Johanna Westerman

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Johanna Westerman
Westerman in 1923
Member of the Dutch House of Representatives
In office
1921–1933
Personal details
Born(1866-12-15)15 December 1866
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Died2 July 1943(1943-07-02) (aged 76)
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Political partyVDB (–1917)
EB (1917–1921)
LSP (1921–)
Occupation
  • Teacher
  • politician

Johanna "Jo" Westerman[1] (15 December 1866 – 2 July 1943) was a Dutch teacher, politician, and feminist. She became the second female member of the Dutch House of Representatives in 1921.[2][3]

Early life and education[edit]

Westerman was the daughter of bookseller, publisher, and linguist William Marten Westerman and Johanna Frederica Smaale. The later banker Willem Westerman was her older brother. She attended the three-year Hogere Burgerschool and the kweekschool and obtained various teaching certificates.[1]

Career[edit]

From 1886 she worked in various positions in education and published occasionally columns in De Sumatra Post. From 1909 she held board positions in the Dutch Association for Women's Suffrage.[1]

From 1921 to 1933, Westerman was a member of the House of Representatives, initially for the Economic League, and from 1925 for the Liberal State Party. As an education expert, she was well known among her male colleagues and the parliamentary press. She was also committed to women's emancipation in general, for example through an amendment regarding the eligibility of women as mayor or municipal secretary, proposed together with Suze Groeneweg (it was not until 1946 that Truus Smulders-Beliën was appointed the first female mayor).[4][5] After 1933, Westerman was still a board member, and ultimately president of the Dutch Women's Council.[1]

Decorations[edit]

Honours
Ribbon bar Honour Country Date Source
Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Netherlands 1929 [1]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e "Westerman, Johanna (1866-1943)". Huyghens Instituut (in Dutch). 28 November 2022. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  2. ^ "Dit waren de eerste zeven vrouwen die het schopten tot Tweede Kamerlid". Atria (in Dutch). 25 July 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  3. ^ Karsten, Sjoerd (11 June 2013). "Den Haag, Het Binnenhof". Didactief (in Dutch). Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  4. ^ Delaere, Martijn (25 June 2022). "'Ons Mevrouw' Truus Smulders-Beliën brak het glazen plafond". Binnenlands Bestuur (in Dutch). Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  5. ^ "Suze Groeneweg, de eerste vrouw in de Tweede Kamer". Gendergeschiedenis (in Dutch). Retrieved 19 September 2023.

External links[edit]