In the 1970s, she emerged as a leader in women's rights advocacy, leading a campaign for a maternity leave.

Manley was First Lady of Jamaica for the duration of his term, advocating on behalf of women and children.

[10] Biographer Michael Darrell E. Levi wrote in 1989 that Beverley Manley "played a major role in sensitizing her husband to women's concerns".

[13] Manley also worked to help her husband "connect" with Jamaica's black population—while his skin was light, she had dark skin, an Afro reminiscent of the Black Power movement, and often wore "African attire" such as a dashiki—and developed a reputation for being involved with gender-related issues.

[5][14] Manley was not universally accepted by wealthier and more powerful Jamaicans; for instance, some told her to straighten her hair.

[15] In 1975, Manley was fired upon while she and her husband led a funeral procession for the politician Winston Blake.

[4][7] The year before, Manley and Eric Anthony Abrahams had created a radio show that focused on current events, The Breakfast Club.

[4][7][19] In a review of the work, Christopher Porter for The Washington Post wrote: "In some ways, Beverley was to Prime Minister Michael Manley what Hillary Clinton was to Bill Clinton — with everything that implies: a strong, smart woman married to a brilliant but human leader, whose philandering caused pain in the marriage ... (And she had her own dalliances, too.