Publisher's Synopsis
This book is part of a series which looks at the involvement of women in various aspects of history from the late 18th century to the present day. Each book explores a particular theme through documentary evidence, quotations and contemporary pictures. In this case it seeks to explore women's contribution to politics in the widest sense.;Taking a chronological approach, the book looks at Mary Wollstonecraft's early statements about women's rights, and goes on to show how both working and middle-class women gradually began to organize for change. The stereotype image of the Victorian woman as "the angel in the home" and the implications it wrought is discussed along with the effects of the Industrial Revolution.;While middle-class women sought to change the inequalities in property rights, access to children and job opportunities, working women were seen at the forefront of the early trade union movements, the bread riots, the Peterloo Massacre and the match girls strike of 1892.;The author goes on to investigate the fight for women's suffrage and parliamentary representation and the effects of the two World Wars on changing women's status in such aspects as equal pay, contraception, maternity benefits and abortion rights.;The evolution of the modern women's movement is examined and the text develops to evaluate women's involvement in politics today, from Greenham Common to Wapping. It concludes with a look at the reasons for women being so under-represented in Parliament and discusses women's future role in campaigning for change.;Suggestions are made for additional books to read on the subject and projects to expand students knowledge and six case studies are included of the lives of some of the most inspiring women.;Deidre Beddoe, the consultant for this book has written "Discovering Women's History, a Practical Manual".
