Since the first meeting in 1915, WI members have been at the very heart of their communities, and the organisation has been a lynchpin in the developing history of women and their changing roles for one hundred years.
This book celebrates the organisation’s centenary in 2015 by highlighting and focusing on that work. From its roots in a Canadian movement aimed at the preservation of rural life in the teeth of increasing industrialisation and urbanisation, transported in 1915 to a Britain suffering the rigours of war in Europe, the WI spread its wings to encompass support for, among many other causes, women’s education and equal pay, prison reform and, later in the century, AIDS awareness and fair trade. Now enjoying a resurgence among younger, urban women, while remaining firmly rooted in its rural origins, the WI is stronger than ever and superbly well equipped for the new century.
This book, focusing on powerful images of the WI and its work, tells its story to a new generation of men and women, whose forebears 100 years ago could never have imagined what their fledgling new organisation would become.
£12.99 - Order details via WI HERE
Women's Century: An Illustrated History of the Women's Institute
Third Millennium Publishing
CURRENT KEY CAMPAIGNS & INITIATIVES
The WI is campaigning for more midwives. Find out why and how you can help.
The NFWI is calling for people with mental health problems to get the right care for their condition via more diversion schemes and better community mental health services offering safe alternatives to imprisonment.
Read about the successes of our previous campaigns and projects.
The WI is an entirely member led organisation, and the resolutions process ensures that every WI member has the opportunity to set the direction of NFWI campaigns and policy, from the grassroots up.
The WI has a long history of campaigning on a wide range of issues that matter to women and their communities. Follow this link to see a snapshot of WI campaigns; going back as far as 1926.
No More Violence Against Women
Three million women across the UK experience rape, domestic violence, forced marriage, sexual exploitation and other forms of violence and abuse each year.
The NFWI has been campaigning on violence against women since 2008; raising awareness of the nature, extent and impact of all forms of violence against women.