International Women's Day
How far have British women come in their journey for equal rights? A new survey gives a mixed picture.
The poll was done to celebrate the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day, which is today. It was commissioned by a group of UK charities and over 1,000 adults were interviewed by Ipsos MORI.
The survey found that although chauvinism is still an issue for many young women, most females do not feel a lack of job opportunities is a major problem.
Sixty percent of women under thirty said they had experienced derogatory remarks or behaviour. But despite this, only one in five women describe themselves as feminists.
In another respect, the survey indicated that some progress had been made since British women first campaigned against discrimination in the workplace.
When asked what they thought the biggest challenges facing British women were, 15 per cent of women respondents mentioned breaking into senior jobs in business, 23 per cent cited the pay gap between men and women, but only six per cent of women cited sexism at work. Sixty-two per cent said that balancing their home and work lives was one of the biggest challenges.
Cherie Blair, who runs her own charity helping women get into business, feels that women are still missing out on top jobs. She told bbcukchina:
"There still aren't enough women at my level for example. So I'm a senior trial lawyer that we call Queen's Council, and still only 10 per cent of QCs are women... So we still have a long way to go but we are definitely moving in the right direction."
