A Look at Women’s Roles and Challenges at the Bank During World Wars: From Janet Hogarth to the Lift of Marriage Ban

In 1894, Janet Hogarth made history as the first woman to work at the Bank, where she was put in charge of a small team of women who sorted used notes. During World War I, the number of female employees at the Bank increased significantly, with 1,309 women appointed by 1919. However, these women were paid less than their male counterparts and had a special pay structure that remained in place until 1958.

The marriage ban policy was strictly enforced at the Bank and other civil service organizations during this time. Women who married were forced to leave their jobs and receive a lump sum payment, which essentially served as a dowry for them to start their new life with their husbands. The marriage ban was finally lifted in 1949 following a post-war labor shortage.

During World War II, female permanent staff officers who had married were allowed to remain in the service on a temporary basis at the discretion of the governor. The scope of work for women at the Bank expanded slightly during the war, including an increase in basic clerical tasks and a reduction in roles focused on sorting and counting banknotes. From 1939 to 1944, there was a 15 percent reduction in employees involved in sorting and counting notes and a ten percent increase in clerical roles.