Summary of Theme 3 - Society and Culture in Change - Revision notes
Edexcel AS/A Level History - Paper 1&2 Searching for rights and freedoms in the 20th Century
ISBN: 978-1-4479-8533-4
1.3. Society and Culture in change
How significantly did the position of women change?
Period/Event Progress/Change Limited Progress/Continuity Conclusion
Impact of the First World War Chance to work Poor women did not vote Short-term progress
Gave women the vote Less wages than men Political not socially
Encouraged women to work Few black women voted
Most women were fired
Women only voted in large
numbers
Roaring Twenties Improved working conditions Resumed traditional roles Improved socially but not
Number of women working Paid less as men economically
increased Some jobs barred
More office jobs “last hired, first hired”
More independence Only a small percentage of
Shifted public perception flappers
Impact of the Great Depression Required some to work Restricted work hours No positive change or progress
Badly paid work and appalling for women
conditions
Forced to work
No minimum work wage
Impact of the New Deal Benefits for poor families Black women still earned less Better progress for white women
Camps for unemployed women Black women had the worst jobs over black women
Women shopped in black-run Men had improved working
stores conditions
Impact of the Second World War Women started to do ‘men’s’ Some employers refused to More opportunities but still
jobs employ black women suffered many inequalities
Women were now working in Most married women eventually
agriculture let their jobs
Non-white women were training Still paid lower wages
in better professions Some did domestic, clerical and
Female employment rose again shop work
Attitudes changed towards Hostility to some women in
married women clerical profession
Acquired skills
, What changes did suburban living make, 1941-60?
Commuting distance of the cities
Built with similar-sized houses and plots
Socially segregated
o Blacks lived similar lives to whites
But in black suburbs
Had schools, leisure facilities and shops
Wife stayed at home
o Looked after house and children
If women worked, they were excluded from social groups
o This applied to women who didn’t conform to the ideals
Most housewives had labour-saving devices
o Better-off women had cleaners or maids; some had cooks and gardeners too
Suburbs created an ideal of women
o Having too much time on their hands
o Lifestyle, to aspire to the American Dream
What was the impact of the women’s liberation movement, 1961-80?
Problems that the Commission identified
Equal Pay Act needed enforcing
Women were discriminated against in access to training, work and promotion
Wages were lower
Minimum wage regulations did not apply to law-paid work
Not enough day care
Non-white women suffered from racial discrimination
Girls were not encouraged to think about careers
Too few counsellors
Parents hardly encouraged daughters to go into higher education
Why did the women’s movement develop in the 1960s?
More women workers (Eleanor Roosevelt)
Changing Expectations (Betty Friedan)
End to men-only expectations
Advocating for affordable childcare
Changing the agenda of history
Women should be more active and assertive
End to sex-segregated jobs
Friedan’s contribution to women’s movement
Feminine Mystique – Constraints of suburban life
o Got women to think about their rights and own life in a new way
Women worked more actively for women’s rights
NOW – work within the political system to get equality and enforcement of the Civil
Rights Act and the Equal Pay Act
Women groups wanted to put pressure on Congress
o To enforce an Equal Right Act
Held meetings, petitions and data, demonstrated and lobbied politicians for change
Wanted to educate people and campaign about problems
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