How important was World War One in gaining women the vote?

Siobhan Hughes

February 1918 saw the passing of the ‘Representation of the people act’. This act extended the groups of people allowed to vote. Women over the age of 30 were now allowed to vote. After countless years of fighting for the right to vote, women were now able to vote. There has been much dispute over the years as to why women were eventually granted the right to vote. Some people argue that it was because of the way the women helped during the First World War. Others argue that it was because of the campaigning, militant tactics through the work and achievements of the NUWSS and the WSPU in previous years. But exactly HOW important was the war in gaining women the vote?

Millions of British men enlisted to fight for their country at the time of war. They left their families, homes and jobs, and they understood that they might not survive the war. They did it for their country. However, with the absence of the men, there was nobody to work in the factories making weapons and other such items that would be compulsory for fighting the war. Also, as all of the ‘able-bodied’ men were fighting in the war, there was a shortage of medical teams (e.g. doctors, surgeons, etc.). This is where the women stepped in. They left their campaigning and militant tactics and without a second thought; they took over the role of working and helping out, even though the government had done nothing for them. Infact, the government had been fighting against them for many previous years as regards to votes for women. But at this time of need, all of the previous conflicts were forgotten and the country pulled together as a whole to fight the war. This helped the suffragettes a lot more than it appeared. They had finally broken the fallacy that they were women who couldn’t care less about anything except their cause. This may have made the government look at them in a different light and they may have been more sympathetic towards the suffragettes. Lloyd George, together with the leaders of the WSPU organised a way to enable women to join the workforce. Women were given the jobs that men had previously had. They had to work just as hard as the men had. This tackled the argument ‘a woman cannot do a man’s work’ which many men had used in preceding years. It also showed that, contrary to what the government may have thought before, that women could be responsible and helpful towards the country and could carry out the same industrial duties as men. This gave them a new argument as to why they should be given the vote.

This is a preview of the whole essay

At the end of the war, the government decided to review the current voting situation. As it stood, many of the soldiers who had fought in the war, especially the younger ones, were not entitled to vote as a high proportion of them did not own any property and they had been out of the country for longer than a year and so this made them ineligible. The government decided that it was unfair that a large amount of the men who had fought for their country for so long were not able to vote. These men had fought in the trenches, seen family and friends die, and yet they were not allowed to vote. So, as they were giving these men the vote, they thought about how the women too had played a great role in the war. They may not have been on the front line, but they had pulled together, they had ‘kept the country running’ while the men had been away. Some people believe that without the First World War, the ‘Representation of the people act’ would not have come into play and votes for women may have been delayed or they may not have been granted the vote at all.

Although a huge barrier had been broken, there was still a long way to go. Under the new act, women could vote, but only women over the age of 30. To the younger women, this seemed like a great injustice. They had worked just as hard as the older women, and yet, under the new law they were still unable to vote.

We cannot dismiss all of the work that had been done before the war in regards for getting votes for women. The NUWSS and the WSPU worked extremely hard to gain support for the cause of votes for women.

The NUWSS (National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies) formed in the 1880s was dedicated to attaining votes for women. It was a federal organisation and was known as one of the more peaceful groups. They organised the first of the big suffrage demonstrations in February 1907. it became known as the ‘mud march’ because of the torrential rain that had poured down on the demonstrators. They also got support from many sympathetic MPs at general elections and by-elections. In 1912 they had over 21,000 members and 500 branches over the country. Until 1912 the NUWSS had supported the Liberals, but once they realised that they had no intention to bring votes for women any further they became in allegiance with the Labour Party which had inspired many conciliation bills to be put forward. They had made a great foundation for the cause, even before the war.

The WSPU (Women’s Social and Political Union) formed in the early 1900s, prompted by dissatisfaction with the Labour Party and the NUWSS. They were less democratic and were well known for their militant tactics. In 1910 they collaborated with a similar organisation (WFL) that was even bigger and better than the attempt made by the NUWSS 3 years previous. Over 600 ex-prisoners headed by the leader, Emmeline Pankhurst each carried a poison arrow. This is just one example of the lengths at which the WSPU were prepared to go to, to gain publicity and support for their cause. They certainly did gain publicity. At first people were shocked at what these women were doing but at the same time it showed dedication, but after a while people got annoyed at what the WSPU were doing. They were seen by some people as ‘taking it too far’. They were seen as an ‘enemy’ by the government. They were using violence as an ally. The WSPU had strong links with the Labour Party and other influential MPs. This helped their credibility as so many key figures were seen as supporting the organisation. They achieved a significant amount before the war.

This evidence shows that even before war these women had worked intensely to see that they were given the vote. It also shows that they believed in the cause so much that they had fought for it for many years before there was any sign of war. So there is no way it can be said that the war was solely responsible in gaining women the vote.

So, in conclusion I think that the war did play a major role in gaining women the vote. However, to say that war alone was the only factor that existed in gaining women the vote is slightly apprehensive. For a start, not all women gained the right to vote. Also without the work of the NUWSS, WSPU and other such organisations the idea of women voting would not even have come to light. In addition the lengths that these women went to and the sheer determination and dedication that was shown is evidence enough that their work certainly paid off.