A marriage bar is the practice of restricting the
employment
Employment is a relationship between two party (law), parties Regulation, regulating the provision of paid Labour (human activity), labour services. Usually based on a employment contract, contract, one party, the employer, which might be a cor ...
of
married women. Common in English-speaking countries from the late 19th century to the 1970s, the practice often called for the termination of the employment of a woman on her marriage, especially in teaching and clerical occupations.
Further, widowed women with children were still considered to be married at times, preventing them from being hired, as well.
The practice lacked an economic justification, and its rigid application was often disruptive to workplaces. However, marriage bars were widely relaxed in wartime due to an increase in the demand for labor. Research carried out by
Claudia Goldin
Claudia Dale Goldin (born May 14, 1946) is an American economic historian and labor economist. She is the Henry Lee Professor of Economics at Harvard University. In October 2023, she was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences "fo ...
to explore their determinants using firm-level data from 1931 and 1940, find out that they are associated with promotion from within, tenure-based salaries, and other modern personnel practices.
Since the 1960s, the practice has widely been regarded as
employment inequality and
sexual discrimination, and has been either discontinued or outlawed by
anti-discrimination law
Anti-discrimination law or non-discrimination law refers to legislation designed to prevent discrimination against particular groups of people; these groups are often referred to as protected groups or protected classes. Anti-discrimination laws ...
s. In the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
, the marriage bar was removed in 1957, in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
it was removed in 1966, and in
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
it was removed in 1973.
Variations
While "marriage bar" is the general term used to encompass all discriminatory hiring practices against married women, two variations were commonplace for employers in the 1900s. The "hire bar" is the classification of the prevention of hiring married women. The "retain bar" is the prevention of retaining married workers. Both terms fall under the larger umbrella term.
To avoid seemingly discriminatory practices, many employers utilized marriage bars to classify married women as
supplementary staff, rather than permanent. This was the case, for example, at
Lloyds Bank
Lloyds Bank plc is a major British retail banking, retail and commercial bank with a significant presence across England and Wales. It has traditionally been regarded one of the "Big Four (banking)#England and Wales, Big Four" clearing house ...
until 1949, when the bank abolished its marriage bar.
Classifying women as supplementary, rather than full-time staff, allowed employers to avoid paying women fixed salaries and to terminate women's employment more easily.
History in the United Kingdom
In the UK, the marriage bar was removed for all teachers and in the
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
in 1944. The
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
had a marriage bar between 1932 and 1944, although it was a partial ban and was not fully enforced due to the BBC's ambivalent views on the policy.
Lloyds Bank
Lloyds Bank plc is a major British retail banking, retail and commercial bank with a significant presence across England and Wales. It has traditionally been regarded one of the "Big Four (banking)#England and Wales, Big Four" clearing house ...
utilized a marriage bar to classify married women as
supplementary staff rather than permanent until 1949, when the bank abolished its marriage bar.
Several other jobs in the UK had marriage bars until sometime in the 1970s, for example the
British Geological Survey
The British Geological Survey (BGS) is a partly publicly funded body which aims to advance Earth science, geoscientific knowledge of the United Kingdom landmass and its continental shelf by means of systematic surveying, monitoring and research. ...
until 1975.
The marriage bar prohibited married women from joining the civil service. It was abolished in 1946 for the
Home Civil Service and in 1973 for the Foreign Service; until then women were required to resign when they married. Having a marriage bar was made illegal throughout the UK by the
Sex Discrimination Act 1975.
History in the United States
The practice of marriage bars arose in the United States in the late 1800s. Marriage bars were often seen in the teaching and clerical industries. While many women hid their marital status in efforts to keep their jobs, marriage bars were not banned by law until 1964 when
Title VII of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and United States labor law, labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race, Person of color, color, religion, sex, and nationa ...
prohibited discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, sex, or
ethnic origin.
While common throughout the United States, the marriage bar was relaxed in certain geographical areas and time periods.
Contrary to urban areas, rural areas often needed teachers so they were willing to hire married women.
Marriage bars were less strict during World War I because women were needed in the assistance of war efforts.
At the beginning of World War II, 87% of school boards would not hire married women and 70% would not retain a single woman who married. But in 1951, only 18% of the school boards had the "hire bar" and 10% had the "retain bar".
Marriage bars generally affected educated, middle-class married women, particularly native-born white women. Their occupations were that of teaching and clerical work. Lower class women and women of color who took jobs in manufacturing, waitressing, and
domestic servants were often unaffected by marriage bars.
Discrimination against married female teachers in the US was not terminated until 1964 with the passing of the
Civil Rights Act
Civil Rights Act may refer to several civil right acts in the United States. These acts of the United States Congress are meant to protect rights to ensure individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private ...
.
Justification
A 1946 article in ''
The Spectator
''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...
'', a British conservative magazine, offered a few reasons for the justification of marriage bars.
The article said that women who were married were supported by their husbands, and therefore did not need jobs.
Furthermore, marriage bars provided more opportunity for those whom proponents viewed as "actually" needing employment, such as single women.
''The Spectator'' also argued that unmarried women were more reliable and mobile than married women,
as they did not have children or other pressing responsibilities.
Marriage bars were connected to social and economic fluctuations, as well, especially after the end of
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. Returning servicemen who wanted jobs, and afterwards the
Depression in the 1930s, led to the implementation of marriage bars in many professions.
However, marriage bars were often justified on tradition, especially in places where there was a very strong tradition of married women as caretakers.
Similar practices
While not directly related to the marriage bar, certain de facto discriminatory hiring practices raised similar concerns for women as the marriage bar did in the earlier 1900s. For example, certain discriminatory practices against pregnant women led to the US
Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978.
See also
*
Feminisation of the workplace
The feminization of the workplace is the Feminization (sociology), feminization, or the shift in gender roles and sex roles and the incorporation of women into a group or a profession once dominated by men, as it relates to the workplace. It is ...
*
Women in the workforce
References
Further information
Celebration of the 40th anniversary of the lifting of the Marriage Bar- transcript of a speech by
Lynelle Briggs in 2006, regarding the marriage bar in the
Australian Public Service
The Australian Public Service (APS) is the federal civil service of the Commonwealth of Australia responsible for the public administration, public policy, and public services of the departments and executive and statutory agencies of the G ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marriage Bars
Women's rights
Feminist economics
Employment discrimination
Sexism
Marriage law
Equality rights