Emily Faithfull: Women's Employment Activist

    

    Emily Faithfull was a well educated woman who was a strong activist for women’s right to education and employment. To her, that was the most important cause to believe in, as women were bright and capable but overlooked. Emily was born in Surrey, England where she was homeschooled until the age of 13. From the ages of 13-21, Emily attended a boarding school in Kensington where she learned to write and so became passionate about women's rights to employment. Emily moved to London after boarding school and formed a womens publication with a group that called themselves the Langham Place Circle.   

The publication, known as the “English Woman's Journal” ran for 6 years. The publication’s goal was not only to inform readers and be activists on women’s rights but to also create jobs for women as not many male employers were hiring women at the time. While involved in the Langham Place Circle and working on the English Woman’s Journal, Emily was also involved in several women’s societies. She was in the Society of Promoting Employment for Women and the National Association of Promotion of Social Sciences. In the NAPSS, Emily met a woman named Bessie Rayner Parkes, who introduced her to the printing press. As soon as Emily learned that the printing press could be made and operated by women, she jumped at the opportunity to have women in control of every stage of publication. She opened “The Victoria Press,” a publication that ran for 20 years, until it was bought out. Along with this, she also created “The Victoria Magazine” which published 35 volumes. Lastly, Emily wrote a tragic love story about a woman’s need for education. 

In the last few years of Emily’s life, a scandal came out about Emily being the mistress of the Admiral’s wife. Charges were dropped but the scandal dragged Emily’s name through the mud and tarnished her reputation. Emily was shunned by the Langham Place Group and the Victoria Press. Emily continued to publish articles however and spoke at conferences and conventions on women’s employment. She continued to be an activist of this cause until she died in 1895. Emily was an inspiration to women everywhere and her legacy and activism lives on.