'Woman Post Ww2' - Research Paper
‘Woman – Post WW2’ Research Essay
By Isabella Martin
“Account for the Continuity and/or Change in Woman’s status in Aust. Over Time.”
The evolution of the rights of woman in Australia owes much to successive waves of feminism, or the woman’s movement. The first of these took place in the late 19th century and was concerned largely with gaining the right to vote and to stand for election into parliament. The second wave of feminism took place in the 1960s and 1970s and focused on gaining equality with men in other areas, such as work, the law and general social standing. These protests for the changing rights and freedoms of woman targeted many different aspects of life and presented a broader challenge to traditional ideas of woman’s rights. This therefore led to more fundamental changes in the daily lives of mainstream Australian woman.
As mentioned before, the first wave of feminism brought woman the right to vote in federal and state elections. Halfway through the 19th century Australian colonies began to grant manhood suffrage, however, woman were not originally included. When Australia reached Federation in 1901, it was agreed that all woman should be given the vote at a federal level since woman from South and Western Australia already had a State vote. In 1902, all women were given the vote in federal elections except for those who were Indigenous Australian’s, or of Asian, African or Pacific Islander descent.
Despite the enfranchisement, no woman was elected to an Australian parliament until 1921, for instance the first federal female parliamentarians were not elected until 1943. This is just one example of how enfranchisement fell short of truly improving the lives of Australian woman or changing attitudes about them, woman were still being seen as nurturers who had no other destiny than to marry and raise children. In terms of the workforce, few women did work and the few who did not only had to find paid work, but also had to carry the
By Isabella Martin
“Account for the Continuity and/or Change in Woman’s status in Aust. Over Time.”
The evolution of the rights of woman in Australia owes much to successive waves of feminism, or the woman’s movement. The first of these took place in the late 19th century and was concerned largely with gaining the right to vote and to stand for election into parliament. The second wave of feminism took place in the 1960s and 1970s and focused on gaining equality with men in other areas, such as work, the law and general social standing. These protests for the changing rights and freedoms of woman targeted many different aspects of life and presented a broader challenge to traditional ideas of woman’s rights. This therefore led to more fundamental changes in the daily lives of mainstream Australian woman.
As mentioned before, the first wave of feminism brought woman the right to vote in federal and state elections. Halfway through the 19th century Australian colonies began to grant manhood suffrage, however, woman were not originally included. When Australia reached Federation in 1901, it was agreed that all woman should be given the vote at a federal level since woman from South and Western Australia already had a State vote. In 1902, all women were given the vote in federal elections except for those who were Indigenous Australian’s, or of Asian, African or Pacific Islander descent.
Despite the enfranchisement, no woman was elected to an Australian parliament until 1921, for instance the first federal female parliamentarians were not elected until 1943. This is just one example of how enfranchisement fell short of truly improving the lives of Australian woman or changing attitudes about them, woman were still being seen as nurturers who had no other destiny than to marry and raise children. In terms of the workforce, few women did work and the few who did not only had to find paid work, but also had to carry the