How the lives of women changed

• Women got the vote in 1920

• Increasing numbers went to work and became financially independent

• They got an opportunity to develop careers

• Cars provided more freedom (Ford introduced colour cars in 1925 for the female market)

• There was a new freedom – flappers, wearing make-up, smoking and drinking in public

• Fashions changed with shorter hair and much shorter skirts

• Waistless, knee-length, lightweight dresses also became popular as they gave women more freedom of movement

• Women went out with men without chaperones

• The behaviour of flappers, in particular, was considered outrageous

• New household appliances, such as washing machines, made their lives at home easier

• Wider availability of contraception allowed for family planning