Kathleen Baxter
Kathleen Baxter | |
|---|---|
| Born | (Mary) Kathleen Young 30 May 1901 Bradford, England |
| Died | 25 October 1988 (aged 87) Bromley, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Awards | Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice |
(Mary) Kathleen Baxter, née Young, (30 May 1901 – 25 October 1988) was an English women's rights activist.
Born in Bradford to a Roman Catholic family, Kathleen Young was educated at St. Joseph's Catholic College, Bradford and then gained a PPE degree at Oxford University, Society of Oxford Home Students.
She worked as an inspector of taxes until she was obliged by the marriage bar to resign from the Inland Revenue on marriage to a barrister, Herbert James Baxter, in 1931. The marriage was reported by the Daily Mirror under the headline "Tax Office Romance: Senior Woman Inspector Weds Barrister at Westminster Cathedral".[1] Her friend Diana Reid stated in her obituary that this forced resignation spurred her desire to end discrimination against women.[2]
During World War II she worked for a period at the Wool Control at Ben Rhydding Hydro in Ilkley, Yorkshire.
In 1951 she joined the National Council of Women, rising to become vice-president in 1961–1964 and president in 1964–1966. She led the British delegation to the Teheran Conference of the International Council of Women, and was vice chairman of the European Centre of the International Council of Women. She was legal advisor to the National Council of Women up until her death.
She was largely responsible for the establishment of the Women's Consultative Council in the mid 1960s, of which she was co-chairman.[3] This acted as a voice for Women's organisations towards Government and was later renamed the Women's National Commission.
In 1968 she wrote a paper on women's rights[4] for the first United Nations "International Conference on Human Rights" in Teheran, Iran.[5]
Taking up law later in life, she was called to the bar (Inner Temple) in 1971, although she stopped practice after her husband became seriously ill in 1974.
An active Roman Catholic, Baxter was president of the National Board of Catholic Women from 1974 to 1977, and awarded the papal cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice in 1978. She died in Bromley.
She had three children: Rosemary, Barbara and Anthony.
References
[edit]- Diana Grantham Reid, ‘Baxter, (Mary) Kathleen (1901–1988)’, rev., Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 27 July 2009
- ^ "Tax Office Romance: Senior Woman Inspector Weds Barrister at Westminster Cathedral". Daily Mirror. 15 September 1931.
- ^ Reid, Diana (10 December 1988). "Obituary: Kathleen Baxter". The Independent.
- ^ "Obituary: Mrs M K Baxter". Sevenoaks Chronicle. 11 November 1988.
- ^ Baxter, Kathleen. "The United Nations and the advancement of women". United Nations Digital Library. United Nations. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
- ^ "Final Act of the International Conference on Human Rights" (PDF). United Nations. United Nations. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
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- 1901 births
- 1988 deaths
- English Roman Catholics
- English feminists
- English women's rights activists
- Members of the Inner Temple
- People educated at St. Joseph's Catholic College, Bradford
- 20th-century English women lawyers
- Presidents of the National Council of Women of Great Britain
- Alumni of St Anne's College, Oxford
- 20th-century English lawyers
- Women's rights activist stubs