Sources for women and economics and finance

Image Credits: The Women's Library, London Metropolitan University - image references at the end

See our collections on display in our free exhibitions "All work and low pay: the story of women and work" and "Cycling to Suffrage: The Bicycle and Women's Rights, 1890-1914" and related programme of events.

Key class numbers and search terms
Key references, latest academic works and acquisitions
Periodicals 
Press cuttings and ephemera
Electronic resources
Archives (personal, organisational papers and oral histories)
Museum Collection (objects, textiles and visual materials)
Identifying images
Web archive
Further information

The Women's Library, founded in 1926 as the Library of the London Society for Women's Service, exists to document and explore women's lives in Britain in the past, now and in the future. The collections include a wide range of resources for the study of women and economics and finance. In addition to historic and contemporary books, pamphlets and periodicals on women's contribution to the economy and financial industries, the collections also contain scrapbooks of press cuttings,  archives of organisations highlighting women's role in the economy, and the papers and letters of individual campaigners for women's economic rights, badges, photographs, postcards, posters, banners and objects. 

Key class numbers and search terms

The Women's Library's printed materials are arranged in the Dewey Decimal Classification and listed on London Metropolitan University's online catalogue. Key class numbers and search terms for employment include:

See also Sources for women and employment

Key references, latest academic works and acquisitions

The Library holds directories of organisations, bibliographies, encyclop?dias and other references sources useful for identifying further information on women and work, such as:

Dimand, Robert W., Dimand, Mary Ann and Forget, Evelyn L. (eds). A biographical dictionary of women economists. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2000. Quick Ref 330.0922 BIO

Barker, Drucilla K., Kuiper, Edith (eds). Feminist economics. Vol. 1, Early conversations 1800 - 1960. Feminist economics. Vol. 2, Households, labour and paid. Vol. 3, Engendering development and economic well-being. Vol. 4, Epistemological and methodological considerations. Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon ; New York : Routledge, 2010. Reading Room 330.082 FEM

The Women's Library's most recently published and newly available acquisitions

Periodicals

The Library holds a wide range of periodicals on women, including academic titles, popular magazines and campaigning newsletters. Some relevant periodical titles on economics and finance include: Euromed "Role of women in economic life" programme quarterly newsletter, Feminist economics, Report to women : a monthly review of the economic situation
For further guidance on identifying periodicals click here.

Press cuttings and ephemera

The press cutting collections cover the whole of the 20th century and are particularly valuable for identifying contemporary comment where retrospective online newspaper coverage is unavailable. The Library cuttings, up to 1979, on economics (reel 6), banking (reel 17), finance (reels 16, 18, 34, 44, 46) and accountancy (reel 76).  The Library's ephemera collection contains information relating to women's organisations, including leaflets, flyers, minutes of meetings, agendas and all kinds of campaign literature.  The collection includes ephemera produced by the Economic League.

Electronic resources

Electronic resources (online journals and databases) are currently only available to London Metropolitan University staff and students, and can be accessed via the online catalogue. with their institutional identification and password.  London Metropolitan Academic Liaison Librarians have provided a list of resources for accounting, banking and finance, business, business law and economics.

Archives (personal and organisational papers) 

Archive details can be found in the archive and museum collections catalogue or in the hard copy catalogues available in the Reading Room on the shelves adjacent to the Enquiry Desk. The following archives, including records of organisations, societies, campaigns, personal papers and letters, relate to employment:

6ICS Records of the Institute for Consumer Sciences, 1954-2007
6IHE Records of the Institute of Home Economics, 1929-2000
7ANG/B Angela Martins drawings, 1982-2000 include many cartoon dipictions of women's economic place in the labour market
7PTS Papers of Dr Patricia Shaw, 1948-1965, doctor.  Includes papers related to economics
7VIC Papers of Phyllis Vickers, civil servant.  Includes papers related to equal pay and work related benefits and rights

Museum Collection (objects, textiles and visual materials)

This includes badges, postcards, photographs, posters, textiles, some ceramics and other objects. Further details of museum objects available for research can be found in the archive and museum collections catalogue or in the hard copy catalogues available in the Reading Room on the shelves adjacent to the Enquiry Desk.  Museum objects on this topic can be located in the catalogue using terms such as trade, econom*, bank* and finance.

Identifying images

Images can be found throughout The Women's Library's collections. Many digital images are available on Flickr, Vads, the archives catalogue (click on the number in the left hand side) and Mary Evans Picture Library.  Use Mary Evans Picture Library's fast service for a non-watermarked high resolution images suitable for publication. If you require an image which has not been digitised you are welcome to use our reprographic service. Normal copyright conditions will apply.

Web archive

Women's Issues provides a list of links to Web sites of women's organisations and campaigns, research reports, government publications and statistics pertaining to women, personal sites of women, such as blogs, and women focused e-zines.web sites.  You can search for keywords in the title and full text.  Examples of Web site related to women and employment include: Business and Professional Women (BPWUK) and Women's Business Network. Initiated in 2005 and Women's Issues is maintained by the British Library in collaboration with The Women's Library, London Metropolitan University.

TUC Library Collections (TUC), London Metropolitan University stem from its foundation in 1868 and holds historical and contemporary reference works on the trade union movement in the UK and overseas, working conditions and industrial relations much of which relates to women and employment. For more information see Sources for the study of women and gender issues in the TUC Library.

London Metropolitan research institutes and centres includes The Working Lives Research Institute (WLRI) and London Metropolitan Business School (LMBS). WLRI undertakes socially committed academic and applied research into all aspects of working lives, emphasising equality and social justice, and working for and in partnership with trade unions.

Further information The staff of The Women's Library can help you find material relating to your subject area; please don't hesitate to ask. You can contact the Information Desk staff prior to your visit via email twlinfodesk@londonmet.ac.uk, by telephone 020 7320 3515 or in person at the Information Desk when in the Reading Room.

Image references: National Union of Societies for Equal Citizenship. Unjust wills: the present law in England and other countries: the need for a change: attempts at reform. London : National Union of Societies for Equal Citizenship, 1936 Vault Pamphlet 346.052 NAT ; National Citizens' Advice Bureaux Committee.Hire purchase and credit buying. London : Published by the National Council of Social Service (Inc.) for the National Citizens' Advice Bureaux Committee, 1957 Vault pamphlet 346.073 NAT ; Matrimonial Homes Act 1983. H.M.S.O., (1983) Vault pamphlet 346.04 GRE

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