The Changing Roles and Expectations of Men and Women

Abstract

The promotion of equal rights and opportunities for women has during recent years gained increasing support, reflected in new laws and regulations. Yet in practice relatively little has changed in the actual position or influence of women. This is similar to the fact that though women obtained the right to vote fifty years ago, their full emancipation did not make much headway during this period. Clearly, laws by themselves are not sufficient. Neither is it primarily a question of treating women as an underprivileged ‘minority’ for whom special measures are required; nor is the ideal of equality appropriate if this implies — as it does for some — that women must become more like men in their aspirations, values, behaviour and attitudes.