Pioneering women
Number of items in collection: 174
Short description:
Recordings in this collection can be played by anyone.
In-depth oral history interviews documenting the lives of pioneering British women who pursued successful careers in their respective fields long before it was the norm for women to do so. The interviews feature reflections about an interviewee’s early life and background, education and their careers.
The Fawcett Collection (catalogue no. C468) is a collection of interviews that were conducted by National Life Stories between 1990 and 1992 and funded by the Fawcett Society and the Friends of the Fawcett Library (now the Women’s Library LSE). The interviews focus on the lives of pioneering career women, each of whom made their mark in traditionally male-dominated fields, including politics and law. Some of these interviews were conducted by the award-winning author and journalist, Rebecca Abrams, for her book 'Woman in Man’s World: Pioneering Career Women of the Twentieth Century' (London: Methuen, 1993), which features a collection of 10 life story testimonies. Other interviews featured in this package are sourced from other National Life Stories projects, including An Oral History of British Science.
Oral history recordings provide valuable first-hand testimony of the past. The views and opinions expressed in oral history interviews are those of the interviewees, who describe events from their own perspective. The interviews are historical documents and their language, tone and content might in some cases reflect attitudes that could cause offence in today’s society.
Long description:
Recordings in this collection can be played by anyone.
In-depth oral history interviews documenting the lives of pioneering British women who pursued successful careers in their respective fields long before it was the norm for women to do so. The interviews feature reflections about an interviewee’s early life and background, education and their careers.
The Fawcett Collection (catalogue no. C468) is a collection of interviews that were conducted by National Life Stories between 1990 and 1992 and funded by the Fawcett Society and the Friends of the Fawcett Library (now the Women’s Library LSE). The interviews focus on the lives of pioneering career women, each of whom made their mark in traditionally male-dominated fields, including politics and law. Some of these interviews were conducted by the award-winning author and journalist, Rebecca Abrams, for her book 'Woman in Man’s World: Pioneering Career Women of the Twentieth Century' (London: Methuen, 1993), which features a collection of 10 life story testimonies. Other interviews featured in this package are sourced from other National Life Stories projects, including An Oral History of British Science
The British Library’s oral history collections feature many other interviews related to the history of women in Britain, including The Harman-Shephard collection of interviews with women Members of Parliament (C1182) and The Lara Marks contraceptive pill interviews (C1241). Further information can be found on the Oral History collections pages.
What the interviews tell us
One-to-one oral history interviews explore memories and recount narratives rarely found elsewhere. Personal testimony fills knowledge gaps, provides new insights, challenges stereotypical views, and overturns orthodoxies.
These recordings reveal collective memory, individual agency, gender, skill, influence and intentionality. Shifting consumer and educational trends and debates emerge alongside the impact of changing technologies, techniques and political context.
Ethical use of oral history
The interviewees have been generous in sharing their memories - often traumatic, confidential and intimate - and listeners are asked to treat this material with respect and sensitivity.
Recordings should be analysed and presented in context, so that the interviewee’s meaning is not misconstrued.
Quotations and audio clips should be referenced as, for example: “Interview with Josephine Barnes by Rebecca Abrams, 24 October 1990, NLSC: Fawcett Collection, reference C408/015 track xx, © The British Library Board”.
Each interviewee whose recording appears on this site has assigned copyright to The British Library Board and given their consent for the recording to be used for educational study. We have made every effort to contact all the interviewees and inform them about this project. However should any participant wish to discuss their involvement they should contact the Curator for Oral History at the British Library Sound Archive (oralhistory@bl.uk)
Oral history at the British Library
The interviews on this site are a small selection from the many thousands held in the Oral History section of the British Library. These recordings go back over 100 years and cover many facets of life in Britain. Many interviews were gathered through National Life Stories, an externally-funded unit within the Library established in 1987 to “record first-hand experiences of as wide a cross-section of present-day society as possible”.All recordings on this site are governed by licence agreements.