Kathleen "Kay" McDowell was an Irish trade union leader.
24 Facts About Kay McDowell
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Kay McDowell was born Kathleen Mary McDowell on 16 August 1897 at 20 Connaught Street, Phibsborough, Dublin.
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Kay McDowell's parents were William, a wine merchant, and Mary McDowell.
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Kay McDowell's grandfather, William J McDowell, was a journalist who edited the Belfast Morning News before moving to Dublin in 1883 to join the staff of the Freeman's Journal.
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Kay McDowell eventually became the editor, but was dismissed when he supported Charles Stewart Parnell, and sued the paper for wrongful dismissal, the first successful case of this kind in Ireland.
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Kay McDowell later studied commerce at a technical school in Bray, County Wicklow and at Rosses College, Skerries, County Dublin.
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Kay McDowell was deeply affected by the death of her brother in France in 1918 during World War I This led to her abandoning her plans to work for her paternal uncle who was a Dublin solicitor, and she instead moved to London to work for a law firm there.
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Kay McDowell returned to Dublin in 1921, bowing to pressure from her family, who were against an unsuitable marriage she was considering.
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Kay McDowell's uncle was solicitor to the Irish Women Workers' Union, and it was through him that she was introduced to Louie Bennett, the union's general secretary.
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In 1922 Kay McDowell joined the staff of the union as an organiser.
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Kay McDowell was assigned as supervisor of the clerical works in the union's office in 1923, with the aim of rationalising all administrative procedures and cutting operational costs.
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Over time, Kay McDowell held numerous administrative and official positions within the union, with specific interest in representing and working with mental health nurses, textile workers, and printers.
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In 1948, Kay McDowell was one of the founders of The People's College, and sat on the first central council.
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Kay McDowell was the chair of the DTC's women's council of action in the late 1940s.
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When Bennett became IWWU consultative secretary in August 1950, Kay McDowell became a joint acting secretary with Helen Chenevix.
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From January 1951 to May 1954, Kay McDowell took an extended leave of absence to sit on the government's prices advisory committee.
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When Bennett retired, Kay McDowell became IWWU assistant general secretary, serving under Chenevix from 1955 to 1957.
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Kay McDowell succeeded Chenevix as the union's general secretary in 1957, a position she held until 1969.
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The IWWU under Kay McDowell opposed many of these practices initially, but later negotiated the introduction of a shorter working week in combination with wage increases, better job security, and demarcation for women in full-time work.
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Kay McDowell protested gendered pay scales, which saw women paid less than male counterparts, as well as lower cost-of-living allowances allocated to women than men, arguing that the cost of living was the same regardless of gender.
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In 1958, Kay McDowell became the first woman to sit on the administrative council of the Labour Party.
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Kay McDowell was elected to the first national executive of the newly formed Irish Congress of Trade Unions in 1959, serving on the Congress's committee on industrial organisation throughout the 1960s.
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Kay McDowell lived on Northumberland Road, Dublin, and later at 57 Pembroke Road.
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Kay McDowell died in Jervis Street Hospital on 7 March 1975, and is buried in Deans Grange Cemetery.