1. Labour Shortage and Working Women

The programme begins by focusing on the labour shortage of 1945 onwards. Countries like Britain had economic growth at this time and so there were fewer people prepared to do low paid jobs. There were also new opportunities for work in 'light' service and distribution industries which were growing at this time. The government acted by recruiting workers from commonwealth countries (see also the Channel Four Schools RACE IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY series) and by recruiting back the women who had left work when the Second World War ended. As in the First and Second World Wars, the recruitment slogans stressed the contribution that working women would be making to the whole country.

At the same time, however, the role of the woman within the family was seen as crucial. The family was to be the central institution within British society and it was only through a healthy and harmonious family life that society could also be healthy and harmonious. It was seen as the personal responsibility of women, particularly wives and mothers, to keep the family well and happy. The attitudes of the time did not favour child care (see Programme 2: FAMILY) and most of the nurseries and creches which had opened during the Second World War were closed down. Women, therefore, were under considerable pressure during the post war period and the 1950s. They were being subjected to propaganda to get them into work and at the same time propaganda to keep them in the home!

The programme shows how the media saw this as a subject for discussion and investigation by the mid 1960s. For example:

This ITN report focuses on the response of working mothers to the Bishop of Woolwich's comment that mothers of young children should not go out to work. Representatives from religious groups often share their views about such issues with society via the media and religious teaching. According to sociological theory, religion can perform similar functions of social control as propaganda can.

The number of women in work did rise during this period despite the prevailing attitudes and the lack of a supportive infrastructure (such as child care). The profile of the women who were working also changed during this period. In 1931, half the women in the workforce were under 25, by 1951, only a third of the women in the workforce were under 25. Areas of growth for working women, particularly married women, included the National Health Service and the expanding service and distribution industries concentrated in the Midlands and South East. In these industries, women had been 10% of the workforce in 1939, by 1951 they made up 22% of the workforce. Images of women working in these areas can be seen in the following:

This extract from cinema newsreel made by the Rank organisation about issues of Equal Opportunities and Equal Pay tried to give an objective view of working women. It focuses in particular on the type of work which women tended to do. For example, work in textiles and clothing industries, pottery, tobacco and confectionary industries, laundries, hotels and catering.

In 1961 women made up one third of the British workforce and more than half of these women were married. During the early 1970s the number of women going into paid work increased by around 120,000 each year. At this time attitudes had shifted and it was more acceptable for mothers to go out to work. Child care facilities had also improved. By 1990, women made up over 43% of the workforce and by 1999, over 50% if part time labour is also included. In some areas, such as mining communities where the mines are no longer in operation, the number of working women outnumber the number of working men. In these areas the 'house husband' featured in Programme 2: FAMILY is a necessity not a choice.

There was, however, always regional variation in terms of working mothers and attitudes towards them. For example:

This is from the television current affairs series, 'This Week'. It looks at working mothers and child care provision in Lancashire mills. This extract shows the regional variation in attitudes towards working mothers and in the availability of child care. In the Lancashire mills and in other areas such as the Staffordshire potteries, the wage of a working mother was seen as crucial to the family income and working women were viewed positively. This variation, however, existed within the working class and not within the middle and upper where the need for an additional wage was not so pressing. Within the working class female population, work outside the home had been a necessity during and pre- industrialisation, despite any 'ideals' about keeping women in the home.

As a result of traditional and contemporary attitudes, women often suffered prejudice and discrimination in the workplace during the post war period. As Programme 1: WAR showed, some men resented the presence of women so deeply that they sabotaged their work. Some companies used education to challenge and change traditional male attitudes. For example, see:

This American training film was made to address male prejudice at work and to re-educate men about issues around women working. The male employee, Mr Bradshaw, gives the following 'reason' why he does not want a female bearings inspector: when she gets married she will leave the post and they will need to train a new worker. Other prejudices given for not employing women included the need for maternity leave, and the waste of training if they leave to have children. Many of these prejudices arise out of a failure to recognise women's contribution to the whole society as a mother and carer and a failure to recognise the valuable skills that women develop within these roles and then bring into the workplace.

Such prejudice has partly been addressed through legislation, such as the Sex Discrimination Act of 1975. Today European legislation requires all jobs to be open to men and women. Employers are encouraged to aim for equal numbers at all levels and in all types of work. However, there are problems in achieving this. Legislation cannot necessarily change attitudes and it is often these that prevent change.

For example, in the UK in 1999 only 1% of men work within child care and while it continues to be low paid and seen as 'natural' employment for women, it is difficult to increase this number. Similarly, women continue to face problems in entering into and being promoted within 'traditional' male occupations. This issue is raised in:

which gives information about the number of women Detective Chief Inspectors in the Metropolitan Police in 1989 (4 out of 173). This extract focuses on the 'Glass Ceiling' – a phrase to explain the 'invisible' barriers (attitudes, values, norms) that prevent women being promoted equally to men. This phenomenon is not experienced by men who enter 'traditional' female occupations. On the contrary, men in these areas tend to 'fast track' to the top, for example, in nursing and primary education.

This extract from a popular and successful television drama shows the central character, played by Helen Mirren, trying to convince her male superior that she should be allowed to lead a murder investigation instead of doing office work. She refers to a Metropolitan Police survey which has been used to justify his decision. She says:

"I'm getting sick to death of this so-called Metropolitan Police survey being thrown at me. So all right, apparently 90% of the time the general public would prefer a male officer, but until one of us gets a chance to prove that the survey is a biased, outdated load of old bullshit...."

This dialogue reflects the female police inspector’s frustration with the all too familiar 'vicious circle' effect – the public prefer men because they're used to men; women don't get a chance to prove themselves.

We can see therefore that issues around Equal Opportunities and equality at work are not easily addressed and require education to change attitudes as well as legislation. Issues around Equal Pay are also complex. The suffragettes before the First World War (see WAR) recognised that political rights (the vote) were crucial in order to gain other rights such as equal pay. In 1918 Women Transport Workers had demanded 'Same Work – Same Money' but by the 1950s equal pay had not been achieved.

At the root of the issue was the attitude that women were dependent within the family and, therefore, that they should not be paid as the main breadwinner. As the programme states:

'On average, women in industry in 1945 earned 53% of men's wages.'

And:

'In 1947, a Royal Commission concluded that giving women equal pay would damage the country's economy.'

The reasoning for the above conclusion was that equal pay would be too expensive for businesses to afford, they would go bankrupt and the economy would suffer. For example,

This extract from cinema newsreel focuses on the issue of Equal Pay. The slogans shown in the extract are:

'Equal Pay for Equal Work'

‘Equal Pay Without Delay'

'Never have so many done so much for such little pay.'

The programme commentary specifies a 'burden' of £2-300,000,000 a year in granting equal pay.

These arguments continue to be part of the debate around employment of women (see ACTIVITIES) today.

At the root of the issue was the attitude that women were dependent within the family and, therefore, that they should not be paid as much as the main breadwinner.

From 1955, equal pay was phased in for public sector workers and in 1970 the Equal Pay Act gave employers 5 years to bring in equal rates of pay, but again legislation has its limitations.

This television current affairs programme in 'This Week' series focused on limitations in the legislation about equal rates of pay for men and women. The problems were (and are!) as follows:

• Equal rates of pay are only achieved when women are doing the same work as men. Much of employment, however, is divided into 'male' work and 'female' work. 'Traditional' female occupations such as nursing, child care, textiles are low paid and unaffected by the Equal Pay Act.
• Equal rates of pay does not address the problem of male domination of the higher and better paid positions within the private and public sector.
• Equal rates of pay does not address the problems that women may face when they return to work after child rearing. Often their experiences are not financially rewarded in the same way that training and education might be.
• Equal Pay Act did not address the problems faced by women who were denied access to the same grade as male workers on the grounds that their work is less skilled (see Ford strike below).

At the start of the twentieth century, it had not proved easy to bring women into trade unions. Low pay, irregular employment, part time work, domestic work all made trade unionism less of an option for women workers. At the same time the need to organise in order to address inequality was great. During the Second World War, women's membership increased dramatically and resulted in women's toilets, canteens, rest breaks, health care. The percentage of employed women who were in unions increased from 5/6 % in 1939 to 23% in 1943 (Riley, Denise p130). By 1975 women made up 26.8% of trade union membership. Women within trade unions tackled sexism and discrimination, as well as equal pay.

The 1968 strike by women sewing machinists at Ford's factory in Dagenham referred to in Extract 14 was an important landmark in women's industrial action. The women were striking for the right to be on the same grade as their male co-workers and, therefore, for the same rate of pay. Ford recognised the men as skilled workers but not the women although they had all passed a 'machine test'. The women did not get the higher grade but they did get a wage rise and they had shown that they could stop production of a big company if they so desired. As Extract 14 shows, the strike made headlines: 'Petticoat Car Row' in the Daily Express.

The Ford strike was followed by similar industrial action by women workers in other industries and by demands that women be included on the industrial training boards set up by the Labour party. If women were denied access to training, they would remain unskilled and on low pay.

In 1971 the Industrial Relations Act restricted workers rights and led to more strikes and demonstrations. The 1970s was a particularly active period for industrial action by all workers, including women.

This focuses on the strike of Asian women at Grunwick's, London, in 1976. The women were striking for the right to unionize and were led by Jayaben Desai who can be seen accepting a presentation for 220 days on the picket line. The right to unionize was a crucial step in addressing poor working conditions within the company, including compulsory overtime, no leave to care for sick children, no talking or laughing, no toilet without permission. Desai had been influenced by the politics of Gandhi and stated:

"the workers are the people who give their blood for the management and that they should have good conditions, good pay and should be well fed. The trade unions are the best thing here – they are not so powerful in other countries. They are a nice power and we should keep them on."

(Quoted in Sheila Rowbotham 'A Century of Women' p415)