discrimination is when someone is treated unfairly or differently because of certain characteristics, like their race, sex, gender, age or religion

a person who believes in social, economic and political equality between men and women is a feminist

equality is the state of being equal, especially in status, rights or opportunities

a strike is a form of protest that involves refusing to work

The role of women in post-war Britain, 1945-1975

History

Women and the medieval Church

The role of women in the early modern period

Women and the Industrial Revolution

The right to vote and the role of women in the 1920s and 1930s

The changing role of women

In ‘Women’s suffrage: why did it take so long for women to get the vote in Britain?’, pupils studied the historical battle for women’s right to vote. This unit extends that understanding by examining how women’s roles and societal expectations have continued to change and develop in British society.

In this unit, pupils consolidate and extend their knowledge of history before 1066 by examining how women's roles in British society have changed from the medieval period to the present.

Thematic study: how has the role of women in British society changed?

Historic or outdated representations of people that may portray inequality or injustice.

Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour

Depiction or discussion of abortion, euthanasia, organ donation.

Depiction or discussion of sensitive content

By 1951, women made up what percentage of the total British workforce?

Large numbers of men returning to work when World War 2 ended

Government training programmes to retrain people for peacetime occupations

An end to the ban on married women working in certain professions

Low unemployment as the British economy recovered from World War 2

Unequal pay and a lack of opportunities for promotion

Which of these factors contributed to an increase in the number of women in paid employment during the 1950s?

In what year did female workers at the Ford factory in Dagenham go on strike to protest being paid less than male workers?

The contraceptive pill becomes available for the first time.

The Sex Discrimination Act is introduced.

In what year did the contraceptive pill become available to all women?

What name was given to the campaigns to ensure that women had social, political and economic equality with men?

Who founded and led the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS)? 

In what year was the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) founded?

What was the motto of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU)?

Men over 18 and women over 21 (if they owned enough property)

Men over 21 and women over 21 (if they owned enough property)

Men over 21 and women over 30 (if they owned enough property)

Who was given the franchise (ability to vote) as part of the Representation of the People Act of 1918?

Who became the first female Member of Parliament (MP) to take up a seat in Parliament in December 1919?

What name was given to women who challenged traditional expectations about how women should behave during the 1920s?

The role of women in post-war Britain, 1945-1975

Lesson outcome

Content guidance