‘Where to Park the Pram’? Voluntary Women's Organisations, Citizenship and the Campaign for Better Housing in England, 1928–1945

Abstract

This article explores the contribution made by five conservative and voluntary women's organisations to the campaign for better housing in England 1928–45. The five organisations discussed are: The Mothers’ Union, the Catholic Women's League, the National Federation of Women's Institutes, the National Union of Townswomen's Guilds and the National Council of Women. It will be argued that these voluntary associations participated in the campaign for better housing with three specific goals in mind: to assert the right of housewives to good working conditions; to ensure the survival of traditional family life with the mother at the centre of the home; and with the time saved on domestic chores that labour saving housing would bring, to carve out a space for women to be good and active citizens who would participate in public life. The article demonstrates how these organisations succeeded in ensuring that the voices of women on housing provision and design were heard during these years and how they influenced plans for future housing policy.