1839 Custody of Infants Act: mother given custody of children under 7 years old

1840s Factory Acts: limited length of working day for women and children

1857 Marriage and Divorce Act: men could divorce women for adultery. Women had to prove cruelty, incest, sodomy etc in order to divorce men.

1864 Schools Enquiry commission: encouraged the establishment of high schools for girls

1882 Married Women's Property Act: married women had right to separate ownership of property from husband

1918 the Representation of the Peoples Act: gave vote to all men over 21 and women over 30 years old

1918 Maternity and Child Welfare Act: Local authorities appointed committees to oversee the welfare of mothers and children

1919 Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act : opened upper ranks of Civil Service & Law to women

1922 Irish women receive vote with creation of Irish state

1923 Matrimonial Causes Act: gave women equal grounds for divorce with men

1923 Bastardy Act: increased the payments by fathers to their illegitimate children

1928 Equal Franchise Act: women receive vote on same basis as men

1945 Family Allowances Act: gave benefit of 5 shillings for first child

1946 National Insurance Act: assumed that woman was a dependent within the family

1967 Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act: legalized abortion on medical grounds

1967 Family Planning Act: enabled local authorities to provide advisory birth control services

1969 Divorce Reform: divorce could be granted after two year separation if both wanted it or five year separation if one wanted it.

1969 Matrimonial Property Act: gave wife an equal share in family assets.

1970 Equal Pay Act: established the principle of equal pay. Gave private companies five years to bring in equal rates of pay for men and women.

1971 Industrial Relations Act: restricted workers’ rights.

1975 Sexual Discrimination Act 1975: discrimination on grounds of gender made illegal

1976 Domestic Violence and Matrimonial Proceedings Act: made injunctions against and arrests of violent abusers easier

1988 Social Security Act: benefit could only be claimed after two years consecutive employment. This hit women in particular.

1991 The Sexual Offences (Amendement) Act 1976: was interpreted for the first time so that a husband could be convicted of rape of his wife