workers chained to plant's gate

Current Exhibition

Women/Work/Justice

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This important exhibit analyzes the intersection of human, civil and economic rights for women. It explores complex and timeless issues through the stories of Colorado-based women groups and movements that pioneered local and national workplace shifts between 1914 and the 1980s.

Women protesters marching down street in Trinidad
workers chained to plant's gate
Female workers at Western Steam Laundry in Denver
Teachers stand behind a group of students working at a switchboard

Themes connect the past with contemporary issues, including the following: women activism and advocacy; personal safety in the workplace; activism against sexual harassment; equal job access; equal pay and treatment; and women/union organizing. Rather than just highlighting women’s roles in certain social movements, it spotlights movements in which women actually drove the change.

These include:

  • Mary Petrucci and the Ludlow Massacre and Coalfield Strike, which focused on workplace freedoms and safety (1914)
  • Jane Street, who organized domestic workers and negotiated higher wages for them through the Housemaids Union (1917)
  • Laundry Girl Law, which focused on workplace safety and industrial hours (1912)
  • Marie Greenwood, the first African American teacher in Denver Public Schools, who opened opportunities for others (1935)
  • Lupe Briseno and the Floral Workers Strike, who inspired similar advocacy for agricultural workers and the Colorado Chicano Movement (1968-69)
  • Janet Bonnema and the Eisenhower Tunnel, a civil engineer who successfully fought against gender discrimination to be able to work on the Eisenhower Tunnel (1972)
  • Bell System Telecommunications Workers, who organized to create management opportunities for women telecom workers (1970-80s)

This exhibit was was created with input from local women scholars and community leaders continuing grassroots efforts.

Location

Tickets Free entrance (tours of the museum cost extra)