Disturbing the silence of women metal workers

Abstract

This reflection explores the challenges encountered at the beginnings of a PhD thesis looking at the history of women in the metal trades in Australia. As workers in a traditionally male-dominated industry, initially excluded from both occupations and union membership, these women have been in many ways silenced in the archival record. Confronting and disturbing that silence has been important in the early stages of this project. In doing so, the author has been guided by longstanding scholarship in women’s labour history and more recent explorations in archival studies.