A lot’s changed in the 100 years since UK women got the vote. Women have won all kinds of new rights and freedoms: from managing banks, to driving tanks, to running the country.

Channel 4 wanted to celebrate this progress, while highlighting that there’s more to be done.

Our 90” film juxtaposes what, 100 years ago, women were proscribed from doing, either legally or socially, with imagery of them doing those things.

The voice-over, read by Alexandra Roach, repeatedly tells women ‘you can’t’, exposing how numerous and repressive past inequalities were. It blends the serious with the light (such as, ‘you can’t buy your own place’ and ‘you can’t cuss’) to show the breadth of restrictions women experienced. It has a rhythmic quality, and a forthright, determined tone.

The film ends with a rallying cry for more change by listing modern gender issues as hashtags, such as #metoo and #everydaysexism

Part of Channel 4’s remit is a requirement to raise awareness of social issues and inspire change in society. To celebrate 100 years of enfranchisement, our campaign sought to raise awareness of the power of protest, and urge the public to keep fighting modern gender equality battles.

These battles are significant. Last year, an EU study found that Britain had made zero progress in tackling gender inequality over the past decade, while The World Economic Forum suggests it will take 100 years for Britain to close its gender equality gap.

But where there’s a will, there’s a way. Years of campaigning brought about the female vote in 1918. And the spirit of protest and action is still alive and well, demonstrated by public engagement in campaigns like #TimesUp and #everydaysexism, and legislative changes brought about by public pressure, such as new laws requiring companies to report their gender pay data.

You can’t manage a bank.

You can’t drive a tank.

You can’t be a lawyer,

A rapper,

A scrapper.

You can’t read the news.

And you can’t have your own views.

You can’t play football,

And you can’t referee.

No spying,

No flying,

No running marathons,

And no body-building.

No building at all actually.

You can’t go into space.

You can’t buy your own place.

You can’t cuss,

Make a fuss,

Or drive a bus.

No smoking.

No smirking.

No twerking.

And no mini-skirting.

You can’t have birth control.

You can’t marry another woman,

You can’t kiss another woman,

You can’t hit another woman.

You can’t do it alone.

You can’t make your partners ex’s,

And you can’t reassign sexes.

Don’t show too much skin,

Tattoos are Taboo.

You can’t go out with your mates

And you can’t go on dates.

You can’t wear trousers.

You can’t wear THE trousers,

And you can’t do that with your hair.

You can’t join the army.

You can’t join a golf club.

You can’t work when you’re married.

And you definitely can’t sumo wrestle.

You can’t swim the channel.

You can’t drive a car,

Or ride a bike.

You can’t climb Everest.

You can’t climb that ladder,

That ladder,

Or that ladder.

And there’s to be no protesting!

Oh, and you obviously can’t vote.

A lot’s changed in the 100 years since women got the vote, but we’re not there yet.