If it sometimes feels the cause of women’s rights is a never-ending struggle, it’s probably worth remembering just how far we’ve come.

On International Women’s Day, we take a look at nine movies that document and celebrate some of the changes we’ve seen over the decades.

1. Made in Dagenham

Set in the late 60s, these the film revolves around a group of workers in a Ford car plant ladies who left their sewing machines to fight for a fair deal.

Their walkout against sexual discrimination in the workplace led to a three-week strike, which finally resulted in pay rise for women, bringing their salary 8% below that of men.

Women protesting for equal pay
(S&G Barratts/Empics/PA)

However, it was the Ford sewing machinists’ strike which led to a thousand-strong demonstration for equal pay that ultimately resulted in the Equal Pay Act 1970.

2. Educating Rita

This Oscar-winning hit  focuses on a young, working-class hairdresser hungry for an education.

After signing up for for an Open University course, she encounters a jaded tutor who is reluctant to take her under his wing – until he catches her thirst for subject.

Michael Caine and Julie Walters
(Joe Schaber/AP/PA)

The film follows Rita in her struggle to better herself despite her lack of education, while battling pressure from her straight-laced husband to leave her dreams of university behind to raise a family.

3. The Young Victoria

The Young Victoria is based around the early life and turbulent reign of Queen Victoria and her marriage with Prince Albert.

Tired of living under the intense set of rules know as the ‘Kensington System’, Victoria fights against the pressures from her overbearing family who attempt to stop the heiress from reaching the throne.

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert
(PA)

Nevertheless the princess rises to power after her uncle, King William, passes away and with her new title, Queen Victoria breaks away from her oppressive handlers and begins her reign afresh.

4. Vera Drake

Set before the Abortion Act was passed in 1967, Vera Drake, a hard-working yet struggling mother, is eager to help others. One day, unbeknown to her family, Vera sets up a secret service helping young women terminate their unwanted pregnancies.

When one of her patients nearly dies following treatment, Vera finds herself subjected to two and a half years imprisonment, where she meets other women all convicted of performing illegal abortions.

A woman at a pro-abortion demonstration
(AP/PA)

Before the sexual revolution of the 60s, the subject was a big taboo and with that there were some very narrow views surrounding premarital sex, illegitimate pregnancies and, of, course abortion.

5. Bend it Like Beckham

Bend it Like Beckham follows two teen girls fighting to follow their dreams of careers in football and struggling against the resistance of their parents.

While Jess’ traditional Punjabi parents are adamant their daughter will grow up to be a doctor, Jules’ mother refuses to allow her to play the sport because she is a girl.

Parminder Nagra as Jess Bhamra in Bend it Like Beckham
(DPA/PA)

The film challenged the stigma attached to female footballers brilliantly, not only outing sexist social paradigms but the cultural ones too.

6. Testament of Youth

Based on writer Vera Brittain’s memoirs from during the First World War, Testament of Youth is a story about the huge impact the conflict had on the women of Britain.

Vera postponed a place at Oxford University to work as a voluntary aid nurse at home and overseas, where she encountered heartbreaking loss in the battlefields of Flanders, France and Italy.

Vera Brittain
(Topham/Topham Picturepoint/PA)

Determined to follow her dreams, Vera eventually returns to Oxford University where she falls into journalism and finally begins writing her infamous accounts of her turbulent experiences during the First World War.

7. Iron Lady

This biographical film follows the life of not only the longest-serving prime minister of the 20th century but the first (and only) woman to ever hold office in the UK – Margaret Thatcher.

The barrister turned political leader paved the way for females in politics and despite her uncompromising attitude, Thatcher proved that a woman’s power is just as strong as a man’s.

Margaret Thatcher
(PA)

She earned her nickname “Iron Lady” following a scathing comment on the Soviet Union but her relentless and sometimes ruthless approach to leadership made the title stick.

8. Calendar Girls

Calendar Girls follows the true story of a group of mature friends who embark on a traditional charity calendar fundraiser with a radical twist – every picture features a tastefully nude gal.

The Women’s Institute refuses to print the saucy calendar and the Yorkshire women are forced to plead their case with the charity’s national congress.

The women of Rylstone and District Women's Institute who posed naked for the original calendar
(Paul Barker/PA)

When the calendar is grudgingly allowed to be put on sale, copies sell out immediately and the unsuspecting group of friends are shot into the limelight.