Women's Rights In The 1950s

Women’s rights have come a long way over the last fifty years. Women are far better off today than they were in the 1950s. They are no longer second-class citizens; they have equal opportunity to men. In the 1950s women primarily worked as homemakers they would keep the house while their husband went to work. In 2015 that is no longer the case while some women choose to be stay at home moms the majority of women are employed. This freedom is due to the availability of daycare and the advancement of technology. Women now hold some of the most important positions in the world, look at Hillary Clinton who was secretary of state and has immense political and social power. Another example would be Margret Thatcher who was the prime minister of the

In the 1950s women did not have easy access to contraceptives or the availability of birth control. In the 1960s the pill became widely available and accepted. This was a major victory for women because it meant they could now control pregnancies. Prior to birth control women were in essence baby-makers. The birth rate in 1950 was about 25 per 1,000 people with the introduction of birth control the rate dropped to roughly 15 per 1,000 people and has remained there since. Women are no longer forced to marry young either, the average age for a woman to get married in 1950 was 20 as of 2010 the average age is 26. Women have the freedom and ability to be independent in modern times something they did not have in the 1950s. Women are able to earn living wages now and as a result do not need a man to survive. The increased wages are likely the result of the increased availability of education for women. In 1950 the number of bachelors degrees earned by women was about 103,000 in 2010 that number has jumped to nearly 1 million. According to the Public Reference Bureau, women are more likely to attend, and graduate from, college than men. Women are also able to pursue graduate degrees, more than half of all graduate students are