No Easy Victory: Towards Equal Pay for Women in the Government Service 1890-1960
NO EASY VICTORY
NO EASY VICTORY
The passing of the Government Service Equal Pay Act in October 1960 was a moment of triumph for the thousands of New Zealanders who had sought equal pay for women public servants since 1890.
Today, when the battle for economic equality is still being fought, Margaret Corner's account of the struggle towards that 1960 milestone is especially important and timely. Relying both on thorough research and on the words and memories of the women involved, she chronicles the PSA's long, frustrating but often exciting campaign for equal pay.
NO EASY VICTORY is a story of assault on prejudice, of arguments over a 'woman's place' and the role of the 'male breadwinner'. It is a story, too, of the dedicated PSA women and men who, particularly through the 1940s and 1950s, conducted a campaign of mounting pressure for equal pay, sometimes halted but never defeated by the forceful opposition of the Public Service Commission and the procrastination of 'supportive' politicians.
Well illustrated with contemporary newspaper extracts, photographs and cartoons, Margaret Corner's book is a readable and lively account of a vitally important piece of New Zealand history — and a reminder that the fight for equal pay is not over. Other victories lie ahead.
MARGARET CORNER ( née Kane) was born in Hamilton and educated at Te Kuiti High School before attending Waikato University where she gained a BA in 1970. She then studied at Auckland University, graduating MA(Hons) in history in 1973. Margaret has since pursued a career in teaching and freelance writing and is currently teaching at Wellington College. She is married with two children.