Society for Promoting the Employment of Women
The Society for Promoting the Employment of Women was one of the earliest British women's organisations.
The society was established in 1859 by Jessie Boucherett, Barbara Bodichon and Adelaide Anne Proctor to promote the training and employment of women. The Dictionary of Canadian Biography says Maria Rye was also a founding member. In its early years it was affiliated to the National Association for the Promotion of Social Science, though formal connections between them were severed in 1889. The society's journal was the English Women's Journal published by Emily Faithfull's Victoria Press.
When SPEW was founded, there were few acceptable occupations for middle class women other than a governess or a lady's companion. SPEW made it acceptable for women to be typists, hairdressers, printers, and bookkeepers.
In 1926 it was renamed the Society for Promoting the Training of Women. It changed its name again in 2014, becoming Futures for Women. It still operates today, as registered charity number 313700 and registered company number 0013103 Its papers up to 1991 are held at Girton College, Cambridge.
