Ireland’s Marriage Bar: The Gold Sovereign

Abstract

The Marriage Bar required women working in specific jobs, inclusive of nursing, to leave their careers when married. Additionally, married women were disqualified from applying for vacancies in many occupations. While it was not a legal requirement for the private sector and many other employers, it was adopted and became the normal practice of the day. This barring of married women from employment was not unique to Ireland. The difference is that most countries abolished the Marriage Bar before the 1950s. It took Ireland a further twenty years before this practice was rescinded. This chapter will present a picture of Irish society before the Marriage Bar, exploring the political and social changes that facilitated its implementation. It will also examine societies’ response to the Bar and its impact on the nursing profession.