Mary Paterson

Mary Muirhead Paterson (23 June 1864 – 10 June 1941) was a British factory inspector and philanthropist. She was one of the first two women factory inspectors and the first woman to prosecute in a Scottish court.

Life Paterson was born in Glasgow in 1864 into a prosperous family. Her parents were Gavin and Annie Paterson. She obtained a first-class education in Scotland but she was not awarded a degree, as women were not allowed to graduate. She had been one of the first women to be admitted to Queen Margaret College in Glasgow. She took an interest in the conditions that employees had to work in and under her own steam she researched the contemporary conditions in Scotland, Canada and the United States. She went to America with her uncle, Dr Henry Muirhead.

In 1893 she and May Tennant were the first two women to become factory inspectors earning £200 a year. They were known as "Lady Inspectors" and they were employed in a special department and paid less than their male counterparts. Factory Inspectors had existed since 1833 but for the first sixty years they were all men. This was a powerful role giving them authority over factory managers and owners. Women were appointed to these jobs because of pressure from trade unions and from a Royal Commission which recommended that women should take on this role.

In 1911 the National Insurance Act was passed that established a link between government and private insurance companies. Paterson became a national health insurance commissioner for Scotland in 1912. She was one of the first people appointed and she worked in that role until 1919.

Paterson died at her home in Lasswade in 1941.