Women of Easterhouse: A Celebration of Working-Class Struggle and Solidarity

Online Research Findings & Workshop – Free to Attend

Join Dr Mhairi-Jean Ross to explore her research into the lives of lone mothers in Easterhouse, Glasgow 1980-2021. Mhairi’s PhD research examined the life courses of older women who lived and lone mothered in Easterhouse from the 1980s onwards. Her work explores the significance of women’s networks for overcoming challenges of place, poverty, gender, and lone motherhood. Households headed by lone mothers in Glasgow’s peripheral housing schemes trebled between 1980-1990 and have since stayed well above the Glasgow average. This session explores women’s journeys towards lone motherhood and the evolution of women’s rights in Glasgow’s schemes.  It also explores how female solidarity has enabled lone mothers to ‘get by’ and ‘get on’ from young adulthood to later life.

Who should attend: This 90-minute online session is directed toward practitioners, community members, and the wider research community. The training opens with a presentation of the new research into women’s lives in Easterhouse, followed by a group work session exploring themes of gender, community, and lone motherhood.

Presenter and Facilitator: Dr Mhairi-Jean Ross is a working-class researcher with roots in several Scottish council housing schemes including Easterhouse in Glasgow, Craigmillar in Edinburgh and Balintore in the Highlands. Mhairi has spent over twenty years working as a community worker and lecturer in community learning and development. Her latest role with the Changing Realities participatory research project at the University of York documents the experiences of UK families on low incomes.