Oral banc anglais : Idea of progress

ORAL ANGLAIS : IDEA OF PROGRESS

         I am going to talk about the idea of Progress.  The idea of progress can be defined as an improvement, a development or a change like a technical, scientific or social advance that contributes to make the world a better place to live in. I decided to focus on the social progress, with the fight for women's right, especially since the 1960s. Indeed, the 1960s were a period of important change for women in different areas : law, jobs, fashion, sexuality. So, how has women's situation evolved since the 1960s ?

        Made in Dagenham is a 2010 British film directed by Nigel Cole. The movie tells the story of the Ford sewing machinists strike of 1968 that aimed for equal pay for women. In 1968, in the Ford car factory in Dagenham, east London, 187 underpaid women led by Rita O'grady a sewing machinist, decided to walk out in protest against pay discrimination.  After 3 weeks of strike, the Ford Dagenham factory was forced to stop the production. Moreover, Rita and some of her co-worker even had the opportunity to meet Barbara Castle, the Secretary of State for Employment. They manage to agree on a deal that immediately increased their rate of pay to 8% below that of men. But the story doesn't stop there, and their action had a much more important impact. Inspired by their example, women trades unionists founded the National Joint Action Campaign Committee for Women's Equal Rights. The ultimate result was the passing of the Equal Pay Act 1970, which for the first time, aim to prohibit inequality of treatment between men and women in terms of pay and conditions of employment.  

All across the world, the 1960s were a turning point for women's movement. This movement is often called “second wave feminism” to differentiate it from the suffrage movement. Feminists tried to achieve equality for women by challenging unfair labor practices and discriminatory laws. But to obtain equality, women needed to change the way society thought of women. This was more than just  changing laws  this required a fundamental change of how  women were perceived in society. So, feminists’ chief goal in the the 1960s and 1970s was to overturn the belief that because women were biologically different from men, they were intellectually inferior, more emotional, and better suited to domestic life than to politics or careers.

        In September 2014 British actor and Goodwill Ambassador for UN Women, Emma Watson, gave a smart, important, and moving speech about gender inequality and how to fight it. In doing so, she launched the HeForShe initiative, which aims to get men and boys to join the feminist fight for gender equality. In the speech she made the very important point that in order for gender equality to be achieved,  stereotypes  and expectations concerning masculinity have to change. She also talks about he urge of accelerating the movement, : Because the reality is that if we do nothing, it will take seventy-five years, before women can expect to be paid the same as men for the same work. 15.5 million girls will be married in the next 16 years as children. And at current rates, it won't be until 2086 before all rural African girls can have a secondary education.

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