Sophy Sanger (1881–1950) was a British internationalist and labour law reformer.

Early life and education

Sophy Sanger was born on 3 January 1881 in Westcott, Surrey. She was the youngest daughter of the wealthy London businessman Charles Sanger and Jessie Alice Pulford. At the age of 15, she was sent to Dr. Elizabeth Dawes' school in

Weybridge Weybridge () is a town in the Borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. The settlement is recorded as ''Waigebrugge'' and ''Weibrugge'' in the 7th century and the name derives from a crossing point of the ...

, where she was the only pupil to be taught mathematics. She went up to

Newnham College Newnham College is a women's constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1871 by a group organising Lectures for Ladies, members of which included philosopher Henry Sidgwick and suffragist campaigner Millice ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge beca ...

in autumn 1899. Sophy began by studying the

Mathematical Tripos The Mathematical Tripos is the mathematics course that is taught in the Faculty of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge. It is the oldest Tripos examined at the University. Origin In its classical nineteenth-century form, the tripos was a ...

from 1899 to 1902 and went on to read

moral sciences Human science (or human sciences in the plural), also known as humanistic social science and moral science (or moral sciences), studies the philosophical, biological, social, and cultural aspects of human life. Human science aims to expand our u ...

in 1903. It was in Cambridge at a debate in the Newnham Parliament that Sophy first became interested in politics; listening to a speech by the

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

Hilda Clark sparked in her a commitment to

pacifism Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaig ...

Work

Sophy Sanger worked for the

Women's Trade Union League The Women's Trade Union League (WTUL) (1903–1950) was a U.S. organization of both working class and more well-off women to support the efforts of women to organize labor unions and to eliminate sweatshop conditions. The WTUL played an importan ...

from 1903 to 1909, setting up its legal advice bureau whilst learning labour law at University College London. Her work on insurance regulations for workplace compensation meant she was called to give evidence before a parliamentary commission in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster ...

and she helped Labour MPs prepare their case for the Shops Bill. In 1905, Sanger founded a British section of the International Association for Labour Legislation, publishing an English version of its French and German ''Bulletins''. Between 1909 and 1919, she wrote for and edited ''World's Labour Laws'', a quarterly publication which campaigned on issues such as the abolition of child labour, the prohibition of the use of

white phosphorus Elemental phosphorus can exist in several allotropes, the most common of which are white and red solids. Solid violet and black allotropes are also known. Gaseous phosphorus exists as diphosphorus and atomic phosphorus. White phosphorus Whi ...

and

lead Lead is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metals, heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale of mineral hardness#Intermediate ...

and the prevention of

anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Bacillus anthracis''. It can occur in four forms: skin, lungs, intestinal, and injection. Symptom onset occurs between one day and more than two months after the infection is contracted. The s ...

. She believed that international cooperation and action on specific, practical reforms could effectively combat many worker's rights issues, for example:

sweated labour A sweatshop or sweat factory is a crowded workplace with very poor, socially unacceptable or illegal working conditions. Some illegal working conditions include poor ventilation, little to no breaks, inadequate work space, insufficient lighting, o ...

occupational disease An occupational disease is any chronic ailment that occurs as a result of work or occupational activity. It is an aspect of occupational safety and health. An occupational disease is typically identified when it is shown that it is more prevalen ...

and workplace injury. Sophy Sanger was appointed chief of the

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...

's legislative section, a post she held from its formation in 1919 until 1924. She returned to Britain in 1924 and read for the bar at

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wa ...

, publishing an authoritative article on labour law for the '' Encyclopaedia Britannica'' Sanger died of illness on 7 December 1950 in

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanger, Sophy 1881 births 1950 deaths British barristers British pacifists British social reformers People from Surrey (before 1889) British women activists Alumni of Newnham College, Cambridge British women legal professionals International Labour Organization people Trade unionists from Surrey 20th-century English lawyers 20th-century English women 20th-century English people