Discuss the Most Significant Changes in the 20th Century in the Role of Women”

During the 1900’s women’s main purpose was to get married and look after her husband and children, they were treated as second class citizens with few rights. Women were burdened with heavy duty unpaid domestic work within the home. Life for women then consisted of backbreaking housework, without electricity and household aids. For working class women whose husbands were perhaps miners, cleaning was hard work, but essential as socially, women were judged on the cleanliness of their house as a sign of their respectability (early Calvinistic views). Constantly cleaning, washing, scrubbing, cooking, making and repairing clothes, tending to children and having to deal with the household finances, women endured intensive labour seven days a week - with washing itself taking a day and a half to do. It was taken for granted that housework was women’s work and that is was natural for women to be at home in the early 20thC. Young girls were expected to

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However, equality is still a goal as Scotland’s patriarchal culture and engrained chauvinistic views still keep women subordinate to men in many respects. Today however, it seems women are still a far cry from equality within the home. [4] Key changes in legislation made in the 1920’s made it possible for women to divorce men on the same grounds, the Scotland Act of 1938 allowed women to divorce on the grounds of cruelty- for the first time. This ban was lifted after WW2, after women’s efforts in the war, allowing for the first time, women to work whist married.

Women’s unionisation made many significant changes to their employment conditions. Women continue to occupy ‘middling’ positions and face ‘the glass ceiling’ with regards to promotion.

Throughout the 20thC women have campaigned and achieved many changes that have brought them closer to equality in their domestic role, education employment and legally.

Early 1900’s it was socially unacceptable for women to work, it was viewed as a ‘shame’ if they did, as it was the husbands’ duty to provide. It gave women the confidence to fight for equal pay, as women were paid half that of men for the same position. Perhaps women are adapting so they are able to achieve careers, education and are disregarding the domestic role ascribed to them that controlled them so in the early 20thC. Scotland’s traditional and chauvinist ideals prevented women gaining an equal chance to access and progress in education.

After militant campaigning by the Pankhurst sisters in the 1900s and many others, women over 30 who were householders were awarded the vote in 1918 and in 1928 the vote was awarded to all women over 21yrs.

The interwar period, where women were brought in as a ‘reserve army’ to replace men was also a major benefit to women proving they were just as capable. Women however, were refined to ‘middling’ levels and routine work, generally not in positions of authority.

Common topics in this essay:
Jane Lewis, Scotland Act, Twentieth Century, Standard Grades, Scotland Dundee, Scotland Catholics, RJ Finlay, Society Scotland, Women Scotland, Dickson Treble, tm devine rj, devine rj finlay, rj finlay eds, 20th century, tm devine, eds scotland, domestic role, century 1996, scotland 20th, finlay eds, eds scotland 20th, devine rj, rj finlay, scotland 20th century, scotland vol3,

Approximate Word count = 1632
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

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