March is Women's History Month
Tuesday, March, 9 2010
A Woman in History - Maud Younger
Maud Younger lobbied for woman’s suffrage, protective legislation for working-class women, and the ERA, shirking conformity and seeking bold reforms. As a young woman Younger stopped at the New York City College Settlement to experience the life of a working-class woman; although she was only going to stay a week, this wealthy young woman stayed for five years, got a job as a waitress, and became involved in trade unions. People jokingly called her the “millionaire waitress,” yet took her seriously enough to elect her presidentof the local Waitresses’ Union in California.
Back in California she successfully lobbied for an eight-hour day and organized a woman’s suffrage campaign in 1911. These successes lead to her involvement with Alice Paul and the Congressional Union. Younger spoke throughout the country on behalf of woman’s suffrage and even got arrested while petitioning Wilson’s White House. She pressured Congress for both labor reform and woman suffrage at thesame time. Following the passage of thenineteenth amendment, Younger switchedher attention solely to the ERA. For the restof her life, Younger lobbied and organizedfor women’s equality insisting that itwould not impede any existingprotective legislation.
For more information about strong women in
history
visit www.nwhm.org.