Combining evidence from primary research, with an emphasis on personal testimony, with work of specialist scholars in social, economic, political and cultural history, this study examines the changing meaning of femininity within the broad historical time periods of the 20th century. Each chronological chapter maps out developments for women at work, in the family, sexuality, education, feminism and other political movements.

The continuing under-representation of women in political and public life remains a matter of concern across a wide range of countries, including the UK and Ireland. Within the UK it is a topical issue as political parties currently debate strategies, often controversial, which will increase women's representation. At the same time, devolution has ushered in significant change in the level of women's representation in Scotland and Wales and improved representation for women in Northern Ireland. That such increases in women's representation in political institutions have been slow in coming is indisputable, given that full enfranchisement of women on equal terms with men was achieved in Ireland in 1921 and in the UK in 1928.

The media have played a significant role in the contested and changing social position of women in Britain since the 1900s. They have facilitated feminism by both providing discourses and images from which women can construct their identities, and offering spaces where hegemonic ideas of femininity can be reworked. This volume is intended to provide an overview of work on Broadcasting, Film and Print Media from 1900, while appealing to scholars of History and Media, Film and Cultural Studies. This edited collection features tightly focused and historically contextualised case studies which showcase current research on women and media in Britain since the 1900s. The case studies explore media directed at a particularly female audience such as Woman’s Hour, and magazines such as Vogue, Woman and Marie Claire. Women who work in the media, issues of production, and regulation are discussed alongside the representation of women across a broad range of media from early 20th-century motorcycling magazines, Page 3 and regional television news.

Far more than a historical subcategory, women have been driving forces behind world war politics, global migration, maternal welfare, sexual revolution, and modern labor movements. In A Century of Women, renowned historian Sheila Rowbotham charts, decade by decade, the changes in the lives of women and the ways they themselves have uniquely shaped history since 1900. From women who marched for the vote, stood on picket lines, or refused to be segregated, to politicians, poets, and film stars, their stories are told in rich detail.Throughout the book are entertaining essays on body and image, popular fiction, lesbian culture, the automobile, Barbie dolls, and more; a final section gathers biographies of four hundred notable women. Thoroughly engrossing and unrivaled in scope, A Century of Women provides a wealth of information on the rich, complex, and tumultuous lives of the women who have left an indelible mark on our century.

This highly original synthesis is a clear and stimulating assessment of nineteenth-century British women. It aims to provide students with an in-depth understanding of the key historiographical debates and issues, placing particular emphasis upon recent, revisionist research. The book highlights not merely the ideologies and economic circumstances which shaped women's lives, but highlights the sheer diversity of women's own experiences and identities. In so doing, it presents a positive but nuanced interpretation of women's roles within their own families and communities, as well as stressing women's enormous contribution to the making of contemporary British culture and society.

These new essays by leading scholars explore nineteenth-century women's writing across a spectrum of genres. The book's focus is on women's role in and access to literary culture in the broadest sense, as consumers and interpreters as well as practitioners of that culture. Individual chapters consider women as journalists, editors, translators, scholars, actresses, playwrights, autobiographers, biographers, writers for children and religious writers as well as novelists and poets. A unique chronology offers a woman-centered perspective on literary and historical events and there is a guide to further reading.

During the 20th century, women experienced significant changes in their political, social and economic status within British society. This volume offers a detailed examination of the forces that influenced those developments. It identifies the range of factors, which helped to shift opinions and attitudes, and assisted in the continuing emancipation of women. Particular attention is given to the impact on women's lives of two World Wars, political, social, economic and educational reforms, technological change and evolving feminist ideas. The role played by key individuals is also examined. Finally, the book provides an overview of the progress achieved by women and questions the extent to which they have secured equality with men.