The struggle for equality is turning out as a long and hard one. There are urgent issues facing the women's movement today. The fight for the democratic right to have abortions; the fight for decent childcare; the fight against the blatant sexism of the mass media; the fight for the right of women to work and to be eligible for unemployment benefit if this right is denied them; the list goes on and on. In too many areas we in the movement have seen past gains stolen from us, or distorted beyond recognition. The Royal Commission gives us a report which sounds like an abridged version of a SPUC manifesto; the Domestic Purposes Benefit is cut back with the intention of forcing women into Bert Walker's private moral code; the right to vote which women were imprisoned for has been a poor weapon against the financial and political power of big business as it takes our rights with one hand and forces down our living standards with the other.

In order to fight against these moves, we must formulate a strategy based on our position in society now, However, to fully understand our present situation, it is necessary to look at women's position throughout the different stages of society.