The idea of democratic rights for women began to slowly emerge in 1894 when women were allowed to vote for parochial church councils, under the Local Government Act. This was followed by the Qualification of Women (County and Borough Councils) Act in 1907 when women were allowed to become councillors. But all of this would appear fairly insignificant with what was about to take place.
The outbreak of the First World War in 1914 dramatically changed the social status of women. While more and more men went away to fight an die for their country on the front lines, the women kept the country running and took over jobs that were normally considered “men’s work”. The war could not have been won without women working in jobs and conditions never experienced by women before. Suffragettes such as Emmeline Pankhurst and Emily Davidson had protested for many years that laws could not be fair for both men and women unless they could both take part in the democratic process. This they believed was that right to vote and have their opinions expressed in the House of Commons. Most of their campaigns to change the laws on women’s franchise were peaceful initially, but when the media started losing interest, suffragettes started using violent or more shocking methods to gain attention. Whilst this may have raised the awareness about their cause, it also lead some people to think that women were irresponsible and therefore not worthy of having the right to vote. But wartime was the ideal opportunity to show what women could do and prove their point.
Because of pressure from women’s groups and their obvious abilities to work and keep the country going, the government agreed to give women the right to vote under the Representation of the People Act 1918. This also allowed women to become Members of Parliament. However at this time, this privilege was only for women over thirty who were married to a householder or were the householder. As soon as the war was over, society once again believed that women needed men’s guidance and were expected to return to their homes and be dependant on men once again. This didn’t happen with all women because there was a distinct lack of servicemen returning from the war and many that did were maimed or mentally scarred. This left many women with no choice but to remain unmarried and work. Therefore the structure of society changed to include these women who were able to support themselves without male guidance. Nancy Astor became the first woman Member of Parliament to actually take her seat in 1919.
During the period between world wars, women continued to campaign for more change in their status. By 1925 legislation concluded, “a father could no longer be considered as a sole guardian of his children.” Laws were again changed in 1928 to make men and women’s voting rights equal, this allowed women over twenty-one to vote.
As with the First World War, the Second World War saw large changes in societies expectations of women. Social dependency on men disappeared and women were again needed to leave their homes and work on farms and in factories to help with the war effort. By this time women were able to spend more time with men unaccompanied, which lead to a rise in sexual behaviours before marriage. Although society still frowned on this it was a little more expected than it had been in the past. There was a change in women’s attitude towards marriage as now women entered into it for personal happiness and not because it was a necessary course of action.
In the 1930’s family planning clinics were introduced and free contraception was available. Nevertheless these benefits were only given to married women who were seriously ill. Further steps continued to be made with The Education Act of 1944 allowing female teachers to stay at work after they married. Unfortunately this came 8 years too late for my Great Grandmother Henrietta Shields who had been forced to give up being a headmistress when she married in 1936. In 1948 the National Health Service was introduced which allowed men and women to receive free medical care. This was another change in status for women, as before they were not entitled to the same health rights as men. Further advances saw equal pay introduced in some professions such as teaching and the civil service, no doubt because a woman had become a departmental head in the civil service for the first time. 1958 saw the first women peers admitted to the House of Lords. However the title still remained the same and did not change to the House of Lords and Ladies!
The sixties were a massive turning point for women and completely changed their social status, as for the first time they got to choose what they wanted to do with their life. They could choose their career or go on to higher education and they could live alone without any stigma being attached to them. This era also saw the introduction of the contraceptive pill, abortions for social reasons and the divorce reforms act which all allowed women more freedom in their lives and more equal rights.
Women’s status in the twentieth century was drastically changed by their economic independence. Before women were given the right to vote the only career options open to a middle class girl were as a governess, nurse or teacher. Whereas a working class girl had less promising prospects as either working in a textiles factory or with the domestic service. There were no employment laws or trade unions to protect women so working conditions were bad, hours were long and the pay was very little.
During the First World War attitudes towards women’s capabilities in the workplace changed. With men being conscripted, Britain had no choice but to employ women, and many employers soon favoured the women workforce, as they would accept lower wages than the men. When the men returned home they went back to their jobs and women went back to their homes. This happened all over again after the Second World War. Then in 1945 the Family Allowance Act was introduced which meant the state paid benefit directly to the woman. Also in 1955 equal pay was awarded within the teaching profession, civil service and local government offices. Still women were largely financially dependent on their husbands for the next twenty years, as the pattern of women working and then leaving their job to have a family continued.
Nevertheless it has only been in the last forty years that great changes have been scene in the opportunities open to women in the workplace. In 1958 Britain saw it’s first female bank manager, and in 1962 Dame Barbara Salt became the first female ambassador. The seventies allowed even more drastic changes to women’s role and status with the first women being allowed on the floor on the stock exchange in 1973 and undoubtedly the most major advance in women’s status, since being given the right to vote, was Margaret Thatcher becoming the first women prime minister in 1979.
Yet, even with all these changes women were still being discriminated against within the pay structure. Legislation in 1970 stipulated that within the next five years men and women should have equal wages for equal jobs. Many employers avoided this by giving men and women’s jobs different titles although they were doing the same work. Due to this the Equal Value Amendment to the Equal Pay Act was introduced in 1984, which allowed women to claim equal pay for doing different jobs they considered to be of the same value. In 1975 another important piece of legislation was introduced, the Sex Discrimination Act, which banned sex discrimination from not only employment but also education and advertising.
However even today, women’s roles are similar to before being given the vote, as many women do prefer to stay at home with the children if financially possible, but some women enjoy the freedom of getting away from the house and children and this option is now open to them. Women’s status on the other hand has changed completely; women are now considered equal to men and can work in any profession they choose.
The twentieth century saw many new pieces of legislation, which had an important impact on the role, and status of women. However in my opinion the legislation only reflected the increasing social power of women in most cases. Most legislation followed a change in society rather than creating one. The only exception was giving women the right to vote, which was the first major step to improve the social standing of women, and was the cornerstone of enhancing and improving their role and status in the twentieth century.
Laura Bond 11GY2Y
