1975 was a pivotal year in the second-wave feminist movement of the 1960s–70s. A display in the National Library of Australia’s exhibition 1975: Living in the Seventies features a variety of collection material to tell the story of the feminist movement and women’s history at that time, in Australia and internationally.

Equal opportunity

Second-wave feminism brought legislative change that made it illegal to pay a woman less for doing the same job as a man. This helped challenge traditional gender roles in the workplace, including apprenticeship programs. At a time when women were under-represented in certain industries, this advertising scheme provided employment opportunities for young women.

Sisterhood: The birth of International Women’s Day

In the 70s, many feminists banded together to advocate for women’s rights and greater awareness of the barriers that held them back from achieving equality. The United Nations recognised the growing power of ‘women’s liberation’ by declaring 1975 to be International Women’s Year (IWY). The aim was to end entrenched discrimination against women and enable them to participate more fully in economic, social, and political life. International Women’s Year was marked in Australia and provided a platform for some women to have a light shone on their experiences and aspirations. Since 1975, 8 March has been officially recognised as International Women’s Day.

On International Women’s Day in 1975, up to 5,000 people marched down Melbourne’s streets to raise awareness of gender inequality in Australia. The march was preceded by an all-women play, performed at City Square, which depicted the sheer extent of the oppression suffered by women in the home. An image of the march is reproduced as a large mural in the exhibition. Visible on the back of a protestor’s jacket is the symbol of the National Advisory Committee on International Women’s Year, designed by Leonora Howlett.

The Committee, chaired by Elizabeth Reid, organised a range of activities during 1975. This included a Women in Politics conference in Canberra and the Australian delegation to an international conference in Mexico. In 1973 Reid, a philosophy tutor at the Australian National University, became the first person to be appointed to an official role as women’s affairs advisor to an Australian prime minister. Reid worked with Gough Whitlam’s Labor government in a key, high-profile role that involved advising on—and raising the profile of—women’s affairs, including Australian IWY activities. Documents covering this period are included in her papers, held by the Library.

Essential information

One of my favourite items in the exhibition is a booklet published by Cleo magazine with the Australian Advisory Committee on IWY. The booklet provided information and resources on a range of topics affecting women. Some of these topics were stigmatised at the time and resources were not widely accessible. The booklet includes contacts for where women could get assistance on matters such as sexual health, employment and childcare.

Cleo was launched in 1972 under the leadership of inaugural editor Ita Buttrose. The magazine profiled successful women, explored women’s health issues and provided advice about sex and relationships. Cleo ceased publication in 2016.

Supporting Australian women and recording their history

A Book about Australian Women was launched by Reid in her capacity as advisor to Prime Minister Whitlam on women’s affairs, in January 1975, the start of International Women’s Year. A collaboration between photographer Carol Jerrems and writer Virginia Fraser, the book features 131 black-and-white portraits of Australian women and girls.

A photograph of historian and journalist Dr Anne Summers taken during a sitting for A Book about Australian Women is displayed in the exhibition. Summers was photographed in her Sydney home and was working on her landmark book Damned Whores and God’s Police: The Colonization of Women in Australia at the time.

Damned Whores and God’s Police was published in 1975. It unpacks the stereotypes through which women had been framed—notably the dichotomy of the ‘damned whore’ and the ‘virtuous, pious’ woman. We hold Summers’ papers, which includes material about this important work.

Summers also played an important role in the establishment of the Elsie Women’s Refuge Night Shelter, which opened in Glebe, Sydney, in 1974. It was Australia’s first refuge for women and children fleeing domestic and family violence. It was established by Summers and other activists who wanted to provide support and advice to women in need.

International Women’s Day: Still going strong

Today, people around the world continue to mark International Women’s Day on 8 March. Our 1975: Living in the Seventies exhibition provides an opportunity to step back in time and learn about the history of this global event, and about some of the changemakers who played important roles in advancing Australia’s feminist movement in the seventies.

Listen to Elizabeth Reid, Catherine Dwyer, Biff Ward and Virginia Haussegger reflect on the evolution of feminism in Australia: Brazen Hussies: Then and now