WNC/08/03/08
The lives of women in the UK since the 1960’s
1960 -- National Housewives’ Register is set up by Mary Nichol
1961-- The Contraceptive pill goes on sale for the first time
1962– Elizabeth Lane becomes the first female county court judge
1962 -The Pre-school Playgroups Association is set up to provide much needed provision for under-fives
1964 -- Married Women's Property Act
1965 – Barbara Castle is appointed the Minister of Transport, becoming the first female Secretary of State
1967 – Te first mammography machine is developed
1967 – A research student Jocelyn Bell Burnell (born 1947) discovers the first pulsar. In 1974 it was her supervisor who received the Nobel Prize
1968 – 850 women go on strike at Fords at Dagenham go on strike for equal pay. It paves the way for the Equal Pay Act two years later
1968 -- The Abortion Act came into force, allowing women the legal right to have an abortion for the first time in British history.
1969 -- Divorce Reform Act
1969 – Women’s National Commission
1969 – Six days before her 22nd birthday, Bernadette Devlin becomes the youngest ever member of the British parliament
1970 -- Equal Pay Act. An Act to prevent discrimination, as regards terms and conditions of employment, between men and women.
1970 –Lloyds of London Insurance admit first women underwriters
1972 – Rosie Boycott and Marsha Rowe launch Spare Rib , Britain’s first feminist magazine
1973 – Stella Brummell is voted the first Businesswomen of the year. She is managing director of a manufacturer on concrete mixing equipment
1973 --Women allowed onto the floor of the London Stock Exchange for the first time
1974 -- Health and Safety Act
1974 Contraception becomes free to women in the UK
1974 –The Women’s Aid Federation is set up to bring together refuges for battered women that have been springing up throughout Britain
1975 -- Sex Discrimination Act. An Act to render unlawful certain kinds of sex discrimination and discrimination on the ground of marriage, and establish a Commission with the function of working towards the elimination of such discrimination and promoting equality of opportunity between men and women generally; and for related purposes.
1975 Jacqueline Tabbick becomes the first British woman rabbi, followed two years later by Julia Neuberger
1975-1978 -- Employment Protection Act
1975 -- Margaret Thatcher is appointed leader of the Conservative Party
1975 Child Benefit replaces Family Allowances
1976 -- Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act
1976 -- Shreela Flather elected first Asian woman councillor in Britain
1976 -- Domestic violence and proceedings Act – enables women to obtain a court order against their violent husband and partner
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1976 –The Equal Opportunities Commission comes into effect to oversee the Sex Discrimination and Equal Pay Acts
1977 – International Women’s Day is formalised as an annual event by the UN General Assembly
1977 – Betty Williams and Mairaid Corrigan win the Nobel Peace Prize for their peace campaign in Northern Ireland
1977 – The first Rape Crisis Centre opens in London
1979 -- UK's first woman Prime Minister
1981 --Baroness Young becomes first woman Leader of the House of Lords
1983 – Corpus ChristiCollege, Cambridge admits women for the first time in its 630 year history
1984 -- Health and Social Security Act
1984 – Brenda Dean becomes the General Secretary of SOGAT; the first woman to head a major Union
1984 -- Britain's first black female mayor – Lydia Simmons, Slough
1986 –The Sex Discrimination Act (Amendment) enables women to retire at the same age as men.
1988—Julie Hayward (a canteen cook at a shipyard in Liverpool) is the first women to win a case under the amended Equal Pay Act
1988 Elizabeth Butler Sloss becomes the first woman Law Lord, when she is appointed an Appeal Court Judge
1987 --Diane Abbott elected first black woman MP
1990 -- Baroness Flather is the first female Asian peer
1990 – Women in the Royal Navy are allowed to go to sea for the first time (not submarines)
1990 – Independent taxation for women is introduced. For the first time married women are taxed separately from their husbands
1991 –Stella Rimmington becomes the first female head on MI5
1991 – Opportunity 2000 is launched to push for more women in business and public life
1992 – Barbara Mills becomes the first woman Director of Public Prosecutions
1992-- Betty Boothroyd becomes the first woman speaker in the House of Commons
1994 --The Church of England ordains its first women priests
1994—As part of the Criminal Justice Act, marital rape is declared illegal in the UK
1995 -- Pensions Act
1995 – Women from 185 countries meet in Beijingfor the fourth world conference on Women (sponsored by the UN)
1996 -- Employment Rights Act
1996 The Northern Ireland Women’s Coalition is founded (in 1998 two members are returned to the Northern Ireland Assembly)
1997 -- First BME female government Minister – Patricia Scotland
1997 -- Proportion of women MPs doubles to reach 18%
1997 – Marjorie Scardino becomes the first women to head a FTSE 100 company when she takes the top job at media company Pearson
1998 -- Baroness Uddin is the first Muslim woman in the House of Lords
1999 -- UK's first Asian female MEP – Neena Gill
2001 -- Sexual Offences Amendment Act.
2001—Clara Furse is the first female chief executive of the London Stock Exchange
2002 --Introduction of Sex Discrimination (Election Candidates) Act
2003 -- The principle of equal treatment in employment and training, irrespective of religion or belief trough Employment Equality (Religion or Relief) Regulations. These Regulations prohibit discrimination in employment and vocational training on the grounds of religion belief. The Regulation provide protection from direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, victimisation and harassment.
2003 -- Flexible Working. Parents of children aged under six or of disabled children aged under 18 have the right to apply to work flexibly. In such circumstances employers are under a statutory duty to consider employee's applications seriously.
2003 -- Baroness Amos is the first black woman appointed to Cabinet
2003 -- Sexual Offences Act 2003.
2005 -- Discrimination Law Review
2005--The Civil Partnership Act
2006 -- The Equality Act 2006 - Gender Equality Duty. The Equality Act 2006 amends the Sex Discrimination Act of 1975 and the Equal Pay Act 1970 (as amended by the Employment Equality (Sex Discrimination Regulations 2005), and places a statutory duty upon public authorities when carrying out their public duties to have due regard of the need to: 1) Eliminate unlawful discrimination and harassment; 2) Promote equality of opportunity between men and women.
2006 -- Work and Families Act
2007 -- Maternity Leave was extended from 26 - 39 weeks.
2007 -- Baroness Scotland is first black woman Attorney General
2007 – Gender Equality Duty introduced
2007 -- 100 years since first woman councillor appointed
2008 --90 years since women over age of 30 secured the vote
2008 -- 80 years since women had vote on equal terms as men
2009 – 40 Years Anniversary WNC