On Thursday 29th June, the Shadow Chancellor, Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP, will be addressing issues affecting women at work and wider society at the TUC Midlands annual Mary Macarthur Lecture. The Mary Macarthur Lecture is held this year in the week of the Women Chainmakers’ Festival.
The lecture is named after Mary Macarthur, the inspirational trade union leader who led the famous 1910 dispute that secured the first ever minimum wages for the women chain makers of Cradley Heath. The lecture’s aim is to provide a space for leading women to outline their views on the issues facing women today and, crucially, how we go about addressing these challenges to secure greater equality.
Previous Mary Macarthur Lectures have been addressed by
- Baroness Frances O’Grady, former TUC General Secretary
- Ros Wynne-Jones, Daily Mirror Journalist
- Angela Rayner, Labour Party Deputy Leader
- Polly Toynbee, Guardian Journalist
TUC Midlands Regional Secretary, Lee Barron, said: “We’re delighted that Rachel will be giving this year’s Mary Macarthur Lecture. We know that women have been hit hardest through the years of austerity, the pandemic and the changing nature of work.
“The Mary Macarthur Lecture is a great opportunity to celebrate the role that women play in the labour movement and chance to inspire other women to get involved and take up positions of leadership within their trade unions. We in the trade union movement are committed to tackling gender inequality and boosting the life chances of women.
“We can’t wait to discuss with Rachel how the trade union movement can work to deliver this ambition in partnership with a potential Labour government.
