The Women's Movement (AQA GCSE History)

Summary

The struggle for female suffrage led to all women over 21 having the right to vote in 1928. However, women were still discriminated against in many areas of work and society. This led to the establishment of the Women’s Movement which demanded greater equality in the rights and freedoms of women. These achieved many notable successes but the struggle for true equality has continued into the 21^st century.

Aims of the Women’s Movement

• Demands for women to be treated equally in all aspects of life and society increased in the 1960s

 AWAITING DEMANDS OF THE WOMEN’S MOVEMENT MIND MAP

The Divorce Reform Act, 1969

• Before the Divorce Reform Act of 1969, many women were unable to leave unhappy marriages

  • They were legally trapped in the marriage if they were unable to prove ‘offences’ such as adultery had taken place

• The new Act allowed for ‘no fault’ divorces with ‘irretrievable breakdown’ being reason enough to end a marriage

  • This meant marriages could be ended without people feeling shame or being blamed for doing something wrong

  • Both people just had to say that they no longer got in and didn’t believe that the relationship would ever improve

• The property and belongings of a married couple were also now shared instead of it all going to the man

  • Historically, all of a woman’s property automatically became the property of her husband upon marriage - as the woman herself was viewed as belonging to her husband

The Equal Pay Act, 1970

• The problem of unequal pay had been highlighted by the strike at the Ford car factory in Dagenham in 1968

  • Female machinists were paid 15% less than men doing identical jobs

  • The strike stopped car production at the plant 

  • It led to Ford’s female workers receiving 92% of a male worker’s wages

• The Equal Pay Act of 1970 made it illegal in Britain for men and women to receive different pay for doing the same job

  • Before this, it was normal for women to receive lower wages than men

  • Despite the Equal Pay Act having been law for over 40 years, women in Britain still do not receive equal pay

  • According to the Office of National Statistics, in 2023, on average women receive 14.3% less pay than men

The Sex Discrimination Act, 1975

• Workers pay was not the only way employers treated women differently

  • Female workers were often discriminated against in their employment terms and conditions

  • Job vacancies or promotions were advertised as being only suitable for men and women were routinely excluded from benefits such as company cars

• The Sex Discrimination Act of 1975 attempted to stop this by making it illegal to treat workers differently based on their gender

  • This meant female workers had to receive the same benefits as male workers

  • Employers were also forbidden from excluding female workers from any roles or positions

  • It became illegal to advertise a role as being only suitable for men

Gender equality in the 21^st century

• Despite the clear progress that has been made since the 19^th century, gender inequality still exists in Britain

  • Women form 51% of the British population but only make up 35% of MPs, 34% of judges and 39% of company directors

• Approximately, 75% of minimum-wage jobs are worked by women

• Working women currently earn 15.4% less than men

• Sexist attitudes and misogyny continue to be widespread