The Union of Women Teachers (UWT) was a

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

for

female An organism's sex is female ( symbol: ♀) if it produces the ovum (egg cell), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete (sperm cell) during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females and ...

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

s in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. The

National Union of Women Teachers The National Union of Women Teachers (NUWT) was a trade union representing women schoolteachers in Great Britain. It originated in 1904 as a campaign for equal pay for equal work, and dissolved in 1961, when this was achieved. History Women te ...

dissolved in 1960, and women teachers thereafter could choose to join either the

National Union of Teachers The National Union of Teachers (NUT; ) was a trade union for school teachers in Education in England, England, Education in Wales, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. It was a member of the Trades Union Congress. In March 2017, NU ...

or the

Association of Assistant Mistresses The Association of Assistant Mistresses (AAM) was a trade union representing female teachers in British secondary schools. The union was founded in 1884 as the Association of Assistant Mistresses in Secondary Schools Incorporated, the last part o ...

. The

National Association of Schoolmasters The National Association of Schoolmasters (NAS) was a trade union representing male schoolteachers in the United Kingdom. History The origins of the NAS can be traced back to the formation of the National Association of Men Teachers (NAMT) in 1919 ...

(NAS), while not wanting to admit women as members, was concerned that both the alternative unions were hostile to them. As a result, in 1964, the NAS encouraged the formation of the Union of Women Teachers.Mike Ironside and Roger Seifert, ''Industrial Relations in Schools'', p.92 The union was always small, and by 1969 had only 2,000 members, although it grew to 6,000 by 1975. Due to its small size, it worked closely with the NAS, particularly on legal and professional matters. In 1970, the two unions formed an alliance, the "Joint Two". The UWT was refused permission to join the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union center, national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions that collectively represent most unionised workers in England and Wales. There are 48 affiliated unions with a total of ...

in 1974. The

Sex Discrimination Act 1975 The Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (c. 65) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which protected men and women from discrimination on the grounds of sex or marital status. The Act concerned employment, training, education, harassment, ...

made it unlawful to maintain a single-sex union. As a result, the NAS proposed a merger with the UWT. The UWT leadership opposed this, but were outvoted at the union's annual conference. The general secretary, Penny Yaffe, left the platform in protest, along with most of the union's executive committee. They were declared by the union's president to have thereby resigned, and the merger went ahead, forming the

National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers The National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) is a Trades Union Congress, TUC- and Irish Congress of Trade Unions, ICTU-affiliated trade union representing teachers, including headteachers, throughout the United Kin ...

. However, Yaffe founded the rival Association of Career Teachers.Geoffrey Partington, ''Women Teachers in the Twentieth Century in England and Wales'', p.86

General Secretaries

:1965: Sally Rogers :1967: Beryl Gandy :1969: Geraldine Jones :1970: Penny Yaffe

References

Education trade unions Defunct trade unions of the United Kingdom 1964 establishments in the United Kingdom Trade unions established in 1964 Trade unions disestablished in 1976 {{UK-trade-union-stub