Wages for housework: the daring 1970s campaign that challenged women's roles

In the 1970s, a global group of feminist activists banded together with one demand: 'wages for housework'. Emily Callaci explores this campaign in her Cundill Prize-nominated book Wages for Housework and, in this episode, she speaks to Ellie Cawthorne about why the idea of women being compensated for unpaid household labour caused such a stir at the time – and continues to resonate today. To find out more about the Cundill History Prize, go to www.cundillprize.com. (Ad) Emily Callaci is the author of Wages for Housework: The Story of a Movement, an Idea, a Promise (Allen Lane, 2025). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wages-Housework-Story-Movement-Promise/dp/024150290X/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices