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7. What was life like for most women in the 1950s?

7. What was life like for most women in the 1950s?. Changes during WW2. Women had played a huge part in fighting the war on the home front. There were some positive changes School meals were available for children – allowing women to work all day

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7. What was life like for most women in the 1950s?

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  1. 7. What was life like for most women in the 1950s?

  2. Changes during WW2 • Women had played a huge part in fighting the war on the home front. • There were some positive changes • School meals were available for children – allowing women to work all day • 1943 Equal Pay Commission – however this proved in efficient • 1945 Butler Education Act – guaranteed all females the right to a secondary education.

  3. The 1950s • The cult of domesticity –encouraged the traditional role of women as home-makers, this was encouraged by much commercial advertising. • Changes in education – 1944 Education Act- outlawed the sacking of women teachers who were married, while the provision of good-quality education widened women’s horizons. By the early 1960s a third of university undergraduates were women. • Wages – between the 1920s and 1970s women earned on average 50% of what men did!

  4. 8. How were women discriminated against in the 1960s and early 1970s?9. What factors led to changes in the roles of women?

  5. The feminist movement of the 1960s and 1970s The slow pace of change in women’s lives after WW2 frustrated many women A feminist movement to campaign for women's rights and interests emerged.

  6. Discrimination • Equal pay – women were paid on average ¾ of the salary paid to a man doing the same job. • A deeply held belief that a woman’s job was marriage, home-making and children • Action – women held strikes, set up organisations, held rallies, lobbied MPs • In 1970 the Equal Pay Act was approved and came into full effect in 1975

  7. discrimination Sex DiscriminationAct 1975 – this established the Equal Opportunities Commission – its main duties were to eliminate discrimination, promote equality and keep an eye on the workings of the Equal Pay Act

  8. Women’s Liberation Movement • By the end of 1969 there were about 70 ‘women’s lib’ groups in Britain • It really got underway in the 1970s • Feb 1970 the first Women’s National Conference was held and it was attended by over 500 women. They demanded equal pay, free contraception, abortion on demand and 24hr nurseries.

  9. Big changes! • The Pill 1961 – gave women more control over their lives – they married and started families later. This increased women’s opportunities in education and employment. • Abortion Act 1967 – came into effect 1968. Made abortion legal in the UK. • Divorce Reform Act 1969 – allowed divorce on the grounds of adultery, cruelty, desertion for at least 2 years, or by mutual consent after 2 years – or 5 years if only one party wants a divorce

  10. 10. How much change had taken place for women by 1975?

  11. I am as capable of running a company as any man! The Law says I cant be discriminated because I’m a woman! Reliable contraception and access to abortion mean that we have more choices and control. The Modern Woman Mothers need reliable childcare I run the home an look after children. Men should hold important managerial jobs – I wouldn’t feel comfortable telling a man what to do. If you do the same work you should get the same money I was afraid of getting pregnant before I got married and now I'm worried about having too many! I want a career as well as a marriage and family –why cant we have both – men do! I would never expect to earn the same as a man My husband is the wage earner

  12. My husband is the wage earner I run the home an look after children. The Modern Woman I was afraid of getting pregnant before I got married and now I'm worried about having too many! Reliable contraception and access to abortion mean that we have more choices and control. Men should hold important managerial jobs – I wouldn’t feel comfortable telling a man what to do. I want a career as well as a marriage and family –why cant we have both – men do! Mothers need reliable childcare I would never expect to earn the same as a man I am as capable of running a company as any man! The Law says I cant be discriminated because I’m a woman! If you do the same work you should get the same money

  13. ‘In the period 1950-1975 there was little change in attitudes towards women’ How far do the sources in this paper support this statement? Sources that disagree Sources that agree Reasons for agreeing Think about sources and own knowledge Reasons for disagreeing Think about sources and own knowledge Use a range of sources Evaluate the sources: reliability etc, tone, date, language, purpose Make a decision on how far…

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