Post-nineteenth century views of women

• In one respect, little changed at first. Because of the Industrial Revolution, men went out to work and women remained at home to carry out domestic duties and rear the children
• However, changing ideas about the nature of humankind as endowed with reason encouraged the spread of education, and this included women
• Women gradually became accepted into professions such as medicine and many of those with money and influence became involved in charitable work
• Catherine Booth (the wife of the founder of the Salvation Army) claimed that women were particularly suited to public speaking and preaching
• In the twentieth century, WW1 meant that women played a key role in keeping the country going while the men were fighting. This forced society into a reassessment of their status
• Gradually women acquired equal employment rights, such as equal pay, though women are still a minority in senior management positions. Additionally, some Christian denominations do not have women in leadership roles
• Politically, women exercise power, as currently demonstrated by Theresa May and Angela Merkel. There are big far more women MPs than a few decades ago
• The question for today's Church remains how to respond to social changed. Should they conform to the norms of secular society or should they hold to the traditional interpretation of biblical texts? The rise of biblical criticism during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries contributes to this debate