3B - The Changing Role and Status of Women, 1945-1979

Question 1

What did the gov hope for women at the end of WW2?

Answer 1

That they would return to their roles as wives and mothers. Offered few inducements to encourage women to stay in employment.

Question 2

What were 86% of working women working in in 1951?

Answer 2

Industries like nursing, teaching, factory work, waitressing and clerical work

Question 3

When did industries remove their marriage bars?

Answer 3

Teaching 1944
Civil service 1946
Bank of England 1949

Question 4

What did a 1948 study of 100 women find?

Answer 4

• Desire to end work after marriage
• Need for extra income as main motivation for working
• Didn’t define themselves by their work or see it as important

Question 5

How were women who continued to work in the PW period seen?

Answer 5

Minority of women who wanted a career seen as weird or unusual. Thought to have failed in their role as a homemaker.

Question 6

What impact had the end of the marriage bar had by 1972?

Answer 6

End of the marriage bar = 50% of married women retained their jobs by 1972

Question 7

How did businesses view equal pay in the PW period?

Answer 7

Until late 1950s - unequal pay the norm for most businesses, paid 40% less than men on average.

Question 8

How did equal pay improve in 1958?

Answer 8

1958 - civil service introduced equal pay for all employees as well as NHS and teaching

Question 9

What did the Labour manifesto commit to in 1959 and how did the TUC react?

Answer 9

Labour manifesto committed to equal pay, 1965 - TUC said it would support equal pay

Question 10

Why and when was the Equal Pay Act passed?

Answer 10

1970 due to wanting to join the EEC and it being a condition

Question 11

What did the sex discrimination act 1975 do?

Answer 11

Equal Opportunities Commission as part of the SDA to ensure that fair employment practices were observed and that women had legal protection against discrimination in education and employment.

Question 12

What did the EOC in 1975 establish?

Answer 12

Established a tribunal to deal with workplace sexual harassment and also recognised the everyday sexual discrimination women encountered.

Question 13

What evidence is there that women’s political status didn’t significantly improve?

Answer 13

Only 19 female MPs by 1979 out of 216 candidates. Highest proportion in 1964 with 29/90 candidates but never above 5%. MT most high profile figure.

Question 14

Why were women happy to take the role of the home maker after WW2?

Answer 14

Many saw their family split up due to evacuation and the enlistment of their husbands in the army so wanted stability.

Question 15

What did a 1950s survey show about women?

Answer 15

Showed women feeling isolated and becoming discontent with their role in society. 40% interviewed were content with their life at home 60% felt bored and lonely

Question 16

How did advertising shape perceptions of women?

Answer 16

Housewife as the controller of the domestic sphere. Marketed their goods to women as tended to do the shopping. Labour saving devices marketed to suggest that women would have more time to please their husband.

Question 17

Why was the Housebound Housewives Register founded?

Answer 17

Created due to bored and isolated housewives. Renamed National Housewives Register.

Question 18

What was second wave feminism of the 1960s concerned with?

Answer 18

• Birth control and reproductive rights
• Domestic violence
• Sexism in the workplace
• Porn and the objectification of women
• The stifling effect on women’s confidence and mental health of a male dominated society

Question 19

What did the women’s liberation movement lead to?

Answer 19

Awareness of consciousness of inequalities and led to improvement in women’s rights and freedoms

Question 20

When was the contraceptive pill introduced and what did it mean for women?

Answer 20

1961 - but only allowed to prescribe it to married women fearing it would encourage promiscuity among unmarried women. Doctors seen a guardians of public morality.

Question 21

What impact did the contraceptive pill have?

Answer 21

1971 - 1,000,000+ using the pill. The pill offered sexual freedom to women but seen as an accelerator of ‘permissive society’

Question 22

How did the contraceptive pill impact birth rates?

Answer 22

1971 - 47% of women had their first child by 25 which fell to 25% by 2000. Now able to focus on careers and education = more skilled workers entering the workforce

Question 23

What did the 1967 Abortion Act do?

Answer 23

Decriminalised abortion. Led by Liberal MP David Steel. Many supported this due to illegal abortions having side effects such as death. 149,746 abortions per year by 1979

Question 24

What caused the women’s liberation movement?

Answer 24

1969 Dagenham’s Sewing Machinists strike

Question 25

What evidence is there that people saw the feminist movement as old fashioned?

Answer 25

Famous female politician Barbara Castle refused to discuss female suffrage as she thought it was old fashioned.

Question 26

How did the number of feminist groups grow?

Answer 26

Number of women’s groups grew from 4 to over 50 from 1970-1980.

Question 27

What did the Women’s Liberation Workshop do after emerging from activism?

Answer 27

Held consciousness raising workshops where women could express experiences - enabled people to identify everyday sexism and develop political consciousness.

Question 28

Where did 1970s protest groups stage demonstrations?

Answer 28

At the Miss World Beauty Contest - stormed onto stage of Royal Albert Hall throwing flower bombs at all male judging panel. Spare rib magazine linked the feminist movement to socialist politics

Question 29

When was the National Women’s Aid Federation established and what did it do?

Answer 29

1974 - united 40 independent women’s refuges into one national body.

Question 30

What did the 1976 Domestic Violence and Matrimonial Proceedings Act do?

Answer 30

Provided courts with the power to impose injunctions on individuals who had assaulted their spouses, resulted in jail terms if they were breached

Question 31

When did the first rape crisis centre open and why and how many centres were there by 1983?

Answer 31

1973 Came about due to failure of the legal system to deal with rape properly, women treated as troublemakers, cross examined about their own sexual history and made to feel as if they were on trial. 1983 - 60 centres

Question 32

What did the MP for Pollock James White do in 1975 and what evidence is there that there was backlash?

Answer 32

Sponsored abortion amendment act. Time limit on abortion reduced to 20 weeks. In protest, National Abortion Campaign was established to protect abortion rights in GB.

Question 33

How many abortions were there in 1978 and what does this suggest?

Answer 33

112,055 abortions, 95,688 deemed for medical grounds. Suggests they weren’t frivolous. Corrie bill proposed limitations on the grounds that they could be granted but 80,000 women marched in protest.