The Iron Lady: The Leadership and Legacy of Margaret Thatcher
  • Home
  • Thesis
  • Context
  • Life
    • Early Life
    • Timeline
    • Political Career
  • Leadership & Legacy
    • Leadership >
      • Leadership Style
      • Key Events
      • Loyal Opposition
    • Legacy >
      • Thatcherism
      • Women's Activist
      • Divisive Figure
      • In Pop Culture
  • Conclusion
  • Research
    • Process Paper
    • Primary Documents
    • Bibliography >
      • Primary Sources
      • Secondary Sources
    • Photo Credits
    • Media Credits
Picture


"If you want anything said, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman.”
-Margaret Thatcher, May 20, 1965



Being the first female to lead a major western democracy, she showed the ability of women in politics by overcoming obstacles from her male colleagues & the media.
1963 Speech for Unmarried Mothers
Picture
“She believed in her own ability and wasn’t going to let being a woman and having young children stop her. She was an extraordinary pioneer, one of the first professional women to have children, get a nanny and go straight back to work.”
- John Campbell, Biographer
“She smashed the idea that a woman couldn’t be tough in foreign policy, or keep control of her government, that a woman would cry or spontaneously menstruate at the first sign of political pressure.”
-Claire Berlinski, Author: Why Margaret Thatcher Matters
“Margaret Thatcher always refused to practise the politics of victimisation. Rather, she gained her place in history the old-fashioned way – she earned it, by working twice as hard as her male competition and being twice as good. She earned the respect of every one of her counterparts in the Western world and beyond – and she deserves the respect and appreciation of women everywhere.” -Carol Platt Liebau, Political Commentator


Not everyone saw her as a women's activist. Thatcher herself praised women's rights while arguing against the feminist movement. The debate continues on if what Thatcher did becoming the UK's first female prime minister was enough for her to be labeled as a woman activist. 
1982 Speech on Women in a Changing World
Picture
“Nothing Margaret Thatcher did, absolutely nothing, created positive change for women. In fact she made everything worse." 
-Beatrix Campbell, Author: Iron Ladies
“She allowed British women to celebrate their ability not just to be nurturing, but also to be unpleasant, to be cruel, to be death-dealing, to be egotistic.”
-Natasha Walter, Feminist
“The entire privatisation project was very bad for women. The first targets in the public services were aimed at those largely performed by women, such as cleaning and catering. They were franchised out to contractors who then could hire the same women, more cheaply for worse conditions. Even as clients, parts of the newly formed welfare state were no longer available to women.” -Beatrix Campbell, Author: Iron Ladies
Divisive Figure >>
Top of Page
PARTICIPANTS: Gareema Dhiman, Makenna Austin, and Ben Anderson
ENTRY TITLE:
The Iron Lady: The Leadership and Legacy of Margaret Thatcher
STUDENT COMPOSED WORDS: 1,197

WORDS IN PROCESS PAPER:
 494
Proudly powered by Weebly