1940s: The war gave women the opportunity to work in male occupations such as munitions, factory work and armed forces, After the war, women had to return back to their traditional roles and wives and mothers, Women were vital towards the war effort, Despite working 'male' jobs, women were still paid less than men during the war, 6 million women were working in male jobs for the war, 1950s: Women were becoming bored with their domestic life of housewife and mother, Labour saving devices encouraged some women to seek paid employment, TV adverts encourage the domestic life of white middle-class women , For those few women who did work, they had 'women' type occupations such as secretary or nursing, Women were encouraged to take on their traditional role of housewife and mother , 1960s: Betty Friedan published 'The Feminine Mystique' which showed that women were wanting more out of life than being a housewife, National Organisation for Women (NOW) was set up by Friedan as a large feminist movement group which demanded equal rights for women, A protest demonstration took place against the Miss America by burning bra, Women's Liberation Movement was set up and was more radical than NOW, The Civil Rights Act banned discrimination due to gender, 1970s onwards: Sandra Day O'Connor became the first woman in Supreme Court justice, Geraldine Ferraro became the first woman to be nominated as Vice President for a political party, Sally Ride became the first woman astronaut, Abortion was legalised giving women more freedom of choice, 70% of women of working age were in employment compared to 38% in 1955,

Changing role of women 1945-2000

by
Embed

Leaderboard

Visual style

Options

Switch template

Continue editing: ?