6.4 - feminism/’women’s liberation’ movement

what happened to womens protest groups during the 60s?

they became increasingly more radical

who influenced this change?

famous feminists like germaine greer

a variety of different groups began to be known collectively as …

the womens liberation movement

what was their main aim?

obtaining equal pay

what else did they campaign for?

sexual equality to men, access to contraception, availability of divorce and abortion

what were such groups critical of?

male violence, widespread societal sexism, the expectation that women should be wives and mothers and the fact that women were not yet economically liberated

why were women not economically liberated?

as they couldn’t get a mortgage, bank account or car without a male relative to cosign the documents

when was the first womens liberation conference held?

1970

whose government introduced reform to satisfy feminist demands?

harold wilsons labour government

what was the first reform they introduced?

the legalisation of abortion and oral contraception in 1967

what else did they introduce?

the divorce law reform act in 1969

this act legalised…

no fault divorce

what was the problem with abortion reform?

doctors were the ones who would decide who can have an abortion, and they were mostly male

what was the problem with divorce reform?

divorcees were more likely to live in poverty due to lack of equal pay

when was the equal pay act passed?

1970

this act was…

hurried through parliament, making it disappointing as it was watered down to please the conservatives

whilst the act did help some women…

part time workers were excluded

what else was a major flaw with the equal pay act?

it was voluntary for employers to implement it

when was the sex discrimination act introduced?

1975

what did this act do?

it banned gender discrimination in both the workplace and education

where was gender discrimination still legal?

social security, pension rights and taxation