1. Social History 20th century
How did women’s life change

2. Women 1900-1920 Women wore long hair Long dresses, hats, NO MAKE-UP!
Clothes of rich people were very formal
Girls had same rights as boys to education but secondary schooling cost money and some parents did not want to spend it on their daughters

3. University education opening up for women but few families could afford to send their daughters
Poor girls worked before marriage but most middle class girls did not work outside the home. Most women stopped work when they married
Women could vote for and be elected to local councils but could not vote for or be Members of Parliament

4. 1909-1914: Women’s Franchise League campaigned for vote.
1918: women over 30 could vote. Markievicz elected as first woman MP in 1919.
Markievicz first woman cabinet minister

5. Women 1920-1970 From 1920s skirts and hair were short.
Make-up was common
1960s: free secondary education helped girls to catch up with boys. Most secondary schools were girls only and this reduced choice of subjects they could study
From 1960s scholarships increased access for girls. Few studying science, medicine and law

6. Most women worked before marriage. Their wages were lower than men’s
The marriage bar made it hard for women to get top jobs
1922: Irish Free State Constitution gave vote to women on equal terms with men
1928; women got the same in Northern Ireland

7. Very few women were elected to Dail Eireann or Northern Ireland parliament
De Valera’s 1937 constitution said women’s place was in the home!!!!!

8. Women 1970-2000 Trousers, jeans and long hair common from the 1960s
Clothes more casual
More co-education schools widened the range of subjects that girls could choose
Free fees let more girls in. Girls were able to train for a wider range of professions

9. 1970s: Marriage bar ended; equal pay introduced
1970s: Marriage bar ended; equal pay introduced. Women had more opportunities to get to top but not many did
1970s: new women’s movement encouraged women to seek election
1979: Maire Geoghegan Quinn second woman cabinet minister
1990: Mary Robinson first woman president

10. But few women in Dail Eireann or in government
1997: Mary McAleese became Ireland’s second woman president