Rebel Women is a podcast about history's troublemakers.

This episode is the fourth in our five-part series about the battle for equal pay; a journey that spans nearly 100 years, from the late 1880s to the 1970 Equal Pay Act.

As the Second World War began, women rose up once again to do their bit. They went to factories producing munitions. They built ships and aeroplanes. In the auxiliary services they became air-raid wardens, fire officers and drove ambulances, trains and trams. They worked on the railways, canals and on buses. They even built Waterloo Bridge.

As with World War One, the same anxieties rose up about women in the workplace. And the same issues surrounding wage inequality refused to go away. But this time, women were not messing around.

For the first time they started to win claims for equal pay. However, the gains were not all everyone hoped for.

For show notes, reading lists and further stories about East London women, visit our website eastlondonwomen.org.uk. Or find us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram or Pinterest.

Rebel Women is part of the Women Activists of East London project, which has been developed by Share UK, a non-profit community group based in London. 

Special thanks to the Barry Amiel and Norman Melburn Trust for their support of today's episode.

Main theme by DanoSongs. Incidental music by Purple Planet Music.

Produced and edited by Steve Woodward at PodcastingEditor.com.

Further reading and links

Millions like Us – Women's Lives During the Second World War by Virginia Nicholson

Women and work - World War II: 1939-1945 (StrikingWomen.org)

Air Transport Auxiliary website (Museum & Archive at Maidenhead Heritage Centre)

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