ABSTRACT
The international women's movement was divided over the question of what should be women's primary aim in the realm of labour: equality, or special protection. In 1938, the Executive Committee concluded that the current method of holding meetings with the committee, combined with the regular conferences of women unionists, was no longer desirable. It would seem that the International Federation of Trade Union (iftu) leaders simply failed to acknowledge the women's problems. When the International Federation of Working Women (ifww) organised a congress in Geneva in October 1921, the iftu made a point of being prominently present. The conference decided to give the ifww a permanent character. The iftu's first aim was to overcome wage competition from non-organised women by introducing them to the Trade Union. The final resolution stated that 'non-organized working women constitute a menace to the working conditions of the entire working class'. The final resolution bypassed the issue by referring it to the next congress.
