Waiting for a living wage

This poster, designed by the artist Catharine Coutauld for the Suffrage Atelier refers to the powerless situation of women employed in the sweated industries. The chain depicted on the poster suggests the female worker is a chain worker from Cradley Heath in the Black Country where women provided the workforce for the manufacture of hand-worked small chains in small cramped forges in outbuildings next to the home.
In 1910 the female Cradley chain-makers joined a strike called by their union the National Federation of Women Workers (NFWW) in protest against employers not accepting the minimum wage recommended by the Chain Trade Board for female hand-hammered chain workers. The strike lasted 10 weeks and ended when the majority of employers had agreed to pay the recommended wage to their female workers. The strike attracted huge public support including those campaigning for the right to vote. It is likely Catharine Courtauld designed this poster before or during the strike period.

The Suffrage Atelier was founded in London in February 1909 as 'An Arts and Crafts Society Working for the Enfranchisement of Women'. Its object was: 'to encourage Artists to forward the Women's Movement, and particularly the Enfranchisement of Women, by means of pictorial publications.' Co-founded by Laurence and Clemence Housman the Atelier attracted a range of artists including Catharine Courtauld who also produced artworks for the Artists' Suffrage League.
The Atelier artists specialised in hand-made wooden block prints, stencilling and etchings and produced visually powerful posters and postcards to publicise the pro-suffrage campaign.
The Atelier was associated with the militant Votes for Women campaign, in particular the Women's Freedom League. It also ran the Art Stall at the WSPU's fund-raising Women's Exhibition in 1909.