How Significant Was WW1 In Bringing About Votes For Some Women In 1918?

Authors Avatar

How Significant Was WW1 In Bringing About Votes For Some Women In 1918?

After many years of campaigning, women over thirty years of age gained the vote in 1918 and all women over the age of twenty one gained the vote in 1928. There are many factors why this was achieved. For example it can be said that a combination of the votes for women campaign led by the WSPU (Women’s Social and Political Union) and the NUWSS (National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies) which included various tactics, both illegal and legal as well as other factors such as changing attitudes to women in society and World War One (WW1). This particular factor has in the past been argued to be one of the main reasons for the gaining of the vote, more so than the pre- war campaigns. However recently this theory has been challenged.

The war was significant in contributing to gaining the vote for women because there was a shortage of male workers due to many of them fighting; so many women took on the jobs of men in many areas of work. For example women worked in heavy industry such as armaments and ammunition factories which was vital for the war effort. Also the WRENS (Women’s Royal Navy Service) and the WRAFS (Women’s Royal Air Force) contributed by doing such jobs as drivers, typists, messengers, telephonists, welding and carpentry on aircraft. This proved to men that women were just as capable of undertaking manual and responsible jobs as they were. This challenged the idea of the separate spheres that men and women were different both mentally and physically and so had different roles to fill in life. However, the idea that WW1 broke down the idea of the separate spheres can be challenged as Harrison argues “although many women serving in the Armed Forces were extremely brave, they did not experience the horrors of the front line. The separation of role was also reinforced by…many men across the channel while most women stayed at home.” Therefore it can be said that rather than challenging the separate spheres, WW1 reinforced them and so did not greatly help to convince society and politicians that women were equal to men and so deserved equal opportunities. Previously historians have argued that WW1 did help to gain the vote because the government granted women the vote as a reward for their hard work and sacrifices. This was because most of the war work that women took on was highly dangerous and hours were long. Also there was the constant threat of explosions like at Silvertown in January 1917 and TNT poisoning which turned the skin of workers yellow and so the workers became known as Canary Girls. However, this can also be challenged because work was often carried out by women under thirty, whilst the vote in 1918 was only granted to women over this age. So women who did the majority of the work were not rewarded.

It can also be argued that the war did little to help women gain the vote in 1918 because by 1914 when the war started, the government was on the verge of granting the vote. Asquith meet the deputations of the WSPU and the NUWSS in 1913 and 1914 so he may have been close to granting the vote after being won round, partly through the suffragette movement; if this is true, the war delayed this from happening. This was mainly due to the fact that when WW1 started the government had more important issues to discuss and so the question of votes for women had to take a back seat. However, Harrison claims “the war weakened the suffragist movement. It pushed all peaceful problems down the political agenda.”

Join now!

Moreover, WW1 improved relations between the WSPU and the NUWSS and the government during the war years. Before the war relations between the WSPU and NUWSS and the government were not strong mainly because of the illegal activities of the WSPU. This was caused by most suffrage activities being suspended whilst the war was on. Many members of the WSPU and NUWSS threw themselves whole heartedly into the war effort and became highly patriotic. ‘The Suffragette’ newspaper was renamed ‘Britannica’, members helped to recruit munitions workers and also put the suffragette movement’s funds and resources at the disposal of ...

This is a preview of the whole essay