Gender, Work and Education in Britain in the 1950s

Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. "The Coronation in 1953 marked the start of a 'New Elizabethan Age'. Improvements in education together with an expanding economy ensured a range of employment opportunities for young people. Yet girls' full acceptance into the world of adult women was still confirmed by marriage and motherhood rather than a high powered career. Jobs might offer a 'stop-gap' between school and marriage. This book examines the gendered nature of the term 'career' during the 1950s through a focus on girls' school-leaving decisions. Employment education came from a variety of sources: the Youth Employment Officer, careers' advice in schools, women's and girls' magazines and the career novel. Using both written sources and interviews with women who left school in the 1950s it focuses on the relationship between individual 'women' and the overarching representation of 'Woman' in a decade which has been overlooked in favour of the swinging sixties."--Jacket Improvements In Education And Economic Expansion In The 1950s Ensured A Range Of School-leaving Employment Opportunities. Yet Girls' Full Acceptance As Adult Women Was Still Confirmed By Marriage And Motherhood Rather Than Employment. This Book Examines The Gendered Nature Of 'career'. Using Both Written Sources And Oral History It Enters The Theoretical Debate Over The Significance Of Gender By Considering The Relationship Between Individual 'women' And The Dominant Representation Of 'woman'. By Stephanie Spencer. Front Matter....Pages i-xii Introduction: The Forgotten Generation....Pages 1-21 Women and the Welfare State....Pages 22-48 Formal Education and Career Choice....Pages 49-78 Advice Manuals and Women’s Employment....Pages 79-103 The Career Novels....Pages 104-128 Girl to Woman....Pages 129-157 ‘My Own Front Door’ Remembering the 1950s....Pages 158-185 Conclusion....Pages 186-199 Back Matter....Pages 200-253