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

在探讨关键的研究问题时，“为什么妇女在电子技术劳动力中如此占优势？”“以及”为什么电子工业发展如此之快，是谁的创新？“这将是至关重要的借鉴历史的电子工业和劳动妇女在两次世界大战之间的英国。彼得·莫里斯（Peter Morris）强调了“半导体器件的起源与电磁阀的起源有着千丝万缕的联系”，并引用了1922年BBC成立后消费者对家用收音机的广泛采用，作为该技术使用增加的关键发展。此外，基思·斯罗尔认为，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。该项目将通过关注技术背后的人员来扩展此类文献，并强调女性如何以及为什么对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行业的工作有关。Graeme Gooday强调性别如何在世纪后期的家庭用电中发挥关键作用。他指出，“早期对电力的文化焦虑集中在女性身体上”，这往往需要权威女性从性别角度促进家庭收养。此外，米里亚姆Glucksmann利用“女权主义者和历史唯物主义者”的框架，将妇女在消费主义，工业发展和工人阶级的劳动关系在英国的两次世界大战期间的中心。Glucksmann强调了性别期望是如何促成工作场所的性别分工的，并认为“女性本身就有阶级关系”。这一观点被一些学者所扩展，如Sally M.Horrock，他专注于两次世界大战之间的化学工业。然而，像克莱尔怀特曼这样的学者反对这些例子对性别意识形态的独特重要性。她认为，“市场环境、灵活性的需要”和“对熟练男性劳动力的持续依赖”都在两次世界大战之间的女性劳动力组织中发挥了关键作用。该项目将通过侧重于与特定两次世界大战之间的工业有关的性别问题来促进这一辩论。所提到的文献涵盖了两次世界大战之间的多个行业，因此本项目在历史编纂方面存在明显的空白。本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，并进一步了解它们。例如，科学博物馆的McVitie韦斯顿阀门收藏将是至关重要的物理访问阀门。曼彻斯特的科学与工业博物馆还收藏了Ferranti和Metropolitan-Vickers的公司记录，这对于分析行业内的工作条件至关重要。布拉德福德的《每日先驱报》收藏也将提供这一时期职业妇女的视觉资料。通过使用这些记录，这项研究将对这些收藏进行解释，这将有助于扩大它们的吸引力。除了博物馆的收藏之外，诸如沃里克大学工会记录之类的记录，如会议记录和广告材料，将有助于分析全国性别与劳动力之间的关系。这些资料将有助于对性别和两次世界大战之间电子工业的历史编纂作出广泛贡献。

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.