The moment of municipal feminism: gender and class in 1980s local government

Abstract

This paper discusses the tensions in the relationship between munici pal feminism, the urban left and the trade union movement and identi fies the period from 1983 to 1987 as the 'moment of municipal femin. ism'. It argues that since that period the concept of equal opportunities has narrowed considerably. It shows that inequalities between women working for local authorities have widened appreciably, even though the rhetoric of local authority management increasingly echoes municipal feminist critiques of hierarchical management