She took a Political Economy degree (MA) in Edinburgh in 1935, and then moved to London.
She married Raymond Firth in 1936, and accompanied him to Malaya to undertake fieldwork from 1939 to 1940.
She focussed on the domestic economy of the female villagers, resulting in the publication of Housekeeping among Malay Peasants in 1943.
She worked as a lecturer in health education at the University of London Institute of Education for many years, whilst continuing her anthropological research interests.
This award has the specific aim of promoting Rosemary's interest in 'the anthropology of household management and the organisation of domestic affairs'.