3 Waves of Feminism Timeline

Women are notable in the media and have had many representations over the years.

1900 - 1920s: These years were crucial because quite a lot of social change came about from women. These decades were a time of womens' suffrage as they aimed to get all women the right to vote. The women were part of the Suffragettes who aimed to get the right to vote through violent means. The media depicted the Suffragettes as ugly and immoral. World War 1 broke out in 1914 and all the men signed up for war. There was no one to do the jobs so the women stepped up. The government were impressed with womens' work that they allowed women over 30 to vote in 1918. In 1928, women over 21 got the vote.

1940 - 1950s: World War 2 broke out 1939 and once again the men fought in the war while women worked their jobs. 'Rosie the Riveter' was an inspiration to women to go join the workforce and help the country to win. The 50s however changed for women because the expectation for women was that they would marry and become the perfect housewife. Just 1.2% of women went to university while most women went to school and straight to work before they then got married.

1960 - 1970s: The 1960s was the start of change as there was a boost in the number of jobs available to young, single women. Girls went on to higher education and in 1962 there were over 26,000 girls at university. Women were slowly starting to become free and laws were starting to form in favour of women. Women could divorce their husband. The 1970s gave even more freedom to women as there was a women strike for equality.

1980s: Women had a lot more freedom and were getting recognised as equals. It was okay for married women to go out and earn money and they were working with men to help create a greater society. Women could have positions above men and this was known as the second spread of feminism.

1990 - till date: More women were entering the workplace and the wage gap between both genders decreased rapidly. The media gave women a lot of empowerment and it was the norm for women to express themselves as they are. some women still strive for equality and most Western countries have given women and equal status while women in eastern countries have yet to gain the freedom and rights.