 The business was the subject of several other international academic studies of homeworking.In the 1970s the company's development paralleled the emergence of feminist thinking and the consequent awareness and pre-occupation with gender equality; together these led to legislation in the United Kingdom that was intended to bring equal rights to women but had unexpected consequences; F International was specifically offering employment "to women", and therefore they had to adjust their policies to be "gender-independent".Despite these issues, the business continued to grow until the 1970s, when it encountered difficulties for at least two reasons