Following her acclaimed documentary series Lefties and Jews, film-maker Vanessa Engle's new three-part documentary, Women, comes soon to BBC Four. Coinciding with International Women's Day on Monday 8th March, Women will see Engle turn her attention to sexual politics, charting the rise of feminism and interrogating its impact on contemporary women's lives.
Generational in structure, the first film, entitled Libbers, maps the ideology of women's liberation in the Seventies, including interviews with legendary British and American feminists, including Kate Millett, Susan Brownmiller, Germaine Greer, and the last ever interview with novelist Marilyn French, who died in May 2009.
The second film, Mothers, documents the daily lives of ordinary women with children, exploring the extent to which the legacy of feminism has altered gender roles and the division of labour in the home.
The film features eight middle-class women, with differing attitudes to feminism, to see whether, as a result of the women's movement, gender roles have changed. Are these educated women living the dream that feminism imagined for them?
The final programme is an observational film about a small group of passionate and angry young feminist activists in London now.
These young women believe that the need for feminist activism is now more urgent than ever. They are deeply concerned about the objectification of women, the ubiquity of lads' magazines, and the rise in pornography and lap dancing clubs.
Activists follows the feminists over a three-month period, as they organise meetings and demonstrations, exploring their politics and motivations. Are these women a small group of insignificant extremists or is a new wave of feminism about to be unleashed?
Writer and producer Vanessa Engle says: "The feminist revolution was probably the fastest social revolution of the last century - but maybe it shot out of the bottle too fast?"
In March, the BBC will be showing a number of TV programmes to coincide with International Women's Day, which marks the economic, political and social achievements of women.
The programmes will highlight the changing role of women and include the aforementioned, as well as two documentaries for BBC Three which explore women's rights during conflict - Judith: Going Back To Congo and Nel: From Camden To Kabul; and A Passionate Woman for BBC One, a drama about two stages in the life of a wife and mother, starring Billie Piper and Sue Johnston.
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As a stay at home mum of a 17 month old i have had quite a few people asking me when i am going to get a job since my daughter has been born and feel a lot of pressure to gain a job outside of the home as it is expected of me . However i am lucky enough and have chosen to look after my daughter full time, whilst doing some night classes once my daughter is in bed. I feel that some people find it odd that i dont go out to work, but for me, if i was not looking after my daughter then someone else would be that would not be me, and as i am able to look after her then why would anyone question this? With regards to equal division of labour and equality between men and women with a family, i think there will always be issues. A suggestion would be for the man and woman in a relationship to each have a job outside the home for 2.5 days a week, with the same pay, one working the beginning of the week and the other the end of the week, each looking after the children when not in work, and share the house work etc equally. However the practicality of this may be questioned and im sure there would still be problems. If one is happy with the situation they are in then people should not judge.