First woman member of a longshore local, 1965, The ILWU Story: Six Decades of Militant Unionism, International Longshore and Warehouse Union, 1997.

Women belonged to the ILWU from the beginning, but were not accepted in all occupations, and women in the Pacific Northwest led the way for finding jobs on the waterfront.This photo shows Margaret McDougal, of Vancouver, British Columbia, who became the first woman member of a longshore local in 1965.

More women entered the industry in the 1970s, after a rule in the union contract was extended to include not only sons but daughters of deceased active longshoremen, allowing them to take their father’s place in the industry.

See this image in the Images from the Waterfront exhibit.