Inequality

• Increasing numbers of women worked after WW2
• By 1963 most of them were in low paid jobs- waitresses, cleaners, shop assistants or secretaries
• Educated women expected- 'female occupations'- nursing and teaching- traditional stereotypes of women as providers of nurture and care
• Many employers were sexist
• Inequality in employment opportunities in the early 1960's

  • 80% of teachers were women
  • 10% of principals were women
  • 7% of doctors were women
  • 3% of lawyers were women
• Gender inequality was often enshrined in law and practice
• Examples of gender inequality enshrined in law and practice

  • 18 states refused to allow female jurors
  • 6 states said women couldn't enter into a financial agreement without male co-signatory
  • Schools expelled pregnant girls and fired pregnant teachers
  • Some states prohibited married women from accessing contraception
• Increasing numbers of articulate middle-class women agitated for equal pay, opportunities and respect in the 1960's