Policy Press
Chapter Four The position of women
Abstract
This chapter observes that Titmuss stepped outside this limited frame of reference to consider some of the implications for the role of women of social and economic change in industrialised societies. It notes that this is originally a lecture given to the Fawcett Society, a campaigning organisation named after the suffragette Millicent Fawcett. It further notes that the crux of Titmuss’s argument in the Fawcett lecture is that childbearing and childrearing now occupy a much less significant portion of women’s lives than they used to. It explains Titmuss argued that the reduction of women’s reproductive time meant that women still had around half of their lives in front of them when they had ‘completed the cycle of motherhood’, a period increasingly filled by employment. Thus, ‘women’s two roles’ had become an accurate descriptor for an increasing proportion of the female population. It opines that Titmuss saw this change in women’s position as nothing short of revolutionary.
Abstract
This chapter observes that Titmuss stepped outside this limited frame of reference to consider some of the implications for the role of women of social and economic change in industrialised societies. It notes that this is originally a lecture given to the Fawcett Society, a campaigning organisation named after the suffragette Millicent Fawcett. It further notes that the crux of Titmuss’s argument in the Fawcett lecture is that childbearing and childrearing now occupy a much less significant portion of women’s lives than they used to. It explains Titmuss argued that the reduction of women’s reproductive time meant that women still had around half of their lives in front of them when they had ‘completed the cycle of motherhood’, a period increasingly filled by employment. Thus, ‘women’s two roles’ had become an accurate descriptor for an increasing proportion of the female population. It opines that Titmuss saw this change in women’s position as nothing short of revolutionary.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents III
- Sources of extracts V
- Introduction 1
-
The family, poverty and population
- The nation’s wealth 17
- The summation of poverty 23
- A measurement of human progress 25
- The position of women 31
-
The ‘welfare state’
- The welfare state: Images and realities 49
- The social division of welfare: Some reflections on the search for equity 59
- War and social policy 71
- Unfinished business 81
-
Redistribution, universality and inequality
- The role of redistribution in social policy 103
- Welfare state and welfare society 113
- Social welfare and the art of giving 125
-
Power, policy and privilege
- The irresponsible society 141
- The need for a new approach 159
-
International and comparative dimensions
- The international perspective 175
- Developing social policy in conditions of rapid change: The role of social welfare 185
-
The subject of social policy
- The subject of social administration 199
- What is social policy? 209
- Values and choices 215
- Bibliography 219
- Index 239
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents III
- Sources of extracts V
- Introduction 1
-
The family, poverty and population
- The nation’s wealth 17
- The summation of poverty 23
- A measurement of human progress 25
- The position of women 31
-
The ‘welfare state’
- The welfare state: Images and realities 49
- The social division of welfare: Some reflections on the search for equity 59
- War and social policy 71
- Unfinished business 81
-
Redistribution, universality and inequality
- The role of redistribution in social policy 103
- Welfare state and welfare society 113
- Social welfare and the art of giving 125
-
Power, policy and privilege
- The irresponsible society 141
- The need for a new approach 159
-
International and comparative dimensions
- The international perspective 175
- Developing social policy in conditions of rapid change: The role of social welfare 185
-
The subject of social policy
- The subject of social administration 199
- What is social policy? 209
- Values and choices 215
- Bibliography 219
- Index 239
