What’s more, this time was a male dominated society therefore if men didn’t want the vote then the chances are women wouldn’t get it.
But mainly SOME men simply undermined women.
So to sum up, although parliament wasn’t letting women vote, society was a very crucial reason of why women didn’t get the vote up until 1918.
- The Suffragettes Military Action
Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughters Christabel and Sylvia founded a union called the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU), which became better known later as “the suffragettes” who campaigned tirelessly for “votes For women”
The Suffragettes started off relatively peacefully but soon began a protest of violence. Many sympathised with suffragists trying to get the vote before the violence including John Stuart Mill and Lord Lytton, - however, when the violence became a part of the protest any felt the “The Suffragettes” had gone to far thus losing support.
At The Outbreak Of The War What Did The Suffragettes Do?
In August 1914, the Government and the Suffragettes mounted a surprise truce, which led to be a very sensible decision by the Suffragettes. The truce was that the Suffragettes would help with the war effort in return for the Government pardoned Suffragette prisoners. This was agreed and so the “WSPU devoted its formidable energies to fighting the war.” Source material PG 325.
Emmeline Pankhurst rallied the Suffragettes into helping in the war effort “There’s no point in fighting for the vote if there's no country to vote in”. Also Emmeline and her daughter Christabel played important roles as speakers to recruit young men into the army, as did Millicent Fawcett, but was a speaker to rally women “Women, your country needs you… let us show ourselves worthy of citizenship whether our claims be recognised or not”.
What Contribution Women made To The First World War?
Recruitment
At the outbreak of war, women were used to recruit. The Government used propaganda to encourage women to persuade their men to volunteer.
Those who had been in conflict with the Government prior to the war, such as the Suffragettes, now played an active part in encouraging recruitment, by making a number of speeches in support of the war outlining what men and women could do to help.
Some women created the in January 1915. This group handed out white feathers to any young man not wearing a uniform whom they suspected of cowardice, in attempt to shame them into enlisting.
Working Class Women’s Jobs
Many working class women swapped poorly paid jobs as domestic servants for better wages and conditions in the munitions factories.
Munitions work was highly dangerous and caused the deaths of approximately 400 women each year, mostly caused by the frequent exposure to TNT. However, munitions work was highly paid and it had the effect of attracting a lot of women from jobs in domestic service, which saw a large drop in numbers during the war years.
As there was a great shortage of food in the country, many working class women joined the “Women’s Land Army” in an attempt to create more food for the country, and at its peak it consisted of around 260,000 women as farm labourers.
Middle and Upper Class Women’s Jobs
The majority of Middle and Upper Class women worked in medical and military posts.
The increased demands on the medical services due to the heavy casualties of war saw a huge rise in the numbers of Middle and Working class women involved in nursing work. Around 45,000 women were in nursing occupations throughout the war.
Much later on in the War the armed forces began to recruit women. The Royal Navy formed the (WRNS) in 1916, the (WAACs) in 1917 and the (WRAF) in 1918. These women filled posts such as clerks, telephonists, cooks, instructors, code experts and electricians. This freed up the men to enable them to join the fighting.
But apart from doing war-associated jobs many Middle class women were involved as teachers, lawyers, and secretaries and of course many Upper Class Women became involved in charity work.
The Political Aspect Of Women And The Vote
As we already know, throughout Asquith’s term as the Prime Minister he had much to do with women not achieving the vote. However, Asquith resigned in 1916 and David Lloyd George, the former Chancellor Of The Exchequer took his place. Now, before the violence of the suffragettes – in which his house was bombed - David Lloyd George was said to be a supporter of Women’s suffrage and now that women had really done themselves justice by rallying in the war effort he now would Really get behind the suffragists saying “I have not the faintest doubt what the vote of the House Of Commons will be.”
Conclusion
The efforts of women in the First World War had changed attitudes over women and their right to vote throughout society. “The vote was won, not by burning churches or damaging pillar boxes, but by women’s work in the war, it was not a concession to violence, but an acknowledgement of patriotic service”
Charles L. Graves, 1922
