womens History is stimulated by an active women's movement; this has covered many strands, including the suffrage movement and political feminism through to Women's Lib in late 60s/70's. Here June referred to Sheila Rowbottom's - 'Hidden from History' which investigates Women's History and also women's view of history. For example-Women don't like to be called feminists because of the way they are treated and portrayed in the press. At first Women's History looked at the militant part of the suffrage movement but since the '70's it has looked at other women's political groups e.g. National Union of Societies for Equal Citizenship, The Six Points Group and the Open Door Council. All these were set up in the inter war years to carry on the suffrage movement but didn't get many members because feminists despised them (see above) and then the Depression in the 30's restricted activity. Other women's groups which came from the home were active in interwar years, such as the Women's Cooperative Guild which campaigned for more pay for women, Family Allowance and health and welfare issues. Other groups included the many Women's Institutes, the Townswomen's Guild and the Labour Party Women's Section with up to a quarter of a million members. Some of these groups were also obsessed with women's citizenship; they supported women in the home but also wanted them to be informed citizens. But the question is: Why were women in separate organisations? This was because some male groups did not allow women in and joint groups tended to be dominated by men who set the agenda. Finally of course women had a different perspective on some issues. These women's groups were valuable because they developed interests and confidence, they raised issues and provided a springboard for action. All these groups were interested in women's involvement in issues outside the home but valued their position within it too. 'A woman's work is never done' said Elizabeth Andrews. Home was also a site for politics; Dirt was a political issue; Some groups supported pit head baths so that women didn't have to wash their dirty husbands beside the fire in the home. These groups campaigned to let women's voices be heard and usually used regular methods such as lobbying parliament to achieve their aims. This brought more success if parliament wanted what they wanted. The Housewives League, set up in the 1930's, campaigned for changes to do with food and rent e.g. British Housewives' League which attacked rationing and queuing in the 40's and 50's. Enid Blyton was an active member of this organisation. NWR's origins came from the ideas of Betty Friedan (when the 50's were very much the era of the compliant housewife). These led to Maureen Nicol's letter in reply to Betty Jerman's article on 'Sardines in Suburbia' published in The Guardian. NWR had its biggest period of growth during the Women's Movement because the 1970's Women's Movement applied mainly to young single women. The Guardian and Mary Stott's support were very important (Mary Stott was very much in favour of the controversial 'Woman's page'). Women's groups and the Women's movement are different but there is a great deal of overlap between them. They also highlight the differences between women of different class and education. There is still a great deal to be done to solve women's problems in the world and here historical amnesia may be women's worst enemy.