ABSTRACT
Before 1975, although women in principle were not usually legally barred from occupations or training, discrimination on the grounds of sex was not illegal and it certainly must have appeared revolutionary to give women permanent equality of access to and opportunities within the full range of men’s jobs in peace time.3 Between 1967 and 1973, leading politicians of both major political parties were strongly resistant to pressure for equal employment opportunities for women.4 The Labour government opposed equal opportunities policies for women, arguing that work and training opportunities were already open to them. There was particularly strong denial that the State itself might have been guilty of discrimination against women in its employment policies.5 Harold Wilson claimed that the under-representation of women on governmentappointed committees was because of the women’s unsuitability:
The real way, of course, to establish and honour the principle of equality is to appoint the best person for the job, regardless of whether the person is a man or a woman. If one starts arguing that we have to appoint women just because they are women, that is a denial of equality in itself.6
