Career
She started work at the age of twelve, then, two years later, took a job for Nestlé in a factory making condensed milk. Hancock joined the Independent Labour Party in 1915, and was also very active in the Labour Party, supporting Charles Duncan"s campaigns in Clay Cross. She became a full-time district organiser for the Workers" Union in 1917, and continued as an organiser as the Workers" Union became the Transport and General Workers Union (Transport and General Workers' Union).
She also became involved in the campaign for the Trades Union Congress (Trades Union Congress) to create a women"s section.
When it did so, she served on the committee, and then from 1935 on the General Council of the Trades Union Congress. The Trades Union Congress appointed her as their delegate to the International Labour Organisation, and she served as the Chief Women"s Officer of the Trades Union Congress from 1942. In 1947/8, she served as President of the Trades Union Congress, and she served on several government committees.
In 1942, Hancock was awarded the Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, followed in 1947 by the Commander of the Order of the British Empire, and in 1951 a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire. In later life, she served as a Governor of the British Broadcasting Corporation, a director of the Daily Herald and Remploy, and as governor of Hillcroft College.
