Since 1951 the proportion of married women who work has grown from just over a fifth to a half. Compared with their counterparts elsewhere on the Continent, British women comprise a relatively high proportion of the work force, about two-fifths, but on average they work fewer hours, about 31 a week. There is still a significant difference between women’s average earnings and men’s, but the equal pay legislation which came into force at the end of 1975 appears to have helped to narrow the gap between women’s and men’s basic rates. As more and more women join the work force in the 1960s and early 1970s there was an increase in the collective incomes of women as a whole and a major change in the economic role of large numbers of housewife. Women’s liberation looks disturbingly like the "right" to work more. Are liberated career women happier than satisfied mothers Some think that if men are happy working, and women are happy helping them to deal with pressure, what is there to criticize
