Highlighting Black women’s contributions to London Transport
Recruitment
In the aftermath of the Second World War, and like many other industries at the time, London Transport (LT) suffered serious labour shortages. In response LT created a direct recruitment scheme in the Caribbean, starting in Barbados in February 1956 and continuing until 1970.
Both men and women were recruited, with the women hired in supporting roles as bus conductors, canteen workers and station staff. Before this, Caribbean and African workers had been hired independently to work for London Transport once they had arrived in the city.
Canteens and food production
Working in catering for London Transport was a popular role for the recently arrived female Caribbean recruits. Of the 9,000 estimated Black staff employed by LT in 1968, around 2,000 worked in departments like catering, which were predominantly made up of women.
The Food Production Centre in Croydon, pictured below, produced the food sent out to the staff canteens across south London, where the canteen assistants would cater for thousands of LT workers every day.
Operational staff
When the women arrived from the mid-1950s onwards, they were able to take up work as bus conductors. However, they were still not allowed to become drivers, unlike their male counterparts. Eventually, with the first white woman bus driver hired in 1974 and following the passing of the Equal Pay Act in 1970 and Sex Discrimination Act in 1975, Black women and other women of colour could finally train to become bus and Tube drivers.
At the turn of the century, London Underground began advertising for the recruitment of female drivers in Cosmopolitan magazine, with the aim of once again filling labour shortages.
London Transport Museum currently holds few records of Black, Asian and minority ethnic women at work. We have some collections relating to Black women, likely due to the direct recruitment schemes in the Caribbean, but very few Asian or other minority ethnic women. Today Transport for London’s workforce is 30% Black, Asian and minority ethnic, but women are under-represented in the transport workforce, as they are in the Museum’s collection. New collecting initiatives are hoping to redress this - if you have a story get in touch with our Documentary Curators.
This article was written by Veronica Sarmiento, working as part of our Young Freelancer programme.
