Eliza Brierley became the first woman member of the Rochdale Equitable Pioneers’ Co-operative Society just two years after it was founded

In 1846, Eliza Brierley became the first woman member of the Rochdale Equitable Pioneers’ Co-operative Society –just two years after it was founded.  

Although from the beginning the Pioneers’ rules enabled women to be members on the same basis as men, the customs of the time discouraged women from taking part in public life. Little is known about Brierley beyond her name, her occupation (weaver), and that she was admitted to membership in the Rochdale Pioneers’ society in March 1846.