Throughout the course of the Twentieth Century there have been many significant changes in the role of women. Changes in women's domestic role, education, employment and legislation are discussed to examine these significant changes in the role of women from the 1900's to the present day.
During the 1900's women's main purpose was to get married and look after her husband and children, they were treated as second class citizens with few rights. Women were burdened with heavy duty unpaid domestic work within the home. Life for women then consisted of backbreaking housework, without electricity and household aids. For working class women whose husbands were perhaps miners, cleaning was hard work, but essential as socially, women were judged on the cleanliness of their house as a sign of their respectability (early Calvinistic views). Constantly cleaning, washing, scrubbing, cooking, making and repairing clothes, tending to children and having to deal with the household finances, women endured intensive labour seven days a week - with washing itself taking a day and a half to do. It was taken for granted that housework was women's work and that is was natural for women to be at home in the early 20thC. Young girls were expected to help with household chores even w!.
hen they were in full time employment, whilst young boys were exempt from such chores.[1].
"Q. And did your father help your mother with any jobs in the house?.
A. No.No.No my father was very well looked after in the house, even .
to the fact that his tea was poured out for him, and everything was there .
just for him to sit down. He was the worker O" the house."[2].
Women's intensive role within the home and deep-rooted patriarchal views in Scotland denied women access to employment and education. The key change in the early 20thCentury was a reduction in family size (pre-pill) giving women more freedom and ability to work. This advantage was first recognised by the middle classes, and as Scotland had few middle class and required large families to supplement the family wage the fertility rate fell slower than England's at first.
