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

在回答关键研究问题时，她说，为什么在电子行业的熟练劳动力中，女性占了如此大的比例？以及电子行业为什么增长如此之快，是谁的创新？借鉴电子工业和二战期间英国职业女性的史学将是至关重要的。彼得·莫里斯强调，半导体设备的起源与热离子阀门的起源是如何密不可分的。他指出，1922年英国广播公司成立后，国内广播被消费者广泛采用，这是该技术越来越多地使用的一个关键发展。此外，基思·施罗尔认为，第一次世界大战塑造了每个国家技术进步的个别背景，例如美国能够比其他国家更早地专注于技术的民用应用。这个项目将通过关注技术背后的人员来扩展这类文献，并强调女性如何以及为什么为英国阀门行业做出贡献，以及这在多大程度上与她们以前在纺织业的工作有关。格雷姆·古迪强调了性别在19世纪末家庭用电中发挥的关键作用。他说，早期文化对电的焦虑很大程度上集中在女性的身体上，这往往需要权威女性从性别角度推动家庭收养。此外，米里亚姆·格鲁克斯曼利用“女权主义和历史唯物主义”的框架，将女性置于两次世界大战期间英国消费主义、工业发展和工人阶级劳资关系的中心。格卢克斯曼强调了性别期望是如何导致职场性别分化的，并认为“女性本身就有阶级关系”。这一观点得到了萨利·M·霍洛克等学者的扩展，霍罗克一直专注于两次世界大战之间的化学工业。然而，克莱尔·怀特曼等学者反对这些例子对性别意识形态的过分重视。她认为，市场环境、对灵活性的需求，以及对熟练男性劳动力的持续依赖，都在两次世界大战期间女性劳动力的组织中发挥了关键作用。该项目将侧重于与特定的两次世界大战之间的工业有关的性别问题，从而促进这场辩论。提到的文献涵盖了多个两次世界大战之间的行业，因此这个项目在史学方面有一个明显的空白要填补。这个项目的合作方面将打开科学博物馆集团的收藏品的新用途，并发展对它们的进一步理解。例如，科学博物馆的麦克维蒂·韦斯顿阀门收藏将是物理接触阀门的关键。曼彻斯特的科学与工业博物馆还收藏了费兰蒂和大都会维克斯的公司记录，这将是分析行业内工作条件的关键。布拉德福德的《每日先驱报》收藏品也将提供那个时期职业女性的视觉来源。在使用这些记录时，这项研究将提供对这些收藏品的解读，有助于扩大她们的吸引力。除了博物馆藏品，华威大学的工会记录将有助于分析全国性别与劳工之间的关系，如会议纪要和广告材料。这些资料将有助于对性别史学和两次世界大战之间的电子工业作出广泛贡献。

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.