The Women in Print Movement

"Women’s liberation was obsessed with print. Feminists believed that an independent media was essential to a political and cultural revolution, and so produced a diverse array of publications: newspapers, stapled newsletters, bound journals, glossy slicks, poetry chapbooks, bound paperbacks. These publications cropped up across the nation in big cities, small college towns, communes, and suburbs, and in every state. Feminists read each other’s publications, reprinted articles, passed on announcements for journals, conferences, and meetings, and constructed, in the absence of the Internet, what would become known as the women in print (WIP) movement." - JAIME HARKER The Lesbian South: Southern Feminists, the Women in Print Movement, and the Queer Literary Canon

Let's take a moment and remember what the world was like in 1970. Women were fighting for reproductive freedom, respect for domestic labor, and the freedom to just exist at work without being harassed. 

The Women in Print Movement emerged in the 1970s during a period of intense social, political, and cultural change. Rooted in second-wave radical feminism, the movement challenged deeply entrenched power structures within the printing and publishing industries, fields that had long excluded women from technical roles, union membership, ownership, and creative control. At the time, print was not just a trade. It was a gatekeeper of information and political power. Press access determined which voices were heard. For feminist organizers, gaining control of printing equipment, publishing processes, and distribution networks became both a practical necessary and a political act.

Feminism and Trade Unionism
The union that we are part of at Brick City Printing, Communication Workers of America (CWA) was founded due to an act of exclusion. CWA began as a division of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW). During a strike in 1947, the non-union switchboard operators who were almost exclusively women, joined the men of IBEW on a sympathy strike. After the strike was won by IBEW, the switchboard operators petitioned to join IBEW. These operators were denied on the grounds of their being women. As a result, CWA was founded. 
 
Print as a Tool of Liberation
Women in Print was born out of feminist presses, underground newspapers, and community print shops that rejected traditional hierarchies. These collectives viewed printing as a means of liberation rather than commerce. By producing their own books, newsletters, posters, and pamphlets, women could publish content that mainstream publishers refused to touch, writing openly about reproductive rights, labor, sexuality, race, and gendered violence. Operating presses, setting type, and managing production workflows were radical acts in themselves. Women trained one another in skills that had historically been restricted to men, dismantling the myth that print production was “men’s work.” Challenging the Industry From the Inside As the movement gained momentum, its influence extended beyond activist presses. Women who learned the trade through feminist print collectives began entering commercial print shops, design studios, and publishing houses. They brought with them values shaped by collective labor, transparency, and shared authority.

People over Profit
While progress was uneven and often met with resistance, the movement laid critical groundwork for women’s participation in technical, managerial, and leadership roles. The legacy of the 1970s Women in Print movement can still be seen in the industry today. Practices that are now considered standard such as collaborative work environments, mentorship, skills-sharing, and inclusive leadership owe much to feminist print collectives that prioritized process over profit and people over hierarchy.

Modern conversations around equity, representation, and workplace culture are not new, they are extensions of the same radical ideas that questioned who gets access to tools, knowledge, and decision-making power. From Radical Roots to Modern Industry While today’s Women in Print organizations often operate within professional and commercial frameworks, their origins remain firmly radical. The movement was never just about representation. It was about control of labor, knowledge, and narrative.

Understanding our history matters. "The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles." -K. Marx. 

Throughout human history, we can see contests to gain or retain power among all levels of socio-economic hierarchies. During times of antiquity, monarchies of all types faces periods of resistance by "peasantry" and merchant classes; which eventually has led to the near abolition of concepts like "absolute monarchy". Serfdom, indentured servitude, caste systems, and chattel slavery were used as mechanisms to keep wealth and power concentrated in the hands of generational rulers, most often decided by skin tone or ethnic identity. Among all economic classes, men have worked to dominate women. Much of historical misogyny has been buttressed by religious doctrine, tying women's' liberation with theocratic crimes like 'heresy'.   

Like most other ancient professions, the print industry’s evolution did not happen by accident. All of the opportunities available today were hard-won through collective resistance and feminist organizing. The Women in Print movement transformed printing from a closed, male-dominated trade into a more inclusive and socially conscious industry and its influence continues to shape how we collaborate, work, and advance the revolution.