The society was established in 1859 by Jessie Boucherett, Barbara Bodichon, Adelaide Anne Proctor and Lydia Becker to promote the training and employment of women.
[1] The Dictionary of Canadian Biography says Maria Rye was also a founding member.
[2] In its early years it was affiliated to the National Association for the Promotion of Social Science, though formal connections between them were severed in 1889[dubious – discuss].
When SPEW was founded, there were few occupations who accepted the middle-class women other than a governess or a lady's companion.
SPEW made it acceptable for women to be typists, hairdressers, printers, and bookkeepers.