The Six Point Group was a British feminist campaign group founded by Lady Rhondda in 1921 to press for changes in the law of the United Kingdom in six areas.
The group was founded by Lady Rhondda in 1921 to press for changes in the law of the United Kingdom in six areas. The secretary from 1921 to 1926 was the actor-director and ex-suffragette Winifred Mayo.[1] During the 1920s, it was active in trying to have the League of Nations pass an Equal Rights Treaty.
The group campaigned on principles of strict equality between men and women. This 'old feminism' or 'equality feminism' was sometimes contrasted to the 'new feminism' or 'welfare feminism' of other women's groups of the period, such as the National Union of Societies for Equal Citizenship, which sought protectionist legislation applying only to women.[2]
During the Second World War, the Six Point Group campaigned on a variety of issues. They protested about the fact that female volunteers in the Civil Defence Services received only two-thirds the men's pay. They objected that the compensation provided for by the Personal Injuries (Emergency Provisions) Act of 1939 was skewed between male / female recipients. They were closely involved in the Equal Compensation Campaign from 1941 to 1943 and subsequently had representatives alongside the Open Door Council and the Fawcett Society on the committee of the Equal Pay Campaign from 1944 to ensure equal pay in the Civil Service.
The group continued to have significant political influence in the post war period. It took part in the protests to have the Matrimonial Proceedings and Property Act changed to give married women more financial protection. Hazel Hunkins Hallinan took over as chair in 1950s, having joined the organisation in 1922.[6]
From 1967, the group played an active part in the co-ordination of other women's groups on a number of issues. Its secretary in the 1970s was Hazel Hunkins Hallinan.[2] From the late 1970s the group declined through its failure to recruit younger women. It went into abeyance in 1980, and was finally dissolved in 1983.
^"Winifred Mayo". Spartacus Educational. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
^ abcGordon, Peter; Doughan, David (2001). "Six Point Group". Dictionary of British Women's Organisations, 1825-1960. London & Portland, Or.: Woburn Press. p. 128. ISBN0-7130-0223-9.