Lesson video

Hello, I'm Miss Kumar, and I'm so pleased that you've chosen to learn with me today.

Today's lesson is called, "How women's rights have changed since the 1800s" and it's taken from our unit, "Communities: How can we ensure fairness and respect for women and girls?" I would really recommend that you do this lesson with a trusted adult, as there might be some parts of the lesson that you find tricky to understand or maybe a little bit worrying.

If at any point you do feel worried or upset, please pause the video and speak to your trusted adult.

The outcome for today's lesson is, "I can describe how the lives of women have changed over time." Before we begin any learning, let's remind ourselves of some important ground rules.

Laura reminds us to listen to others.

It's important that we take turns to speak and that we don't interrupt each other.

Andeep reminds us to respect privacy.

It is okay for us to share our experiences, but let's not use any names that might give away the identity of who it is we're talking about.

Jacob reminds us no judgment.

This should be a safe space for us to talk and we shouldn't laugh at anyone or make anyone feel silly for the things that they say.

And Izzy says, "Choose your level of participation." If you don't want to answer a question or take part in a discussion, that's absolutely fine.

Nobody should be made to feel put on the spot.

Throughout today's lesson, you'll notice that there are three words that are highlighted in bold black font.

These are keywords.

Let's have a quick look at today's keywords and what they mean.

Inequality.

Inequality is when there is an unfair situation where one person has more opportunities or rights than another.

Stereotype.

A stereotype is an unfair belief about someone based on their characteristics.

And discrimination.

Discrimination is treating a person unfairly because of their characteristics.

Today's lesson is split into three parts.

Let's start with part one.

What was life like for women in the 1800s? The 1800s were over 200 years ago.

That's before cars, before planes, and before electricity in most homes.

Life was very different then, especially for women.

Ms. Walsh tells us, "What a woman could do depended greatly on how much money her family had.

Even if this was a lot, many women dreamed of having more freedom and opportunities, just like men had." Let's start by looking at working class-women.

In the 1800s, families with little money needed everyone to help earn an income.

Women in these families had to work hard to help their families survive.

The work was hard and the pay was very low.

They worked in factories or mills, homes as maids or nannies, in their own homes doing dressmaking or laundry for others.

Working-class women had almost no time to rest.

Some would've worked 12 to 14 hours a day.

Their wages were often half what men earned for doing the exact same job.

This unfair treatment is called the gender pay gap.

Now let's compare that to upper-class women.

Wealthy families had enough money that women didn't need to work in paid jobs.

They would have servants that did the housework and looked after the children.

Instead, wealthy women were expected to: represent their husband's importance through charity work, host social events to show off the family's wealth and status.

Even though wealthy women didn't work in jobs, their role was still controlled by men.

They couldn't make important decisions about money, property, or even the children on their own.

This shows that inequality affected all women regardless of the amount of wealth that they had.

True or false? Women from a wealthy background would often work in harsh conditions for poor pay.

You can pause to have a think and then press play when you're ready to move on.

The answer is false, but can you remember why? Wealthy families had enough money that women did not need to work.

They often had servants instead.

It was women from poorer backgrounds who worked in hard jobs for little money.

Society believed that women were physically weaker than men.

This was a gender stereotype, a false belief about what women could and couldn't do.

Unless a family needed the money, women were expected to stay at home and not work.

If a woman did have to work, only certain jobs were considered respectable, such as being a governess or a teacher.

Jobs like farming, engineering, law, or medicine were seen as unsuitable, even though women were perfectly capable of doing them.

What is a gender stereotype? A, a law that was passed in parliament? B, a false belief about what men or women should be like? Or C, a type of job that only women could have? You can pause to have a quick think and then press play when you're ready to move on.

The answer is B.

A gender stereotype is a false belief about what men or women should be like.

Women had very few rights in the 1800s compared to men.

Ms. Walsh explains, "Women were simply expected to marry, raise a family, and manage a home.

The 1800s were a time of inequality and discrimination.

Women were not treated fairly and were denied opportunities." Let's take a closer look at that now.

In education, girls learned domestic skills like sewing and cooking instead of academic subjects like science and maths.

This meant that girls had fewer opportunities to prepare for careers.

Women had fewer legal rights.

Once married, a woman's money and possessions, that's anything that she owned, became her husband's property.

She couldn't sign contracts, own land, or make decisions about her own children without his permission.

Women didn't have the right to vote.

Women were not allowed to vote because people thought women's opinions were not important enough.

This was a gender stereotype and it meant that women had no say in laws that affected their lives.

Can you complete the missing words in the sentences? The 1800s were a time of blank and discrimination, as women were not treated fairly and were denied blank.

For example, women did not have the right to blank because people thought women's opinions were not important enough.

You can pause to have a quick think and then press play when you're ready to move on.

The missing words were inequality, opportunities, and vote.

The 1800s were a time of inequality and discrimination, as women were not treated fairly and were denied opportunities.

For example, women did not have the right to vote because people thought women's opinions were not important enough.

Well done if you've got those answers correct.

That brings us to the first task for today's lesson, Task A.

Working with a partner, discuss the differences between the lives of working-class women and upper-class women in the 1800s.

What was the same about their lives and what was different? You can pause to have this discussion and when you're ready to see some possible answers, just press play.

I hope you had some interesting discussions.

Let's look at some possible answers together.

Your discussions might include the following.

For differences, working-class women had to work for little money.

Upper-class women did not need to work.

Working-class women worked in factories or homes.

Upper-class women spent time on charity work and social events.

And for similarities, all women were expected to marry and have children.

All women couldn't vote and couldn't own property if they were married.

All girls learned cooking and sewing, not academic subjects.

All women were seen as physically weaker than men, and all women were affected by gender stereotypes.

Well done if your discussions were along these lines.

That brings us to the second part of today's lesson.

How did women get the right to vote? By the mid-1800s, women were beginning to fight for their rights.

There were two main groups with different approaches.

We're gonna start by looking at the Suffragists.

In 1897, the Suffragists were founded by Millicent Fawcett.

They believed in peaceful methods to win the right to vote, such as marches, debates, and petitions.

These are letters signed by many people asking for change.

The Suffragists believed that if they showed women were calm, intelligent, and sensible, men in power would listen to them.

On the right, we have an image which shows a statue of Millicent Fawcett, the founder of the Suffragists.

Can you answer these questions with a partner? Number one, which group did Millicent Fawcett found in 1897? Number two, what did this group want to achieve? And number three, what kinds of methods did this group use? You can pause to have a quick chat and press play when you're ready to move on.

Your answers should include the following.

The group was called the Suffragists.

The group wanted women to have the right to vote.

And the group would've used peaceful methods, such as marches, debates, and petitions.

Now let's take a look at the Suffragettes.

In 1903, Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughters became frustrated that peaceful protests weren't working quickly enough.

They created the Suffragettes who used more direct, dramatic action, like chaining themselves to buildings and smashing windows.

Many were arrested for these actions and went to prison.

The Suffragettes believed that these dramatic actions would make people take notice of them.

On the screen, there's a black and white image of two women.

On your right is Christabel Pankhurst, one of Emmeline Pankhurst's daughters and co-founder of the Suffragettes.

And on your left is a lady called Annie Kenney, who is a family friend and a campaigner.

The Suffragettes faced criticism even from other women.

Some people said that their actions were dangerous and unladylike, but the Suffragettes were willing to be arrested and go to prison because they believed so strongly in equality.

Many Suffragettes were beaten by police and suffered greatly, but they did not give up.

True or false? The Suffragettes and Suffragists used different methods to fight for the right to vote.

You can pause to have a think and press play when you're ready to move on.

The answer is true, but can you remember why? The Suffragists used peaceful methods, while the Suffragettes used stronger actions because they believed peaceful protests weren't working fast enough.

When World War I began in 1914, the Suffragettes stopped protesting to support their country.

While men were away fighting, women took over many jobs that men usually did, including farm work such as growing food and looking after animals, and factory work, things like making weapons and supplies for soldiers.

This showed society that women were just as capable as men.

People's views about women began to change.

For the first time, men saw women working in traditionally male jobs and they began to realize that gender stereotypes were simply not true.

The right to vote.

When World War I ended in 1918, the government finally gave some women the right to vote.

They passed the representation of the People Act, which gave women aged 30 or over the right to vote, but only if they owned property.

Izzy asks, "Why age 30 and why only if they owned property?" Andeep explains, "The government was still not fully convinced.

They thought older, wealthier women would vote more sensibly." In 1928, the government passed the Equal Franchise Act, which lowered the voting age to 21 and said the women did not have to own property.

This meant women now had the same voting rights as men.

Izzy says, "This was a huge moment.

Women and men could finally vote at the same age." Andeep responds, "This was not just a change in the law.

It showed that people now saw women differently.

Women were finally seen as full citizens with opinions that mattered." Which of the following statements are correct? A, by 1918, women had the same voting rights as men.

B, by 1928, women had the same voting rights as men.

C, women aged 21 who owned property were able to vote from 1918.

And D, women aged 21 who did not own property were able to vote from 1928.

You can pause to have a think and when you're ready to move on, just press play.

The answers are B and D.

By 1928, women had the same voting rights as men, and women aged 21 who did not own property were able to vote from 1928.

That brings us to the second task for today's lesson, Task B.

Sort the events on the timeline to show how the women's suffrage movement led to the right to vote.

The first event has been done for you.

So the timeline spans from 1897 to 1903, 1914, 1918, and 1928.

The Suffragists were founded in 1897, and that's already been marked on the timeline for you.

The statements that you need to sort include: World War I began and Suffragettes stopped protesting, women aged 21 and over gained the right to vote, Suffragettes founded, and women aged 30 plus gained the right to vote.

You can pause to carry out this task and when you're ready to see the answer, just press play.

Let's take a look at the answer together.

Your completed timeline should look like this.

You were already given that the Suffragists were founded in 1897.

The Suffragettes were founded in 1903.

World War I began in 1914 and the Suffragettes stopped protesting.

In 1918, women aged 30 and over gained the right to vote, but it took until 1928 for women aged 21 and over to gain the right to vote.

Well done if your answers were correct.

That brings us to the third and final part for today's lesson.

How have women's rights improved? Women's rights have improved greatly since the 1800s.

However, as Ms. Walsh tells us, "There are still inequalities that need to be fixed.

Getting to full equality is not automatic or quick.

It needs ongoing effort and awareness from everyone in society." Unlike the 1800s, women can now go to university.

However, men will often earn more than women even if they have the same degree or do the same job, so the gender pay gap still exists.

Women have a greater choice of careers these days, yet there are less women in leadership roles and STEM jobs.

STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

These days, we do have more equal responsibility when it comes to raising a family.

Although sadly, many women still face discrimination at work because of pregnancy.

Women do have the right to vote and the right to become members of parliament.

Nevertheless, there are more male MPs than female, which means that women are underrepresented when it comes to decision-making.

Women do have more control over their money.

Women can be independent and make their own financial decisions, such as buying a house without needing male permission.

And women do have more legal protection than the 1800s.

For instance, the Equality Act of 2010 protects people from discrimination because of their biological sex or other characteristics.

Change one word to make the sentence correct.

Although women's rights have improved since the 1800s, women don't face inequalities.

You can pause to do this and then just press play when you're ready to move on.

The word that needed to be corrected was don't.

It should say still.

Although women's rights have improved since the 1800s, women still face inequalities.

Women's rights can vary all over the world.

Ms. Welsh explains, "Different cultures may have different beliefs about the rights of women.

In some countries, women still cannot vote, go to school, or work without permission.

In other countries, women have equal rights in law, but still face discrimination in daily life.

However, everyone has the right to be treated fairly and without discrimination.

For this reason, many charities and organizations continue to fight for women's rights around the world." True or false? Women have exactly the same rights and opportunities as men in every country in the world today.

The answer is false, but can you remember why? Women's rights vary greatly around the world.

In some countries, women have equal rights in law and in real life.

In other countries, women still face discrimination.

That brings us to the third and final task for today's lesson, Task C.

Complete the following sentences using examples discussed in the lesson.

The sentences are as follows.

Women's rights have improved over the years, but there are still many blank.

Women can now blank.

However, there are still problems. Women often earn blank.

There are not as many blank.

Some women also face blank.

Many charities and organizations are blank.

You can pause this video to do this task, and when you're ready to see some answers, just press play.

Let's see how you got on.

Your completed sentences might look like this.

Women's rights have improved over the years, but there are still many inequalities between men and women.

Women can now vote, go to university, and choose their job.

However, there are still problems. Women often earn less money than men, even when they do the same job or have the same degree.

There are not as many female leaders, women working in STEM, or as MPs.

Some women also face discrimination at work because of pregnancy.

Many charities and organizations are working to make things more equal for men and women.

Well done if your answers were along these lines.

You've reached the end of today's lesson.

Before we finish, let's take a quick look at today's lesson summary.

The 1800s were a time of inequality and discrimination for women.

Women had limited education, few legal rights, and could not vote.

The Suffragists and Suffragettes campaigned for women's right to vote.

During World War I, women proved they could do the jobs that men did, which changed people's views and broke down gender stereotypes.

In 1918, women aged 30 or over gained the right to vote.

In 1928, all women aged 21 and over gained equal voting rights.

Women's rights have improved, but there is still progress to be made and inequalities still exist.

Well done on all your hard work today.

I hope that you now have a better understanding of how women's rights have changed since the 1800s.

See you again soon.

If you need any support following on from today's lesson, you can visit the following website.

Childline.

This is a website and phone line, which is able to offer confidential advice and support.