ABSTRACT
During the twentieth century women in Britain gained control of their fertility, acquired equal access to education and, in principle, the labour market, and established their status as equal citizens. Although women widened their opportunities in many areas, traditional gender stereotypes which assumed that women's primary role is in the domestic setting continued to be influential, men held on to their dominant position in society and the double standard in sexual morality proved remarkably persistent. The history of women in the twentieth century is distinguished by this interplay of change and continuity. Ultimately, it is a question of perspective whether to stress optimism by highlighting the obvious achievements of women and advances across the century or to focus, more pessimistically, on continuing discrimination and the lack of real equality between the sexes.
