The Carmichael Centre is proud to support Australian Union Women - An Oral History Project, which showcases the important role of women union leaders and activists in the Australian labour movement. This is a project led by Dr Mihajla Gavin and Dr Sarah Kaine and has to date documented a series of recorded interviews with a number of Australian women union activists.
Read: introduction to the Oral History Project by Dr Sarah Kaine
The project has sought to address an imbalance in the history of the labour movement - that of the the personal histories of union men often overshadowing the enormous influence that women have had in the struggle for workers' rights.
The personal histories of women are a major part of telling the full history of Australian unions and unionists. In recognising that the Carmichael Centre celebrates the legacy of Laurie Carmichael, another union man, we aim to draw attention to the significant role that union women have played in fighting for many of the rights that benefit Australian workers today. The Oral History Project tells the stories of these women in their own words and histories - highlighting that their voices are just as embedded in the Australian labour narrative as those of the men.
The project is ongoing and the histories of other union women will be archived at the website linked below.