Venus of Brassempouy, carved in mammoth ivory, c. 20,000 BCE
There is some evidence that suggests the existence of matriarchal societies in earlier periods of human history, for instance in the Bronze Age civilization on Crete. In addition the so-called Venus figurines found in Europe from 35,000 to 11,000 years ago clearly grant women high status, and some anthropologists argue that prehistoric hunter-gatherer societies were relatively egalitarian.
Venus of Brassempouy, carved in mammoth ivory, c. 20,000 BCE
Nevertheless, for most of written history, patriarchy (the dominance of males in family and society) has prevailed. But in some parts of the world the position of women began to change from the late 19th century. A crucial development came when women gained the vote: New Zealand came first, in 1893; women in Switzerland had to wait until 1971; women in Saudi Arabia first voted – in municipal council elections – in 2015. Ethnic, class and political biases also operated. When women of European origin gained the vote in Kenya in 1919, for example African women did not. Social criteria included a restriction of enfranchisement in Bolivia to literate women until 1952.
‘One is not born a woman: one becomes one.’
Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex (1949). The idea that gender identity (as opposed to physiology) is a social construct has come to play a vital role in feminist and then in transgender thinking
Although women had toiled through the ages in fields, and later in factories, their work was traditionally different from men’s. Late in the 19th century more women began to work in offices, but the professions (such as medicine) were often barred to them. The First World War saw significant changes. Britain was one of a range of countries who mobilized the entire workforce. Women took jobs, for example in munitions factories, that had once belonged to men now conscripted to fight. In both world wars, this phenomenon was much less marked in Germany, where women’s roles mostly observed the slogan Kinder, Küche, Kirche (‘children, cooking, church’). It has been suggested that this failure to fully mobilize the potential workforce was a factor in Germany’s two defeats.
Other broader changes in society, including industrialization, urbanization, the decline of deference, secularization and the rise of literacy, greatly affected women as well as men. The extension of state education led to a marked rise in female literacy, and with it a wider range of options, from career choice to social mobility.
One factor among the many that held up women’s progress was the partial control they exerted over their bodies. Childbirth grew less hazardous but not safe. Contraception and family-planning advice was limited, often by law. Universities in many countries continued to be predominantly male preserves, as did many professions. Average salaries for women remained lower, and women were denied, or at least did not receive, equal opportunities.
Some of the most important changes came in the later 20th century, with certain scientific advances affecting both sexual choice and safety. Contraceptive pills and devices gave women greater independence, while antibiotics protected both men and women from the worst effects of some venereal diseases. Some countries granted women equal rights, though action did not always match the laws. In the UK, for example, despite the Equal Pay Act of 1970, average women’s pay remains lower than men’s.
‘“Let us pick up our books and our pens,” I said. “They are our most powerful weapons. One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world.”’
Malala Yousafzai, Pakistani champion of female education and youngest-ever Nobel Prize winner, who survived an assassination attempt in 2012, aged fifteen
Attitudes to sexual behaviour and gender equality have differed between cultures. For example sub-Saharan Africa has seen a growing homophobia, among both Christians and Muslims. Religion has preserved certain sexist attitudes. Unlike some Protestant churches, the Catholic Church has refused to ordain women priests, while fundamentalist Islamic movements are opposed to equality.
Lack of female access to even basic education continues to afflict the developing world. In recent years fundamentalist groups have increasingly used violent means to suppress education for women, and to reimpose traditional gender role in countries from Nigeria to Pakistan.