30 years ago, one of the first briefs I had as a photographer was to go to the TUC in Brighton to take photos for City Limits to illustrate a piece they were running about the isolated experience of women in the trade union movement; less than 1 in 10 delegates at TUC then was a woman and none occupied major positions of power within individual unions.
See here:
30 years later, having just returned from Brighton after photographing this year’s TUC, how times have changed: Lesley Mercer is to be President of the TUC in the coming year, and Frances O’Grady is to be the new General Secretary of the TUC following Brendan Barber’s imminent retirement.
After 144 years: Frances O’Grady, the first woman General Secretary of the TUC.
Progress can be slow, but it’s progress nonetheless.
