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As more women entered the teaching profession the proportion of women members within the union also increased. Despite this, there was still poor representation of women within EIS structures. Minutes from a council meeting held in June 1970 show that there were 19 women sitting and 103 men. This slowly started to improve throughout the 1970s, and records show that by 1985 women occupied 29 seats on council and men 84. Today, women make up the majority of council members.
In 1974 the first woman to be appointed headteacher of a mixed secondary school was appointed. Rena Watt took up her place in Kingsride Secondary School in Drumchapel. In 1976, the first female assistant secretary in more than 20 years was appointed. Suzanne Marie-Claire Kreitman, an Edinburgh solicitor, took up her place to focus on law and tenure within the union.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
Research, interviews and substantive writing:
Adi Bloom
Design and lay-out:
Stuart Cunningham and Paul Benzie
Additional writing and research:
EIS Comms Team and assorted staff members
Printed by:
Ivanhoe Caledonian, Seafield Edinburgh
Photography:
Graham Edwards, Mark Jackson, Elaine Livingston, Toby Long, Ian Marshall, Alan McCredie, Alan Richardson, Graham Riddell, Lenny Smith, Johnstone Syer, Alan Wylie
Thanks to the many former activists and officers who gave of their time to be interviewed and taken a stroll down memory lane. And of course a very special thanks to the EIS members who created this history through their activism and commitment to the cause of Scottish Education.
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