Changing role of women

• When WW1 ended in 1918 only men could vote in this country. Women could also not be M.P's.
• Before WW1 some women had been demanding the vote – probably the most famous group doing this was the Suffragettes.
• The Suffragettes had taken militant action to try to get women the vote.
• By the time WW1 broke out in 1914 the government was under a lot of pressure to give women the vote, but then the war broke out.
• During the war the Suffragettes agreed to suspend their actions and support the war effort.
• Women played a vital role in WW1.
• Representation of the People Act 1918

  1. Gave the vote to most women over 30 (although not some working class women)

  2. Reduced the voting age for men to all men over 20
• The Representation of the People Act also allowed women to stand as M.P's. The first female M.P to sit in parliament in 1919 was Nancy Astor.
• The number of female MP's in parliament remained low. 1918= 17 stood 1 won, 1922-5 = 5 female MP's (out of 630), By 1931 – still only 15 women in parliament
• 1924 first female M.P to be a member of the cabinet – Mary Bondfield
• Reason women didn't get elected as MP's


  They were not selected by the parties as they were often seen as a big risk for the selection committees
• Neither party focussed on female issues, it was only after WW2 there was increasing pressure to address female specific issues but this didn't really happen until the late 60's.
• At local level women played a greater role – but still only 15% of were women by councillors by 1930. Easier to balance home life and political life (not travelling to Westminster)
• Women made a massive contribution to the war and some female MP's helped shape some legislation such as ensuring men and women got equal compensation for war time injuries in the welfare reforms that followed.
• Possible to argue legislation passed after WW2 esp around Beveridge Report – gave women an increasing role and assisted women (as they were often the primary care giver)
• Political parties increasingly started to work with/address female issues by the 1960's
• But women in parliament remained low 1945-55 = 24 female MP's, 1964 = 29 female MP's
• Reason for low number of women in parliament


  Selection committees wanted to play it safe and not risk a female candidate
• Some women started to play a key role in politics but they were the exceptions – e.g Barbara Castle (Labour) and Margaret Thatcher (Conservative)
• Trade Unions


  Organisations that protect the workers. Most people when they start a job join a trade union.
• During WW1+WW2 a lot more women joined trade unions – however, for the most part this was a temp thing and they left when the war was over.
• Even by the 1970's most TU were dominated by men. Trade Unions were not keen to have female members.
• Only one TU – UNISON – decided to target increased female membership in the 1970's.
• The impact of limited women in TU was that TU didn't really address women's issues. Also, at this point TU were very powerful within he Labour party and this would influence their policies.
• Late 1960's and early 1970's there were some increasingly vocal women's groups, but the main political parties ignored them
• These groups took a more activist approach – they pushed issues about equal pay/contraception/abortion etc.
• One women's lib group in 1970 flour bombed the Miss World competition.
• Other groups set up centres to help women dealing with domestic assault/rape as they felt these women had nowhere else to turn.
• One famous female feminist called Germaine Greer wrote the "The Female Eunuch" in 1971. It stated women needed to stand up more for their rights. It was a bestseller.
• WW1 led to a lost "lost generation" a shortage of young men – some historians believe that 2 million women failed to find a husband because of this.
• After WW1 = more women were war widows and bringing up their family alone.
• Many had experienced new opportunities during WW1 but for the majority these soon ended
• Women role changed little – wife and mother – when she married she would give up work
• 1937 Matrimonial Act allowed women to also apply for a divorce from a man due to adultery (before this only men could apply!)
• 1918-29 = Most working class women left school before the age of 14
• Marie Stopes opened her first family birth control clinic in 1921 in London.
• By outbreak of 2WW the use of birth control was becoming widespread – but this was mainly under the control of men.
• From 1931 onwards Local Authorities were allowed to offer advice about birth control = but only to married couples. A chemist could refuse (and normally did) to sell condoms to a single women.
• The 1920's was a period of social change throughout Britain – including for women.
• New fashions – 1920's flappers 'In the 1920s, a new woman was born. She smoked, drank, danced, and voted. She cut her hair, wore make-up, and went to parties. She was a flapper.'