Betty Lockwood, Baroness Lockwood (22 January 1924 – 29 April 2019) was a Labour Party activist. She was heavily involved in promoting

equal opportunities Equal opportunity is a state of fairness in which individuals are treated similarly, unhampered by artificial barriers, prejudices, or preferences, except when particular distinctions can be explicitly justified. For example, the intent of equa ...

for women on a national and international level.

Biography

Born in

Dewsbury Dewsbury is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Calder, West Yorkshire, River Calder and on an arm of the Calder and Hebble Navigation waterway. It is to the west of Wakefield, ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

, the daughter of Arthur Lockwood, a coal miner, Betty Lockwood followed an unconventional route into

politics Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

. She left Eastborough Girls School at 14, then continued her studies at night school. With the support of a

Mary Macarthur Mary Reid Anderson (née Macarthur; 13 August 1880 – 1 January 1921) was a Scottish suffragist (although at odds with the national groups who were willing to let a minority of women gain the franchise) and was a leading Trade Union, trades ...

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

for working women, she read economics and politics at

Ruskin College Ruskin College, originally known as Ruskin Hall, Oxford, is a higher education institution and part of the University of West London, in Oxford, England. It is not a Colleges of the University of Oxford, college of Oxford University. Named ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. After attending university she became active in the Labour Party as regional women's organiser for Yorkshire, then moved to London as women's officer. She campaigned for equal pay and was instrumental in the creation of the

Equal Pay Act 1970 The Equal Pay Act 1970 (c. 41) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that prohibited any less favourable treatment between men and women in terms of pay and conditions of employment. The act was proposed by the then Labour government ...

. From 1975–83 she served as the first chair of the Equal Opportunities Commission and was chair of the European Advisory Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men (1982–83). On 27 February 1978 she was elevated to a

life peerage In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

as Baroness Lockwood, of Dewsbury in the County of

. She sat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

until her retirement on 18 May 2017. Lockwood died on 29 April 2019.

Affiliations

Her connections with the

University of Bradford The University of Bradford is a public research university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. A plate glass university, it received its royal charter in 1966, making it the 40th university to be created in Britain, but ...

date back to 1983, when she became a member of its council and she served as

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

of the university from 1997, being succeeded in 2005 by the former Pakistan international cricketer and politician

Imran Khan Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi (born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician, philanthropist, and former cricketer who served as the 19th prime minister of Pakistan from August 2018 until April 2022. He was the founder of the political party Pak ...

. From 1983 to 1989, Lockwood was president of

Birkbeck College, London Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College, University of London), is a public research university located in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. Established in 1823 as the London Mechanics' ...

, a university college specialising in part-time adult higher education. She was chair of the

National Coal Mining Museum for England National Coal Mining Museum for England is based at the site of Caphouse Colliery in Overton, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It opened in 1988 as the Yorkshire Mining Museum and was granted national status in 1995. History Caphouse Coll ...

. She received four honorary doctorates and was President of the Yorkshire Arthritis Research Campaign. She was also a member of

Soroptimist Soroptimist International (SI) , founded in 1921, is a global volunteer service for women with almost 66,000 members in 118 countries worldwide. Soroptimist International also offers Associate Membership and E-Clubs. Soroptimist International h ...

International, a group working to advance the status of women and was a patron of the Born in Bradford research project. She listed her hobbies as enjoying the

Yorkshire Dales The Yorkshire Dales are a series of valleys, or Dale (landform), dales, in the Pennines, an Highland, upland range in England. They are mostly located in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, but extend into C ...

and

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

Family

She married Lieutenant-Colonel Cedric Hall in 1978. He died in 1988.

References

External links

Political Biography of members of the House of Lords

Homepage of Soroptimist International
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lockwood, Betty Lockwood, Baroness 1924 births 2019 deaths People from Dewsbury Alumni of Ruskin College Labour Party (UK) life peers Chancellors of the University of Bradford Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Life peers created by Elizabeth II Peers retired under the House of Lords Reform Act 2014