The hippies also introduced a sexual revolution. The 1960’s was the decade that saw the arrival of the pill.From 1967 the pill was available from Family Planning Clinics and free on the NHS in 1974. The pill was one of the most major steps towards women gaining equality with men as it now meant that women had control over when they got pregnant 'By choice, not chance'. This was so important as it enabled women to plan their families around their careers and this opened up far more opportunities for them. Women now had the option to no longer be commited to raising children and could further their careers.The 1975 Social Security Act also helped women gain more independence as it introduced the right for women who stayed at home with their children to receive a pension. Although the pill was seen as a huge step towards equality for women, because of side effects it meant that doctors were then given the right to make it prescription only. This meant that women had now lost some of their control over contraception. However it was still a major step forward as women could now plan their careers, families and their lives.
In 1970 the Equal Pay Act was passed which meant that women had to be paid the same amount as men for doing the same jobs. However, even in this there were still loopholes. Business owners could give male employees different job titles to female employees and therefore pay them more. However, the Trade Union Movement supported equal pay and this helped to change the social attitude.
In the 1970’s feminists played a huge part in gaining better equality for women. Although many of the feminists were happy with the Equal Pay Act in itself, some felt that although women had gained increased pay and wages, it had not solved the problem of women not being able to get promotion or climb the career ladder as they were not fully respected within the workplace. Then in 1975 the Sex Discrimination Act was introduced which said that it was illegal to discriminate in employment, education and advertising. However this was not very helpful to women attempting to climb the career ladder as the employer did not need to tell the woman that she was not being hired as a result of her sex.
In the same year the Employment Protection Act was passed. This prevented employers from dismissing a woman when she became pregnant, and gave them the right to maternity leave. However, once again there were ways around the Act. It could be said that the Act made it harder for women to get jobs as it meant that some employers may have taken into account that women could demand maternity leave which could be a drain on the company. Therefore hiring a man was sometimes most cost effective even if he did not do the job as effectively as a woman.
During the 1960’s and 70’s a lot of new Acts were introduced, however, with all of them there were ways around conforming to them. What was needed was a social change which would take time, to do this they realized they had to organise themselves. The 1960’s proved to be a time of change as women began to organise themselves more than they had done in the past. Many things had changed, such as fashion. By the late 60’s the word ‘unisex’ was commonly found in clothes shops and barbers. The National Housewives Register was set up in 1960 and was then followed by other groups.
In the 1970’s education also changed hugely as most areas in Britain introduced comprehensive education and with mixed schools. This showed a huge advance as boys and girls were now being given the same opportunities within the classroom. The Sex Discrimination Act meant that boys and girls should be given equal opportunities, but they still studied different subjects in school, with girls studying for example home economics and boys woodwork in preparation for following traditional roles.
Feminists did not only want women to be getting more highly regarded jobs but also to gain an equal footing with men within the workplace and in domestic life. The also wanted more nurseries set up which would then result in more women being able to go to work. To get their views across their actions were sometimes extreme, like picketing against the Miss World contests.
Politically the 60’s and 70’s brought in some very significant changes. Barbara Castle was elected to Harold Wilson’s cabinet in 1964 and became a major political influence in Great Britain. The first woman was appointed as a British Ambassador, to Israel, in 1965. These types of events raised the image of woman in the public’ eye by showing they could succeed in a male dominated workplace and so women’s independence gradually became more acceptable. Perhaps more importantly in 1979 the first female Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, was elected in Great Britain. This seemed to be hugely important for women’s status in society. However, feminists as a whole were not satisfied as they felt that she was not advancing female politics whilst she was in power. Evidence of this is shown in that in all her eleven years in office Margaret Thatcher did not appoint a single female cabinet minister.
believe that there were several major reasons why women gained more independence during the 60’s and 70’s. These included the rise of feminism that sparked so much within society and the hippy movement. These were backed up by other political, social, domestic and educational changes that were brought about mainly by women themselves during the 1960’s and 70’s.
