Kay McDowell

Kathleen "Kay" McDowell (16 August 1897 – 7 March 1975) was an Irish trade union leader.

Early life and family Kay McDowell was born Kathleen Mary McDowell on 16 August 1897 at 20 Connaught Street, Phibsborough, Dublin. Her parents were William, a wine merchant, and Mary McDowell (née Kirwan). McDowell's paternal family came from Ulster, and owned a chain of off-licences and grocery stores on the northside of Dublin. Her 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. He 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. McDowell and her younger brother, Willie, were orphaned at a young age. They were raised by their paternal grandfather, at 11 Charleville Rd and at 11 Belfast Terrace, North Circular Road. After their grandfather died, she and her brother remained at Belfast Terrace, living with relatives.

During McDowell's tenure, many of the industries represented by the union saw widespread automation, leading to part-time or irregular shift work, which was often taken up by married women returning to the workforce. The IWWU under 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. She 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. In 1964, she was sceptical of the national wage agreement that had been worked out between Irish unions and employers, primarily as it did not give women the £1 minimum basic increase guaranteed to men. serving on the Congress's committee on industrial organisation throughout the 1960s. This led to accusations that she was in discussions to merge IWWU into a larger union, which she strenuously denied. She was convinced that the women's union was necessary as she noted that male negotiators from other unions always accepted wage settlements that agreed to women's pay being 50% that of men's, while IWWU secured 75% for women. Despite this, IWWU's numbers continued to decline from a peak in 1950 of 6700 to 3550 in 1970. During her time as head of the union, McDowell saw a ten-week lockout of IWWU members in printing in 1965, and in 1966 a strike of sugar confectioners. The IWWU secured a successful claim in the labour court against ICTU in 1967 on behalf of female clerical workers in ICTU who were paid less than the scheduled rate. IWWU negotiated improvements for its members in the late 1960s in areas including increases in marriage benefit, strike pay, sick pay, and the introduction of retirement bonuses.

McDowell lived on Northumberland Road, Dublin, and later at 57 Pembroke Road. She died in Jervis Street Hospital on 7 March 1975, and is buried in Deans Grange Cemetery.