Find out about some of the key characters who really did make a difference and discover how pay, pension rights, and tea breaks had an impact on the workforce.

Women formed an important part of the Newman Brothers’ workforce, performing a number of vital roles, but they were only employed in what was classed as ‘unskilled’ jobs, as opposed to their male counterparts. Nevertheless, being a woman at Newman Brothers didn’t appear to be a barrier to success and climbing the ladder, so to speak. After all, Newman Brothers was run by a woman from the late 1970s onwards until its closure in 1998.

In the earliest days of the factory, women at Newman Brothers would have been employed for fly-pressing and polishing. Later, in 1914, the company advertised for seamstresses, a role which had been very typical of working class women’s work since the early industrial revolution.