Class, gender and the perils of philanthropy

This article examines the intersection of class and gender within philanthropy, specifically through the lens of the Women’s Trade Union League (WTUL) and its journal, "Life and Labor." It argues that the WTUL’s dependence on upper-class women’s philanthropy contradicted its industrial feminist purpose, overlooking real class differences and applying a 19th-century reform method to 20th-century labor issues. The piece highlights how this reliance led to internal conflicts and ultimately eroded the WTUL’s effectiveness.