ABSTRACT
Although unemployment was high for the whole of the inter-war years the periods of greatest distress were the years immediately after the collapse of the post-war boom, particularly 1920-1923, and those dominated by the depression of 1929-1934. Alongside these downturns the chronic decline of the old staples (coal, heavy engineering, shipbuilding, textiles) led to longterm misery for a great many of the workers associated with these industries and their families. The slump of the early 1920s hit very hard, creating desperate conditions among millions of families. The unemployed movement sprang out of this situation and was a powerful force which included several prominent women activists.1 Regrettably we know little of the gender divisions within the unemployed movement in these early years. Reluctantly, therefore, this article concentrates on the period after 1923 for which much more evidence is available. My aim is to determine to what extent the unemployed movement responded to the specific needs of women, particularly married women, at a time when massive social pressures pushed them back into the home.
