Medical Women's Federation

The Medical Women's Foundation built upon the Association of Registered Medical Women, which had been founded in London in 1879 with the intention that it would 'speak on behalf of all medical women and represent their interests.' Nine members comprised the original association, though other provincial associations and members rapidly followed as more women became qualified in medicine. Representatives of these associations came together in 1916 to discuss the benefits of establishing a Federation. This meeting was in part stimulated by the Government's dismissive attitude towards women doctors who wished to serve in the First World War. On 1 February 1917, Articles of Association were drawn up and signed, thus creating the Medical Women's Federation. There were 190 members to begin with, including Jane Harriett Walker, Ethel Williams, Catherine Chisholm, Florence Barrett, and Louisa Aldrich-Blake. At the outset they considered accepting members living outside the British Isles and reported receiving enquiries from Canada, Tasmania, Australia and India. The newly formed Federation launched a campaign to promote the role of women in the armed forces, arguing that women medics should be given commissions in order to maintain discipline in military hospitals. Concerns about women included fears about their physical abilities and the absence of suitable accommodation, and especially the attitude that women should not command men and fear that any concession might initiate a movement for officer-status on the behalf of other women serving in branches of the military. The Federation collected testimonies and excellent records, but despite their petitioning and campaigning the War Office remained reluctant to grant women equal status. Other early focusses included venereal disease, prostitution, and maternity and infant welfare. ==Inter-war years==

In the 1920s, the Federation was concerned about the number of organisations which restricted access to women, including medical schools, local authorities and other employers. In addition to their work on the employment of women, the Federation examined varied aspects of women's health during the inter-war years. Issues included venereal disease, nutrition, lunacy law reform, the fitness of women to pilot commercial aeroplanes, the menopause, and guidance on the hygiene of menstruation (a Federation pamphlet on this subject sold 10,000 copies in a single year). By 1931, a resolution was passed stating that instruction in the provision of birth control should be included in medical schools' gynaecological syllabus. They also argued that the Birth Control Investigation Committee ought to include a woman gynaecologist. ==Second World War==

Before the outbreak of the Second World War, the Federation and War Office discussed the role that women would play in the conflict. They decided that women were to receive the same rates of pay as their male counterparts, and the same allowances as single men doctors. However, the Federation were unsuccessful in their efforts to obtain the right for women to be commissioned personnel, and women were only granted "relative rank". The Federation achieved several successes in terms of incorporating their concerns into government policy during the war. Women served on a number of medical boards and panels of consultants, though not on the Ministry of Labour's staff. The federation also lobbied government on issues including equal pay, the birth rate, nursery school provision, and the employment of women in the Diplomatic Services. In 1944, the Goodenough committee strongly advocated changes to medicine including mixed medical schools and called for open competition for all hospital appointments. Its criticism of discrimination against women in hospitals as going against public interest was significant in furthering the aims of the Federation. ==Post-war work==

From the end of the Second World War, the Federation played an increasingly influential role in British Medicine due to its representation on other medical bodies. In 1946, British Medical Association appointed its first women members, and throughout the 1950s and 60s Federation members worked with the BMA and the General Medical Council as well as other official committees. care of the child under the NHS, pain in childbirth, the health of schoolgirls, family planning in the National Health Service, abortion, rape and sexual assault, assisted reproduction, and child health. It is now registered with the Charity commission under its own name. In 2008 the organisation reported having 1,200 members. ==Presidents==