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The Association of Registered Medical Women (ARMW), founded in 1879, was one of the first representative bodies of medical women in the Untied Kingdom. It provided women doctors with a platform, and campaigned for their personal and professional rights within the male-dominated medical profession. In contrast, the British Medical Association did not officially permit women to join as members until 1892.^[1]

History

The Association of Registered Medical Women was heavily involved in the formation of the National Insurance Act 1911, and supported women doctors both at home and abroad during World War I. The ARMW had a number of regional associations, including: London (main), Northern, North-Eastern, Yorkshire, Birmingham and Midlands, and Northern Irish and Scottish.^[2] In 1916, the regional branches of the ARMW voted in favour of joining together to form a more cohesive whole, in order to better represent medical women in the United Kingdom.

Inaugural Meeting

The ARMW was founded on the 6th May 1879, with the inaugural meeting being held on the 4th May 1880. The first meeting of the ARMW took place at the London School of Medicine for Women (30 Henrietta Street) at 2.30pm. The Association began with nine female members: Elizabeth Blackwell, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, Sophia Jex-Blake, Louisa Atkins, Annie Barker, Ann Clark, Mary Marshall, Matilda Chaplin Ayrton, Eliza McDonagh Frikart, and Eliza Walker Dunbar. Eliza Walker Dunbar was elected secretary, whilst Elizabeth Blackwell was asked to preside over the meeting. A paper on 'Four cases of Obstruction of the Intestines' was read, and the women present agreed that for the present, invitations to ARMW meetings should be limited to registered medical women of the United Kingdom. At 7:30pm the same day, every member (bar Matilda Chaplin Ayrton), attended a dinner held at the 'Trafalgar Greenwiche'. Following the dinner, it was unanimously voted that in the future, annual meetings should not take place on the same day as the medical meeting.

Campaign issues

As well as being involved in the National Health Insurance Act 1911, the ARMW was also involved in the subsequent National Health Insurance Commission. Issues on which the organisation campaigned included maternity schemes, equal pay, forced retirement on marriage and access to jobs.^[3]

Legacy

The Association of Registered Medical Women became known as the Medical Women's Federation in 1917.

References

^ Lamont, Tara (December 1992). "The Amazons within: women in the BMA 100 years ago" (PDF). British Medical Journal. 305 (6868): 1529–1532. doi:10.1136/bmj.305.6868.1529. PMC 1884708. PMID 1286372.
^ Ward, Dorothy. "The MWIA and MWF".
^ Archive guide for Medical Women's Federation Archives, 1879-1988. Wellcome Library.

[1] Lamont, Tara (December 1992). "The Amazons within: women in the BMA 100 years ago" (PDF). British Medical Journal. 305 (6868): 1529–1532. doi:10.1136/bmj.305.6868.1529. PMC 1884708. PMID 1286372.

[2] Ward, Dorothy. "The MWIA and MWF".

[3] Archive guide for Medical Women's Federation Archives, 1879-1988. Wellcome Library.

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