External

• Class, gender and ambition


  Some working class girls continue to have gender-stereotyped aspirations for marriage and children and expect to go into traditional low paid women's work. Reay argues that a traditional gender identity is both attainable and offers them a source of status.
• Changes in women's employment

  The 1970 Equal Pay Act - made it illegal to pay women less than men for work of equal value. The 1975 Sex Discrimination Act - outlaws discrimination at work. This has lead to women being able to break through the glass ceiling at work. The proportion of women in employment has risen from 53% in 1971 to 67% in 2013.
• Changes in the family 

  There's an increase in lone-parent families, female-headed lone-parent families has led to more women taking on the breadwinner role - a new role model for girls. This influences girls to work hard at school in order to gain qualifications to make a living. Additionally, divorce rates has shown girls its unwise to rely on their husbands for money - it motivates them to work hard at school, to get jobs.
• What did most girls aspire to be in the past?

  Mothers and housewives
• How have girls' career ambitions changed over time?


  Most girls now want to have careers instead of just being mothers and housewives
• What did Sue Sharpe discover about girls' ambitions in the 1970s?


  In the 1970s, girls' main ambition was to get married and have children
• What shift occurred in girls' ambitions by the 1990s?


  By the 1990s, girls wanted careers and aimed to support themselves
• What did O'Connor's study of 14-17 year olds reveal about their life plans?


  Marriage and children were not a major part of their life plans
• How do Beck and Beck-Gernsheim relate girls' ambitions to modern society?


  They link it to the trend towards individualisation in modern society
• Why do many girls recognize the need for good education today?

  To achieve independence and self-sufficiency
• What are the key changes in girls' ambitions from the 1970s to the 1990s?


  • 1970s: Main ambition was to get married and have children
  • 1990s: Shift towards wanting careers and self-support
• The impact of feminism

  Feminism has challenged the traditional stereotype of a woman's role as mother and housewife, changing people's attitudes; this is reflected in media images and messages. McRobbie studied magazines, in the 1970s they emphasised the importance of getting married and not being 'left in the shelf', whereas nowadays they contain images of assertive independent women. Many women now work in top professions - this inspires girls to work hard at school.