ABSTRACT
Peek Frean Limited was a biscuit factory located at Bermondsey in the London area. Peek Freans had traditionally opposed the employment of married women. The commonest objection to their employment was that their home ties undermined the loyalty and efficiency which management had a right to expect. Before the Second World War factory management had been able to select women employees with considerable care, and to lay down rigid conditions for their employment. As in the case of many other employers in the south of England no married women were employed, and single girls had to leave on marriage. After 1937 some women who had left the firm to get married were allowed to return temporarily during peak periods, such as the Christmas rush. Many of these seasonal workers became full-time workers during the War, under the impact of an acute labour shortage. During the War some married women began to be engaged on a part-time basis. Peek Frean's management considered this to be a temporary measure, and in 1945 attempts were made to re-establish an entirely full-time labour force.
