Hello, and thank you for joining me for another Oak Academy history lesson.

My name is Mrs. Knox, and today, I'll be guiding you through the resources that you need to be successful with your learning.

So let's get started on today's lesson.

The lesson today is part of a unit of work on post-war Britain.

We are asking the question, for whom did the United Kingdom become a New Jerusalem? The lesson today, we'll look at the changing role of women in post-war Britain.

And by the end of the lesson, you'll be able to recall that many women remained in the workforce after the Second World War and that women campaigned for equal pay and equal treatment.

Now, our lesson, we'll use a couple of keywords today.

The first word we'll use is conscript.

To conscript is to call someone up for compulsory military service.

We'll also use the term labour shortage.

A labour shortage is when there are not enough workers to meet the demand.

Today's lesson will be in three sections.

So let's begin now with section one, which will focus on women's war work.

During World War II, many British women were employed in essential war work.

The government decided to constrict unmarried women age 20 to 30 and childless widows from December 1941.

They had the choice of working in industry or joining one of the armed forces auxiliary services, such as the Women's Royal Naval Service, the WRNS.

Thousands of other women also took on the jobs left vacant by men recruited to fight.

These women were involved in shipyard work, vehicle building, engineering, and some 65,000 were involved in farm work with the Land Army.

It is estimated that around 5 million women entered the workforce between 1940 and 1945.

The war meant that women now carried out jobs that before the war had only been performed by men.

Here's a quick check of your understanding so far.

I'd like you to answer this question.

How many British women entered the workforce between 1940 and 1945? Was it A, 1 million, B, 5 million, or C, 7 million? Press pause and then when you're ready for the answer, press play.

You should have said the correct answer was B.

5 million women entered the workforce between 1940 and 1945.

For many women, the new work opportunities opened up to them through labour shortages and conscription during World War II came as a great relief.

After World War I, men returning from the war had reclaimed the available jobs.

There was high unemployment in the inter-war period, which forced women back into traditional female roles in laundries as dressmakers and as domestic servants.

Between the wars, the number of women employed in low-paid domestic service in the UK actually rose from around 13% before World War I to about a third.

Domestic servants were mostly single women, and only around one in 10 married women in Britain had paid jobs of any kind in the 1930s.

The new job opportunities open to women in World War II such as tram drivers, mechanics, munitions workers, air raid wardens, and shipyard workers showed that women were just as capable as men at filling these roles.

Despite this, attitudes had not changed by 1945 and many men and trade unions took the view that women's war work was only temporary.

Time for another check of your understanding.

I'd like you to attempt this true or false question.

During the inter-war period, women kept the jobs they had performed during World War I.

Press pause and when you're ready to hear the answer, press play.

You should have said the correct answer is false.

I'd like you to press pause again so that you can write an explanation as to why the answer is false.

You could have said that the reason why the answer is false is there was high unemployment in the 1920s and the 1930s, so women were forced back into low-paid, traditionally female occupations such as domestic servants and dressmakers.

The belief that a woman's rightful place was in the home remained widely held.

And after 1945, women continued to face misogyny, discrimination, and unequal pay in the workplace.

This was made worse by the decline of traditional industries in Britain, such as farming and textiles, where the increasing use of machinery and competition from abroad meant fewer workers were needed.

Trade unions were also an obstacle to women entering the workforce as they wanted to protect the skilled status and wages of their male members.

This led them to promote the idea of men as the breadwinners.

In other words, the main earner in the family, and the women as homemakers.

Time for another check of your understanding again.

Which two statements below are correct? A, women's work in World War II led to women gaining acceptance in the workforce and equal pay with men.

B, trade unions accepted female workers during World War II, but believed they would return to the home when attended.

Or C, some industries were in decline in the 1940s, which meant women had to seek new areas of employment.

Press pause to think of the answers and then press play when you're ready to see what you should have put.

The first correct answer was B.

Trade unions accepted female workers during World War II, but they believed they would return to the home when it ended.

The other correct answer was C.

Some industries were in decline in the '40s, which meant women had to seek new areas of employment.

Finally, in this section, I'd like you to complete this task.

You need to read Lucas' statement and correct the five errors that he's made.

Press pause to complete the task and then press play to see the correct answers.

Welcome back.

You should have made the following corrections.

In the 1930s, it was mainly single women who had low-paid jobs.

During World War II, men and women were conscripted into the armed forces.

For example, 65,000 women worked in the Land Army.

Many women enjoyed performing jobs that were previously only done by men.

We're now ready to move on to the second part of our lesson today.

In this section, we'll be looking at female workers in the 1940s and the 1950s.

Post World War II, Britain saw the development of labour shortages, particularly as a result of wartime deaths and the need to repair war damages, but also as a result of the actions of the new labour government.

Labour raised the school leaving age from 14 to 15 in 1947, which opened up opportunities in the labour market for women.

Nevertheless, schooling for girls continue to focus on domestic science, which is a subject that teaches skills like cooking or sewing, which are useful in the home, with the academic and technological subjects only being taught to boys.

However, labor's economic and social reforms also brought women into the workforce.

Labor's nationalisation of major industries such as coal, gas, and steel, led to the creation of new jobs for women as employees of the state, particularly as clerical workers and secretaries.

In fact, clerical work became regarded as a white blouse or pink collar occupation.

Men did not want to be in the same occupations as women because women were viewed as secondary workers, whereas men were viewed as the breadwinners.

The pay for women's work was seen as merely a family supplement, whereas men were expected to gain jobs with higher responsibilities and pay.

For example, some women were expected to give up their jobs on marriage, such as in teaching where the marriage bar was only lifted in 1944.

It's time to check your understanding now, which two of these factors held women back as members of the workforce in the 1940s and '50s.

A, women were seen as less capable than men.

B, there was a lack of educational opportunities.

Or C, women were expected to give up work once married.

Press pause, and when you're ready to hear the correct answers, press play.

You should have said that the first correct answer was B.

There was a lack of educational opportunities for women, so this held them back.

And also C, women were expected to give up work once they were married.

There was some increase in the number of women employed in professional occupations throughout the 1940s.

However, there continued to be discrimination against female professionals.

For example, female teachers were paid five, six the rate of male teachers, and it was not until 1955 that they were awarded equal pay with their male colleagues.

A further area where professional opportunities opened up for women was when the National Health Service began in 1948 as many jobs were created for women as midwives and nurses.

It is worth remembering, however, that in the 1950s, only around 20% of practising doctors in the UK were women.

Similarly, as late as 1984, only 3% of professional engineers in the UK were women, and this had only increased to 16.

5% as of 2021.

Time to check your understanding again.

In what year were female teachers granted equal pay with men? Was it A, 1944, B, 1955, or C, 1959? Press pause and when you're ready for the answer, press play.

You should have said the correct answer was B.

Female teachers were granted equal pay with men in 1955.

A further area that allowed women to enter the workforce in the 1950s was the availability of labour saving technology in the household.

The purchase of washing machines and vacuum cleaners meant the housework was less time consuming, which freed women up to take on part-time jobs.

For married women, one obstacle to employment was finding childcare, and gradually throughout the 1950s, there was an expansion of nurseries, childminding, and afterschool facilities.

In 1951, nearly 35% of women had a paid job with a very small number in part-time jobs.

However, with the expansion of part-time positions, this led to increasing numbers of women entering the workforce by 1960, especially mothers.

However, part-time workers had less rights to things like sickness or holiday pay and were paid at lower rates to full-time employees.

Here's another check of your understanding now.

Which two of these statements are correct about women in the '40s and '50s? A, women were able to take on part-time jobs due to the increased availability of childcare.

B, women found it easy to reach the higher ranks of professional occupations.

C, women became the family breadwinners.

Or D, women with jobs were regarded as secondary workers.

Press pause and when you think you've got the right answers, press play.

You should have said that the first correct answer was A.

Women were able to take on part-time jobs due to the increased availability of childcare.

And the second correct answer was D.

Women with jobs were regarded as secondary workers.

Finally, in this section, I'd like you to complete this task.

You need to read Jacob's point of view and give at least two reasons to support his opinion.

Let's read Jacob's point of view now.

He says, "Employment opportunities improved for British women in the '40s and '50s." Press pause and when you think you're ready to hear the answer, press play.

Welcome back.

Let's have a look at the reasons you could have given to support Jacob's view.

You could have said that women were able to find clerical positions in nationalised industries and jobs as nurses in the recently created National Health Service.

Also, you could have said women had more time to take on jobs due to labor-saving technology and the increased availability of childcare.

Finally, you could have mentioned that there were some improvements to female working conditions, such as in teaching where female teachers obtained equal pay in 1955 and the marriage bar was lifted in 1944.

Let's go on now to the final section of the lesson today.

This section will look at female workers in the 1960s.

In the 1960s, women saw some improvements to their employment rights.

By 1969, 30% of female workers were members of a trade union.

Trade unions helped women to argue for better working conditions and pay from their employer.

Nevertheless, almost all trade union leaders were men, and therefore, there was often a lack of understanding of the needs of female members.

As a result, other groups began to emerge that campaign for equal rights and status for women.

Many of the women involved identified as feminists and they demanded social, political, and economic equality with men.

The Women's Liberation Movement, women's lib, as it became known, helped to bring about the passing of the Equal Pay Act in 1970, which made it illegal for women and men to be paid different amounts for the same position.

Here's another check of your understanding now.

What percentage of female workers were represented by a trade union by 1969? Was it A, 30%, B, 50%, or C, 70%? Press pause and when you're ready to hear the answer, press play.

The correct answer was A.

30% of women were represented by a trade union by 1969.

Another important development that allowed women to increasingly enter the workforce was the introduction of the contraceptive pill in 1961, often referred to simply as the pill.

Women were now able to have greater control over the number of children they had, if any, and when they had them.

By 1968, the pill was being taken by over 2 million women in Britain.

Despite these advancements, the 1960s remained a period of significant discrimination against women in the workforce.

Although trade union representation and changes in the law helped bring about change, it was largely the effort and determination of women themselves that led to changes in attitudes towards female labour.

Here's another quick check of your understanding now.

True or false? Trade unions were always effective in helping their female members.

Press pause and when you're ready to hear the correct answer, press play.

You should have said the correct answer was false.

I'd like you to press pause again whilst you explain why the answer is false.

Your answer could have said that most trade union leaders were men, and this meant they often lacked an understanding of the needs of female workers.

Finally, in today's lesson, I'd like you to attempt this question.

The biggest challenge to women entering the workforce on equal terms with men after World War II was how to combine having a job with their role as wives and mothers.

Do you agree with this statement? I'd like you to explain your answer.

Press pause and when you're ready to see what you could have written, press play.

Welcome back.

Let's see how you got on.

You could have said, I agree with the statement that balancing looking after children and the household chores made it challenging for women to enter the workforce on equal terms with men in the '40s and '50s.

This is because at that time, it was widely believed that women were responsible for family life and that their place was in the home.

Moreover, there were a few part-time positions until the 1960s and the contraceptive pill was unavailable until 1961, which meant people often had large families.

However, you might have decided to disagree with the statement.

In that case, you could have said something like, I disagree with the statement, because there were more important factors that kept women out of the workforce in the 1940s and 1950s.

For example, trade unions wanted to protect the skilled status of men's jobs and their higher pay as men were still viewed as the main breadwinners.

Women also lack the academic qualifications and technical skills for some jobs due to the limited skill curriculum for girls, which continue to only focus on domestic science in this period.

We've now reached the end of today's lesson, so time for a summary of the things you should have learned.

Women entered the workforce in new roles during and after World War II.

Due to conscription and labour shortages, female workers were viewed as secondary workers, so were paid less than men.

Women campaigned for equal pay in the 1950s with some success, for example, female teachers were awarded this in 1955.

More married women took on jobs in the 1960s, but still faced discrimination in the workplace.

In 1961, the pill was introduced, and in 1970, the Equal Pay Act was passed, which made significant steps towards ending discrimination.

Many thanks for your hard work in our lesson today.

I hope that you feel confident that you've met your learning objective for the lesson, and I look forward to you joining me in a future history lesson.