From the 1870s on, the objective of the feminist movement had became the foundation of school that would allow the professional education of girls. In this endeavor played an important role the Female Manufacturing Czech Society (Ženský výrobní spolek český, hereafter ŽVSČ). This society was founded in the year 1871 and at its birth stood for example Karolina Světlá, Sofie Podlipská, Věnceslava Lužická-Srbová and the husband and wife Náprstek. The structure of the society and the school for girls founded by it were probably inspired by similar institutions already existing abroad (in London and Vienna). The school of ŽVSČ, called business-industrial school, was supposed to pursue the so called industrial education. This educational style served for the preparation of the girls far family life, but also far independent life, and journalists of the time assessed it in principle affirmatively, because it in no way violated the traditional image of the role of women in society. The school was divided to five different branches, of which the most popular was the language cour se and the business cour se. At all 293 pupils enrolled in the first year and in the next years their number rose steadily, so that in the year 1874 there were already 505 girls attending the school. The leaders of the society also accentuated the idea of social solidarity and so every year they for gave the tuition to girls from poor families and the school fees were relatively low in comparison with other schools (1-3 guldens monthly). A great interest was aroused by the short-term nuring cour ses whose graduates acquired nursing diplomas. An extraordinary exploit represented the establishment of the so called „request chamber“ that helped women to look for work. In the 1880s thepersonalities at the head of the society had changed, but its activities remained unchanged. After the withdrawal of Karolina Světlá the main authority became Eliška Krásnohorská who was at the same time the editor of the journal „Woman Paper“ (Ženské listy), the school had been directed by Johanna Kuffnerová since 1885. The members of the society aimed towards the preservation of its good reputation and the justification of the existence of the school; in this respect a major role was played by Eliška Krásnohorská and her publication activities. An occasion for the presentation in public became the 25th anniversary of ŽVSČ when new school building was inaugurated. The society came to an end only in 1957, but already since the beginnig of the twentieth centuty its influence decreased and in the last years of its existence it limited itself only to the preservation of the memory of Eliška Krásnohorská.
The aim of this international conference was to delimit and define the space for women to assert themselves in public affairs and politics during the last three decades of the existence of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, under the First Czechoslovak Republic and Austrian Republic. It was organized by the Chamber of Deputies of Parliament of the Czech Republic, the Centre of Central European Studies (the joint department of the Masaryk Institute and Archive of the ASCR and CEVRO Institute College) and the Anna and Jaroslav Krejci Research Endowment Fund. It was held under the auspices of Miroslava Nerncova, the chairwoman of the Chamber of Deputies of Parliament of the Czech Republic. and Marie Behanská a Jana Malínská.