Making electronics in interwar Britain: gendered labour in the thermionic valve industry

In approaching the key research questions 'why were women so preponderant among the skilled workforce for electronics?' and 'why did the electronics industry grow so fast and with whose innovations?' it will be crucial to draw upon the historiography of the electronics industry and that of working women in interwar Britain. Peter Morris highlights how 'the origins of semiconductor devices were inextricably bound up with those of the thermionic valve', citing widespread consumer adoption of the domestic radio following the formation of the BBC in 1922 as a key development in the increased use of the technology. Furthermore, Keith Thrower has argued the First World War shaped the individual context of each country's technological advancements, such as the United States being able to focus on civilian applications of the technology earlier than others. This project will expand on such literature by focusing on the personnel behind the technology and highlighting how and why women contributed to the British valve industry and to what extent this was linked to their previous work in the textile industry.

Graeme Gooday emphasises how gender played a crucial role in the late nineteenth century domestic adoption of electricity. He states how 'much of the early cultural anxiety about electricity centred on the female body', which often required authoritative women to promote domestic adoption from a gendered perspective. Furthermore, Miriam Glucksmann utilises 'a feminist and historical materialist' framework to place women at the centre of consumerism, industrial development and working class labour relations during Britain's interwar period. Glucksmann emphasises how gendered expectations contributed to the sexual division in the workplace and argues 'that women have class relations in their own right'. This view has been expanded upon by scholars such as Sally M.Horrock who has focused on the interwar chemical industry. However, scholars such as Clare Wightman argue against the singular importance these examples place on gender ideology. She argues 'market circumstances, the need for flexibility' and a 'continuing reliance on skilled male workforces' all played a key role in the organisation of the interwar female workforce. This project will contribute to this debate by focusing on gender in relation to a specific interwar industry. The literature mentioned takes a wider view across multiple interwar industries so there is a clear gap in the historiography for this project to fill.

This project's collaborative aspect will open up the Science Museums Group's collections for new use and to develop a further understanding of them. For instance, the Science Museum's McVitie Weston valve collection will be crucial for physically accessing the valves. Manchester's Museum of Science and Industry also houses the company records of Ferranti and Metropolitan-Vickers which will be crucial in analysing working conditions within the industry. Bradford's Daily Herald collection will also provide visual sources of working women from the period.

In using these records this study will provide an interpretation of the collections that will help broaden their appeal. Outside of the museum collections, those such as the University of Warwick's Trade Union records will be useful in analysing the relationship between gender and labour throughout the country, such as minutes and advertising materials. These sources will facilitate an extensive contribution to the historiography of gender and the interwar electronics industry.