Women in the Community

Originally published in 1977, this lively collection of papers by women involved in community work and community action explores some of the links between the womens movements and community action at the time, in terms both of the recent developments in womens thinking and of their practical experience of involvement in community organizations and groups. The book opens with a theoretical chapter on womens rights, discussing reasons for the particular involvement of women in a range of community issues such as the housing struggle and the role of women in campaigns for nursery and other pre-school provision, and relates these factors to the womens movement in general. The contributors go on to consider the organization of women who enable other women to go to work, including a case study of experience of Battered Wives Centres, a study of Womens Aid Centres, a discussion of the Working Womens Charter and the National Abortion Campaign, chapters by members of groups of single-parent families Mothers in Action and Gingerbread and a chapter on working with women in community groups, from the perspective of the community worker. Many issues are still relevant now, today it can be read in its historical context.