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Women have made massive strides towards equality in the workplace in the past 40 years and during the 90’s there was a significant increase in the number of women in paid employment, mainly due to the availability of part-time work. There was still a disparity between wages of their male counterparts but it was an era that saw women take on more senior positions.
In 1991, the Opportunity 2000 initiative was launched to push for more women in commerce and public life. Founded by Business in the Community and strongly supported by the BBC, the campaign aimed to increase the quality and quantity of women’s participation in the workforce.
This decade marked some notable events for women including Stella Rimmington being named as the first woman to head MI5 in 1991, Betty Boothroyd becoming the first female Speaker in the House of Commons in 1992, the first Take Our Daughters to Work Day in 1994 (now Take Our Children to Work Day), The Church of England ordained its first women priests in 1994, the RAF appointed Cynthia Fowler as their first woman Air Commodore in 1996, Zoe Ball was the first woman to present the Radio 1 Breakfast Show in 1997 and the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) admitted its first women members in 1998. The 1990s might not seem like a long time ago but these firsts signified a time of women reaching the top and led the way for women today to hold key positions without question.
The 1990s saw an explosion of personal computing and the availability of the Internet. Do you remember these gems?
FLOPPY DISKS - the more robust 3.5” hard case version that even came in neon colours!
ANSWERPHONE - the cassette based answerphone meant telephone messages could be recorded!
SCRATCH AND SNIFF STICKERS - available in a huge range of designs and fragrances!
CHARACTER PENCIL CASES - filled with colourful, smelly erasers and troll pencil toppers!
1990s Office - a nostalgic look back.