FDA attends unveiling of plaque in honour of first female civil servant Jeanie Senior
The FDA attended the unveiling of a plaque in honour of Britain’s first female civil servant, Jeanie Senior, which took place at Battersea Arts Centre. The plaque was funded by the FDA and the Battersea Society, with the unveiling event arranged by local historian and writer Jeanne Rathbone.
Jeanie Senior became the first female civil servant in 1873, when she was appointed as the first female inspector of the education of girls in pauper schools and workhouses, and would continue to work towards improving the education of girls living in poverty throughout her career. Another of Senior’s achievements was her relief work with soldiers returning from the Franco-Prussian War, which contributed to the foundation of the National Society for Aid to Sick and Wounded in War, a predecessor to the British Red Cross. She also co-founded the Metropolitan Association for Befriending Young Servants, an early type of mentoring scheme.
At the unveiling FDA President Margaret Haig gave a speech reflecting on the position of women in the civil service today, and ongoing efforts to improve equality for women within the service and its culture, saying:
“[Senior] spoke truth unto power, championing those values which we still defend as a civil service union: integrity, honesty, objectivity, and impartiality.
“As we often say, a woman’s place is in the union, and we look to cement that in the FDA by providing networking and mentoring opportunities, and leadership development for women, just like Jeanie did.
“Civil servants today work across all areas which impact on children and young people across society, as well as adults. Women are now inspectors of education, but also of prisons and taxation. Women develop policies to address child poverty, provide a range of apprenticeships, and improve access to appropriate healthcare. Women prosecute cases of violence against women and girls, develop solutions and strategies on climate change, and champion gender equality internationally. Women in these roles, and many more, are represented by the FDA.”
Other speakers at the unveiling included Jeanie Senior’s biographer Sybil Oldfield, CEO of the Fawcett Society Penny East, MP for Battersea Marsha de Cordova, Director of Battersea Arts Centre Tarek Iskander and Mayor of Wandsworth Jeremy Ambache.
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