Training for Women Workers (1950-1968): A Demand from the Global Labour Movement? A Contribution to a Denationalized History of Adult Education

This article aims to cast a fresh light on adult education based on the specific example of training for women workers. It studies how organisations in the international labour movement took hold of this topic and, through their demands, contributed to a transnational discourse about the professional training of women and girls. As participants in the major international conferences of the International Labour Organization and UNESCO, these organisations fostered dialogue between national labour organisations, government representatives and employers, thus making progress on this issue which had previously been considered low priority. Our research in several archive collections has shed light on the role played by five women activists, involved in their respective international and national labour movements while belonging to various networks. Their demands, put forth on a national level, helped shake up French training policies aimed at women.