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The Society for the Oversea Settlement of British Women, 1919-1964

Palgrave Macmillan

Authors:

  • Analyses the social, economic, and political structure of the Society for the Oversea Settlement of British Women
  • Argues that the Society pursued its own agenda to train and place educated women looking for non-domestic service work in the dominions
  • Challenges earlier studies' focus on the Society’s failure to migrate a significant number of women from Britain to white settler colonies after 1924

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Table of contents (7 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-ix
  2. Introduction

    • Bonnie White
    Pages 1-12
  3. Conclusion

    • Bonnie White
    Pages 195-201
  4. Back Matter

    Pages 203-222

About this book

This book examines the British government’s response to the ‘superfluous women problem', and concerns about post-war unemployment more generally, by creating a migration society that was tasked with reducing the number of single women at home through overseas migration.  The Society for the Oversea Settlement of British Women (SOSBW) was created in 1919 to facilitate the transportation of female migrants to the former white settler colonies. To do so, the SOSBW worked with various domestic and dominion groups to find the most suitable women for migration, while also meeting the dominions’ demands for specific types of workers, particularly women for work in domestic service. While the Society initially aimed to meet its original mandate, it gradually developed its own vision of empire settlement and refocused its efforts on aiding the migration of educated and trained women who were looking for new, modern, and professional work opportunities abroad. 

Authors and Affiliations

  • Historical Studies, Grenfell Campus, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Corner Brook, Canada

    Bonnie White

About the author

Bonnie White is Assistant Professor at the Grenfell Campus of Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada. She is also the author of The Women’s Land Army in First World War Britain (Palgrave, 2014).

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: The Society for the Oversea Settlement of British Women, 1919-1964

  • Authors: Bonnie White

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-13348-1

  • Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham

  • eBook Packages: History, History (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-13347-4Published: 26 March 2019

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-13350-4Published: 14 August 2020

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-13348-1Published: 18 March 2019

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: IX, 222

  • Number of Illustrations: 1 b/w illustrations

  • Topics: History of Britain and Ireland, Social History, Cultural History, Women's Studies, Migration

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 69.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 89.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 89.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access