ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a broad historical analysis of women organizing in Jamaican society. In the century after emancipation, two major streams within social movements were black nationalism and white philanthropy. Both movements included important numbers of women, whose demands ranged from assistance for poor women to the vote. Jamaican history took a decisive turn after the 1938 uprising. Whilst men’s organizing took a major step forward in the form of male-led trade unions and political organizations, in the case of women it led to renewed emphasis on their role in the family, a drive which was fully supported by the Jamaican Federation of Women. The establishment of the Women’s Bureau in 1974 is one of the most important events in recent years. The Women’s Bureau clearly acknowledged the role of women in Jamaican society, but was constrained by bureaucratic and political definitions of women’s interests.
