Today is International Women’s Day (IWD). Started in 1975 and observed every 8th of March, IWD is described as an opportunity to “renew our collective commitment to achieving gender equality”.
Each year has it’s own theme with 2024 being marked as the year to #inspireinclusion.
As explained on internationalwomensday.com this year’s theme is a reminder that when we:
“inspire others to understand and value women's inclusion, we forge a better world. And when women themselves are inspired to be included, there's a sense of belonging, relevance, and empowerment.”
As recruiters with a strong focus in STEM industry sectors we thought one way we could help inspire inclusion would be to look back at just some of the incredible achievements made and fought for by women, for women in the workplace here in the UK.
From individual women who were pioneers in their field, to key pieces of employment legislation opening up new opportunities and addressing imbalances between the genders, we hope that this will serve as a reminder that working women have overcome huge challenges and barriers, have shifted many cultural norms and that by working collectively and continuing to speak up we can continue to inspire each other and truly achieve gender equality.
- 1811 Inventor Sarah Guppy is the first woman in the UK to patent a bridge.
- 1842 Countess Ada Lovelace writes the notes that will lead to her being called the first computer programmer
- 1868 Nine women become the first in Britian to gain access to university education.
- 1870 The Married Women’s Property Act is introduced allowing married women to keep their own earnings
- 1899 Hertha Ayrton becomes the first woman member of the Institution of Electrical Engineers.
- 1911 The first International Women’s Day is held.
- 1912 Nina Cameron Graham becomes the first British woman to qualify as an engineer.
- 1919 Britain introduces the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act allowing women to enter new careers including the law and accountancy
- 1919 Women's Engineering Society, the first body for women working in engineering is formed.
- 1921 Unemployment benefits are extended to include wives.
- 1941 The National Service Act is passed introducing conscription for women, all unmarried women between 20 and 30 are given war work.
- 1944 The Education Act outlaws the marriage bar for teachers, so women can teach while married.
- 1951 Rosalind Franklin becomes notable for her work on X-Ray diffraction images of DNA which leads to the discovery of the DNA double helix.
- 1954 Gertrude Lilian Entwisle, becomes the first British woman to retire from a complete career as a professional engineer.
- 1958 Hilda Harding becomes Britain’s first female bank manager.
- 1964 Married Women’s Property Act entitles women to keep half of any savings.
- 1968 187 women at the Ford factory in Dagenham strike over equal pay.
- 1970 Working women still refused mortgages unless they have a male guarantor
- 1970 The Equal Pay Act makes equal pay compulsory between male and female employees.
- 1973 The London Stock Exchange includes female members for the first time.
- 1975 The Sexual Discrimination Act makes it illegal to discriminate against women due to gender in the workplace, education, and training.
- 1975 Women could now open a bank account in their own name.
- 1977 Britain appoints their first female train driver, Karen Harrison.
- 1985 The Equal Pay Amendment Act is introduced, and sees women being paid the same as men for doing work of equal value.
- 1986 Statutory maternity pay is introduced, meaning women continue receiving their salary during maternity leave
- 1991 Helen Sharman becomes the first British Astronaut.
- 1996 The first Equal Pay Day is held to draw attention to the gap in pay between the genders.
- 1997 Majorie Scardino becomes the first female CEO of a FTSE 100 company.
- 1999 The Sexual Discrimination (Gender Reassignment) Act makes it illegal to discriminate against transgender people in the workplace.
- 2014 Flexible working laws allow more options around childcare.
- 2015 Shared Parental Leave creates more choices for mothers on return to work.
- 2017 30 hours per week of free childcare makes returning to work easier.
- 2017 Companies over 250 people must publish their gender pay gaps.
- 2023 The UK writes its first International Women and Girls strategy.
Find out more about International Women’s Day IWD www.internationalwomensday.com