Women 1951 - 1990

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  • Women 1951 - 1990
    • Women in the 1960s & 1970s
      • Abortion Act 1967
        • 100,000 illegal backstreet abortions
          • 1958-1960 - 82 women died as a result
          • 35,000 women admitted to hospital
        • 1959-1962 poorly tested Thalidomide drug caused deformities
        • previously 40,000 unmarried women sent ot home per year
        • gave women greater control over their bodies
        • The Pill
          • licenced in 1961 & made available free to married women
          • in 1964, 500,000 women using it
        • allowed up to 28 weeks
      • Divorce Reform Act 1969
        • new laws helped women escape difficult marriages
        • by 1970, one in every two marriages ended in divorce
        • made a 'no fault' divorce possible
        • number of divorces rose & as did the number of illegitimate births
      • Matrimonial Homes Act 1967
        • recognised men and women had equal rights of occupation in the family home
      • Matrimonial Property Act 1970
        • women's contribution was equal to making a home
          • should be considered when dividing up property
      • Married Women's Property Act 1964
        • allowed women to keep half the money they'd saved from housekeeping
      • Guardianship of Children Act 1973
        • mothers given equal rights to fathers over their children
      • Family Planning Act 1967
        • not everyone agreed (the Church)
        • by 1970, 19% married women and 9% single women using the Pill
        • had to provide guidance & contraceptives to everyone
      • Feminism
        • Feb 1970 - first National Women's Liberation Conference at Ruskin College
          • equal pay & opportunities legislation
          • increased education & access to HE
        • feminist articles / books published eg Shrew magazine & Spare Rib
        • Local Women's Liberation groups began appearing in the 1960s
        • increased job availablitity
      • did make progress
        • 1971 birth control pill made available to everyone on the NHS
        • 1970 Equal Pay Act
        • 1975 Employment Protection Act passed; Sex Discrimination Act passed; Equal Pay Act comes into force
        • 1977 International Women's Day etsd. by UN
        • State Earning Related Pension Scheme 1975
        • women's wages 57% - 70% of men's wages 1970-79
        • 1979 TUC publishes charter; 'Equality for Women Within Trade Unions'
      • didn't make progress
        • female nude 'page 3' model in 1970
        • the Campaign for the Feminine Woman
        • critical newspaper stories about feminists
        • movement didn't have widespread support
        • 1960 - 1980 5% - 8% increase in female lawyers
        • increasing organised opposition to the movement from both men and women
    • Women in the 1950s
      • disbanding state run nurseries in 1945 = women had to stay at home
      • a 1950s survey by the Manchester Guardian found that 50% of housewives were bored
      • washing machine, vacuum cleaner, fridges and supermarkets gave women more freedom
      • chemicals & electronics & DVLA (1965) & NHS (1948) needed clerks, typists & part-time work - no need for men's strength
      • establishment of national Housewives' Register by Maureen Nicol in 1960
        • 15,000 members by 1970
      • housewives' day consisted of cleaning & washing with labour-intensive and ineffective machinery
      • 1954 - 2/3 girls in grammar schools, so law to limit number of girls allowed
      • unusual for women to go to university; though more girls passed 11+
      • before the war 10% married women worked; 1961 30% married women worked
      • by the 1960s, 80% of factory work done by women
      • very few women went to work after getting married
      • women had been in work en masse during the war
        • women had to relinquish their jobs when men returned from war
      • 1951 - 22% married women worked
      • 1946 Family Allowance - women stay at home

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