Australian Women's Register

An initiative of The National Foundation for Australian Women (NFAW) in conjunction with The University of Melbourne

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    Mary Owen, 13 March 2001, courtesy of AWAP Collection.
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Owen, Mary (1921 - )

OAM

Born
1921
Balwyn, Victoria, Australia
Occupation
Women's Liberationist and Trade unionist

Summary

Mary Owen was founding Coordinator of The Working Women's Centre Melbourne, 1975-1986, when it was absorbed into the Australian Council of Trade Unions. She was a staff member of AAESDA (Association of Architects, Engineers, Surveyors & Draughtsmen of Australia), 1965 -1975; a member of WEL from 1972; and a member of La Trobe University Council 1983-1990. She was appointed Deputy Chancellor of La Trobe University 1989.

In 1986 the first Mary Owen Dinner was organised in Melbourne to celebrate Mary's retirement. Held annually, the event lasted twenty years. There was always a female keynote speaker and the audience, normally in the order of 600 women, wearing the feminist colours of purple, green and white, was a sight to behold. The last dinner was held in 2005.

Mary Owen was a very early supporter of the Australian Women's Archives Project.

Details

Events

1977
Awarded the Queen's Silver Jubilee Medal
1984
Order of Australia Medal

Related entries

Archival resources

National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection

  • Papers of Edna Ryan, 1948 - 1993, MS 9140; National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection. Details

National Library of Australia Newspaper Microcopy Reading Room

  • [Biographical cuttings on Mary Owen, co-ordinator of the Working Women's Centre, Melbourne, 1981]; National Library of Australia Newspaper Microcopy Reading Room. Details

State Library of Victoria, Australian Manuscripts Collection

  • Papers of Mary Owen, 1951 - 1997, MS 13367; Owen, Mary (1921 - ); State Library of Victoria, Australian Manuscripts Collection. Details

The University of Melbourne Archives

  • Mary Owen Papers; The University of Melbourne Archives. Details
  • Working Women's Centre Papers, 1907 - 1985; The University of Melbourne Archives. Details

Published resources

Book Sections

  • Owen, Mary, 'The Political Participation of Women', in Evans, Gareth and Reeves, John (eds), Labor Essays, Drummond, Melbourne, 1980. Details
  • Owen, Mary, 'Women's Rights in the Workplace: What's being done to improve them?', in Dyson, Sue and Szirom, Tricia (eds), Leaving School: It's harder for girls, Melbourne, 1983. Details

Conference Papers

  • Owen, Mary, 'Stress in the Workplace', in National Status of Women Committee (ed.), Work and Health: Issues in Occupational Health: Proceeings of the Occupational Health in Women in Technological Change Conference, Melbourne, 1982. Details

Edited Books

  • Harper, Jan and Lee, Jenny (eds), Women We Know, 1988. Details
  • Owen, Mary and Shaw, Sylvie (eds), Working Women: Discussion papers from the Working Women's Centre Melbourne, Melbourne Sisters, Melbourne, 1979. Details
  • Scutt, Jocelynne A. (ed.), Living Generously: women mentoring women, Artemis, Melbourne, 1996. Details
  • Waterfield, Dorothy (ed.), A decade of Mary Owen dinners, Mary Owen Dinner Committee, Sandingham, Vic., 1995, 178 pp. Details

Journal Articles

  • Owen, Mary, 'I confess I'd rather work for a few reforms', Vashti: Journal of Women's Liberation Movement, April, 1977. Details
  • Owen, Mary, 'Discrimination - what does it mean?', Journal of the Australasian Meat Industry Employees' Union, October, 1978. Details
  • Owen, Mary, 'Why have a Working Women's Centre?', Blueprint: Journal of the Association of Architects, Engineers, Surveyors and Draughtsmen of Australia, August, 1979. Details
  • Owen, Mary, 'What Choice Women?', Social Alternatives, vol. 1, no. 4, 1979. Details
  • Owen, Mary, 'What came out of Copenhagen? The definition and relevance of education for women in developing countries', Journal of the Institute of Secretaries, 1980. Details
  • Owen, Mary, 'The Working Women's Centre', Radical Education Dossier, Autumn, 1981. Details
  • Owen, Mary, 'Women: a wastefully exploited resource', Search28/05/2010 Journal of the Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science, Oct/Nov, 1984. Details
  • Owen, Mary, 'Making Affirmative Action Work', IMPA Bulletin: Journal of the Institute of Personnel Management Australian Inc. Victoria Division, July, 1984. Details
  • Owen, Mary, 'Edna Minna Ryan', Australian Rationalist, no. 43 Autumn-Winter, 1997. Details

Online Resources

See also

  • Lake, Marilyn, Getting Equal: The History of Australian Feminism, Allen & Unwin, St Leonards, New South Wales, 1999, 316 pp. Details

Digital resources

Title
Mary Owen
Type
Image
Date
13 March 2001
Source
AWAP Collection

Details

Patricia ni Ivor

Created: 4 May 2000, Last modified: 28 May 2010

Site-wide information and acknowledgements

National Foundation for Australian Women The University of Melbourne, eScholarship Research Centre

http://www.womenaustralia.info/biogs/AWE0011b.htm

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