Women

Question 1

What impact did working during the war have on women?

Answer 1

Women had families to look after. Began demanding help with childcare
Questioned why they weren’t paid the same as women

Question 2

Which industries saw the biggest increase in female workers?

Answer 2

1938 women made up 9% of manufacturing workforce

1944 it was 37%

Question 3

Were any gains carried over in to peacetime?

Answer 3

Government training schemes open to women

Marriage bar on women lifted

Question 4

What were the attitudes to working women after the war?

Answer 4

Women still assumed to have a domestic role
Expected to return home now war was over
Men still main breadwinners

Question 5

What was one of the big issues for female workers in the 1950s?

Answer 5

Paid less than men doing the same jobs

There was an expectation they’d give up work once they had children

Question 6

What pressures were put on the “happy housewife”?

Answer 6

Most women couldn’t afford new gadgets (washing machines, vacuums)
Adverts came with gadgets warning them to keep on top of housework

Question 7

What impact did the expanding economy have on women?

Answer 7

Jobs available to anyone
Government encouraged women to the work place
1951 22% of married women had jobs compared to 10% before the war

Question 8

Why didn’t more married women have jobs in the 1950s?

Answer 8

Public hostility to working mothers
Government concerned with falling birth rates
They wanted young women to stay at home and bring up a family

Question 9

How did education change for women?

Answer 9

1944 education act outlawed sacking married female teachers

Good quality grammar schools ensured some women achieved high academic standards

Question 10

What proportion of undergraduates were women by early 1960s?

Answer 10

Nearly a third of undergraduates were women

Question 11

Women made up how much of the workforce in 1960?

Answer 11

1/3

Question 12

What did women do during the war?

Answer 12

1 million joined armed forces (0 sent to combat zones)
Millions in auxiliary services
3000 spies
Helping on farms and factories

Question 13

What was conovid?

Answer 13

A contraceptive pill introduced by Enoch Powell in 1961

Question 14

What impact did the contraceptive pill have on women?

Answer 14

More control over their lives, they could start families later on in life, all contributing to better educated and employment rates

Question 15

How widely was the pill used?

Answer 15

1962: 150,000 women
1964: 480,000 women
1968: 2,000,000 women

Question 16

How was the Abortion act of 1967 passed?

Answer 16

A private members bill introduced by David Steel as it was too controversial for government law decided by parties

Question 17

Before 1967 how many backstreet abortions were there?

Answer 17

100,000 each year

Question 18

In 1966 how many women died from backstreet abortions?

Answer 18

49

Question 19

How was the Divorce reform act passed?

Answer 19

It was passed in 1969 but only took effect in 1971, this was also passed by a free vote from a private members bill

Question 20

How did the divorce reform act affect rates?

Answer 20

Divorce rates rose by 3.5 times to over 100,000 divorces per year in the early 1970s

Question 21

What did the divorce reform act allow women to end a marriage because of?

Answer 21

There no longer needed to be proof of infidelity but simply that the relationship had broken down

Question 22

When was the matrimonial property act?

Answer 22

1970

Question 23

When was the divorce reform act?

Answer 23

1969, but it only came into effect in 1971

Question 24

When was the Abortion Act?

Answer 24

1967

Question 25

What was the matrimonial property act?

Answer 25

It recognised a wife’s work and so it was taken into account in divorce settlement.
Divorce was now not crippling for women

Question 26

When was the Equal pay act?

Answer 26

In 1968 a report from the London school of economics found women were paid 3/4 that of men.
The equal pay act was a follow up to this in 1970

Question 27

What was the equal pay act?

Answer 27

It was established to ensure there was no employment, it helped to increase wages of women and allow them to be more independent.
It did not come into affect until 1975

Question 28

When was the sex discrimination act?

Answer 28

1975

Question 29

Where was there a strike that put pressure on the equal pay act?

Answer 29

There was a strike from female workers at Dagenham Ford factory

Question 30

What did the Sex discrimination act do?

Answer 30

They protected everyone from discrimination on the grounds of gender,
It applied to employment, education and harassment

Question 31

What were major factors as to why women’s lives changed?

Answer 31

The Women's Liberation Movement (demonstrations),
Labour Government (willing to support reforms), 
Private members bill (ensured government was not responsible for introducing controversial legislation)

Question 32

What was Conovid?

Answer 32

The first contraceptive pill, introduced by Enoch Powell in 1961?

Question 33

What impact did the contraceptive pill have on women?

Answer 33

More control over their lives
Could start families later on
All contributed to better education and employment rates

Question 34

How widely was the contraceptive pill used?

Answer 34

1962: 150,000 women were taking the pill
1964: 480,000
1968: 2 million
Getting it was still difficult and controlled by doctors

Question 35

How was the Abortion Act in 1967 passed?

Answer 35

Introduced by David Steel through a private members bill as it was too controversial to be a law and MPs were given free votes, unattached to their party

Question 36

How was the Divorce Reform Act in 1969 passed?

Answer 36

It was passed in 69 but only came into affect in 71, this too was passed by a free vote in a Private Member’s Bill.

Question 37

What impact did the Divorce Reform Act have on women?

Answer 37

The divorce rate rose by 3.5 million with over 100,000 divorces per year in the early 1970s

Question 38

What was the Matrimonial Property Act of 1970?

Answer 38

It recognised a wife’s work and saw that it contributed towards the marriage and therefore had to be taken into account in the divorce settlement. This meant divorce was not as bad for women.

Question 39

What was the Equal Pay Act of 1970?

Answer 39

In 1968 a report from the London school of economics found that woman were paid three quarters of the salary paid to a man doing the same job.
The equal pay act was established to ensure there was no employment discrimination, it came into affect in 1975 and increased women’s wages and allow them to be more independent.

Question 40

In what way was the Equal Pay Act not so effective?

Answer 40

It did nothing to address the issue of women being passed over production

Question 41

What did the Sex discrimination Act of 1975 do?

Answer 41

This protected everyone from discrimination on the grounds of gender (applied to employment, education and harassment)

Question 42

Why did women’s lives change?

Answer 42

The Women’s Liberation Movement held popular demonstrations
Labour Government were willing to support reforms
Private members bills allowed for lots of controversial acts to be passed

Question 43

How much change had taken place by 1975

Answer 43

Legislation like the Sex discrimination Act improved legal status
More women were in paid employment by 1975
More control over careers because of the Abortion Act
In practise women still faced discrimination
1951: 36% were working compared to 52% in 1959