Margaret Ellen James

Inducted:
2021
Category:
Local Champion

Margaret Ellen James (nee Hoggart) was born in Melbourne in 1939 and educated at Methodist Ladies College (MLC) Elsternwick and for her matriculation year, MLC Kew.  She graduated BA Hons DipEd from the University of Melbourne and completed an MA on Elizabeth Gaskell while living in Manchester UK with her then husband. After the birth of her first daughter, Amanda, she returned to Melbourne to live in 1967.  She recommenced her academic career, teaching a range of courses in history at the University of Melbourne and La Trobe University. 

After her second daughter, Meredith, was born, she developed an interest in the social history of women and, influenced by the feminist movement, took on the role of Convenor of the Second Women and Labour Conference in 1980.  With Margaret Bevege and Carmel Shute, she edited the conference papers for publication as ‘Worth Her Salt: Women at Work in Australia’.  In 1984, she completed her PhD at La Trobe University on the history of marriage and divorce in Victoria and was appointed to a research fellowship on the status of women at La Trobe University 1984–86.  She published several articles, but finding academic opportunities limited, switched careers and took up an appointment at Monash University in 1987 as equal opportunity manager.

With the assistance of a group of capable and committed staff, she developed a comprehensive range of equal opportunity policies and programs at Monash, including Aboriginal Employment, Affirmative Action for Women, Disability Support Program, Discrimination and Harassment Grievance Procedures and the Equity Plan for students.  She was also involved in the development and delivery of training programs, especially for women staff.  After retiring from Monash in 2000, she worked as a consultant, mainly with Victoria University, on a range of equity policies and programs. 

Margaret joined the Australian Federation of University Women (AFUW) Victoria (now Graduate Women Victoria) in 1999 and facilitated the development of a scholarship program for disadvantaged women which has assisted more than 500 women to study at universities in Victoria.  

She is also involved in local environmental issues and maintains an interest in Australian plant gardens.

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