author
Clara E. (Clara Elizabeth) Collet
1860–1948
A pioneering British economist and civil servant, she used careful research to expose the realities of women’s work and help push for fairer pay and better conditions. Her career linked statistics, public policy, and early feminist reform in a way that still feels strikingly modern.
1 Audiobook
Educated working women: Essays on the economic position of women workers in the middle classes
by Clara E. (Clara Elizabeth) Collet
About the author
Born in London in 1860, Clara Elizabeth Collet became one of the first women to graduate from the University of London. She went on to build a remarkable career as an economist and civil servant, focusing on labor, wages, and the lives of working women.
Her research was closely tied to social reform. She investigated employment conditions, gathered evidence on pay and poverty, and contributed to efforts that improved working conditions for women in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She is also remembered for work connected with major social investigations of London life and for bringing statistical evidence into public debates about inequality.
Collet died in 1948, but her legacy lives on in the history of labor reform, women’s employment, and social policy. She stands out as a practical thinker who used facts not just to describe the world, but to help change it.