Rethinking British Communist Party Women in the 1920s

Until very recently, writing on the Communist Party of GreatBritain (CPGB) concentrated primarily on the party's relationshipwith the Communist International (to which it was affiliated)and the Bolshevik leadership in Moscow. Far less attention hasbeen paid to the actual men and women who made up the ranksof the CPGB and sought to establish the party's identity ata grass roots level. This article examines the experiences ofwomen in the CPGB during the 1920s, particularly in relationto women's politics in the period, and with regard to the socialisttraditions that preceded and partly informed the CPGB's earlydevelopment. It argues that despite communist avocation of aparty of a ‘new type’, the CPGB inherited many ofthe existing uncertainties as to the role of women within socialistorganization.