To think woman don't have it better now?

[firstbabyworries]

Had a debate last night after watching a programme about how in history woman have been treated hideously. Husband said it's much better now. I largely disagreed.
The percentage of rape convictions is frightening. If it gets to court, (which it hardly ever does because who would believe you anyone, did you lead him on, where revealing clothing) it's just your word against his, who would ever believe a woman eh.
The rights to abortion in the US have changed, woman have no autonomy over their own body.
Donald bloody Trump! Need I say more?!

There are just tons and tons of ways life is so much harder for woman. Maybe because it's spoken about more now people think it's better. Maybe it is, maybe my judgement is clouded, the first two points are incredibly close to my heart so I might be talking rubbish!

Acknowledging things are better doesn't mean that they are good.

Fair point everyone, things have got better. I did acknowledge to my husband and to myself that yes it is better, but my frustrations come from people, not all, but people being seemingly content with just better when there is still so much work to do.
To those that also talked about rape/sexual assault case, I was attacked as a child twice. Both times I knew the person, first time he went to prison for 12 weeks, out for good behaviour. Second time I was told that I had been encouraging him because I had been hanging out with him. I do just feel if I was a boy this may have been deemed more serious, I might be totally wrong. It still hurts all these years later. Just those two things took a part of me and yes has definitely made me look at things differently and maybe not take time to look at the good.

Better but...

Women often earn less than men.

Women are expected to work and do the majority of child rearing.

Women bear the financial responsibility for children where the man is free to abandon them and refuse to pay for them.

Women are beaten and raped by men who get away with it.

Women are expected to put up with painful medical interventions without anaesthetic.

Women are expected to move aside to make things comfortable for men (GRC and women's spaces).

A long way to go.

There was a time in the late 1970s/early 1980s where things seemed to be really improving for women. I felt that the world was my oyster. Then Thatcherism really began to bite, and the whole 'Superwoman' 'you can have it all' crap started.

Suddenly, traditional home-making and child-rearing was seen as a betrayal of the sisterhood, and we were all meant to be out at work - so that employers could pay lower wages, meaning in general two working parents were needed to run a household.

But men did not, in general, pick up any of the domestic owrk, and women have been cheated into 'doing it all' rather than 'having it all'.

Don't get me wrong, I have had a great career. But I also was able to be a SAHP until son was at school. At times it was financially really hard - I re-read 'The Women's Room' at the time, and it was a very different experience to reading it in 1983. this time around, I too was eating my baby's leftover potato skins.

Parenting is important too, and yet many are forced to outsource it. Real feminism would support traditional women's roles, rather than trying to become the same as men and removing all gender difference - ironic that many won't do that, even though trans women in female spaces is a huge issue for them.

OP
Woman (with an 'a') = one woman
Women (with an 'e') = several women

I think they were better 20 or 30 years ago.

@Areolaborealis Where in the west are women getting paid less for the same jobs as men? The gender pay gap has been debunked ages ago

Women are often in part time positions, and expected to take child rearing or caring rolls that are either low paid or not paid at all.

The fact that there’s a backlash against women’s progress doesn’t negate the fact that the overall long term trend is positive.

Yes there are some frightening developments triggered by both the political right and left, of which the erosion of abortion rights is an obvious example.

But this has to be seen against the backdrop of a long term shift which is supportive of more autonomy and independence for women.

Within my mother’s lifetime it was illegal for a woman to open a bank account without permission from her husband. Married women in Ireland were required by law to not work until the mid 1970s. Domestic violence was legal in the UK until the early 1990s. Women in the UK have only been allowed to vote for just over a century.

We need to remain vigilant but I still think overall the long term trend is positive .

Personally I think things are better overall for women now in UK than any time I'm aware of in the past. Having said that, there are still huge issues to be addressed, and lots more to be done, and I'd agree with many of the issues raised by earlier posters.

While the trend is positive here, there is nothing to say that it will remain so going forward. Things can and do regress. Look at some of the disturbing developments in recent times in United States, Israel, etc. There was also a belief that countries like Russia and much of the middle east would be more progressive and open. The opposite has happened.

That’s a personal choice though and dependent on the couple’s decisions.

I'm in Malta and apparently in the 12 century houses had balcony's with bars on so women could get fresh air as they were not allowed to leave the house So from that point of view I guess things are better. Lol.

The gender pay gap has not been debunked. If it hadn't existed there wouldn't have been meadures to tackle it, councils wouldnt have had to fork out back pay, companies wouldn't still report on it & the OBS wouldn't still be reporting on its existence
www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/bulletins/genderpaygapintheuk/2023