s s e n i s u WOMEN in B Powerful women Much has changed for women in business since the 15th century, when widowed Katherine Fenkyll took over her husband’s drapery business in Tudor London. In our Women in Business special, we have been exclusively interviewing local female businesswomen as well as looking at changes throughout history, famous females leading the way and more…
OLLOWING Katherine Fenkyll taking over her husband’s business, other notable early milestones include the launch of the first women’s magazine ‘The Female Spectator’, published by Eliza Haywood, and The Sex Discrimination Removal Act, allowing women to practise law. In 1968, 850 female sewing machinists went on strike at Fords at Dagenham for equal pay, this paved the way for the Equal Pay Act two years later. In 1969, six days before her 22nd birthday, Bernadette Devlin became the youngest ever member of the British parliament. 1970 saw the Equal Pay Act come into force - an Act to prevent discrimination, regarding terms and conditions of employment, between men and women. In the same year, Lloyds of London Insurance admitted the first female underwriters. 1972 saw Rosie Boycott and Marsha Rowe launch Spare Rib, Britain’s first feminist magazine and in 1973, Stella Brummell was voted the first Businesswomen of the Year. Also in 1973, women became allowed onto the floor of the London Stock Exchange for the first time and in 1976, The Equal Opportunities Commission came into effect to oversee the Sex Discrimination and Equal Pay Acts. The 80s saw The Sex Discrimination Act (Amendment) come into force, enabling women to retire at the same age as men, as well as Julie Hayward - a canteen cook at a shipyard in Liverpool - becoming the first woman to win a case under the amended Equal Pay Act. In 1991, Opportunity 2000
F
MICHELLE OBAMA: Voted top role model in the world of work according to females. was launched to push for more women in business and public life. Other modern milestones in-
clude women on FTSE boards increasing by 50 per cent in five years in 2021, and the same year saw the gender
Brought to you by Estelle Mitchell at Bodyworks www.thebodyworksclinic.com
pay gap dropping to 15.4 per cent. The 20th century forged the way for huge changes includ-
ing the first female bank manager, transport minister and train driver. Today, almost a third of small businesses in the UK are female owned as women carve the way to the top. Other notable names from history which influenced women in work include Ada Lovelace, the first computer programmer, wax modeller Madame Tussaud, and Agnes Marshall, the ‘Ice Cream Queen’. A poll via OnePoll found Michelle Obama to be the top role model in the world of work according to females, followed by Emmeline Pankhurst and Deborah Meaden. According to a study of 2,000 women, increased maternity benefits (32 per cent), flexible working hours (43 per cent), and more women holding senior positions (45 per cent) are some of the ways many women believe the working world has improved for them over the past 10 years. However, there are still advances women would like to see in the workplace - with increased pay, equal job opportunities and less sexism the main changes they’d like to see in the future. It is interesting to note that, when searching or applying for a job, women look for flexible working (62 per cent), development opportunities (47 per cent), and strong policies for diversity and inclusion (32 per cent). Women have come incredibly far in the world of work, thanks to acts such as The Sex Discrimination Removal Act and the Sex Discrimination (Amendment) Act, and there are so many milestones and successful females to celebrate.