Source A: The importance of the vote. From a speech made by Emmeline Pankhurst in March 1908, Emmeline Pankhurst was the leader of the militant Suffragette movement. “It is important that women should have the vote so that, in the Government of the country, the women’s point of view can be put forward.” The supporters of Women’s suffrage argued that it was unfair not to allow women the vote. Obtaining the vote was part of Women’s striving for equality in modern society. Ultimately the vote was the most important, as it allowed women the right to vote on other forms of equality, such as wage rights and custodial rights.
Due to the outbreak of War there was a truce between the Suffragettes and Government, and with the help of many female reformists like Pankhurst and Annie Kennie, the movement leaders rallied their followers and other women to aid in the war effort. ’What would be the good of the vote without a country to vote in.’
”The answer was that the country was our country. It belonged to us and not to the Government, and we had the right and privilege, as well as the duty, to serve and defend it.”
It was essential that on such a grand scale War those women took over the jobs of men, in order to keep the country from bankruptcy and supply the much-needed munitions. Women did not just take over the male factory work, but also the work of police and other essential jobs. Today this seems self evident that Women would have to take over the lost jobs, but then, due to the status of women, it was a real eye opener to see women doing the jobs of men. Putting them on par with men. The novelty of it gained much publicity and helped in the fight for female suffrage. The success of women in the aid of the War effort showed to be extremely helpful in the women’s cause. When in 1917 Lloyd George the British Prime Minister announced how greatly the Women’s War work had helped change people’s opinion on the subject of Women’s Suffrage. “When the War is over Parliament will decide the matter. I have not the faintest doubt what the vote of the House of Commons will be.”
It wasn’t actually till ten years later when women achieved the ‘flapper vote’ on the same terms as the male vote. But straight after the War the vote was given to women over the age of 30, and the right to stand for Parliament, Lady Astor was the first woman MP (in 1918). But despite equal opportunity, their was not and is still not equal representation in Parliament. In 1986 women MPs were outnumbered by their male counterparts 25-1.
World War One and the Patriotic service shown by women helped them achieve the vote, but it is asinine to state that the determination shown by women pre 1914 was in vain. Perhaps had it not been for the Women’s War Pageant in 1915 led by Pankhurst, showing the willingness of Women to aid as much as they could in the War effort; would women have got involved in the male work as quickly, if at all. The War effort was mainly a help to women in achieving the vote in 1918, as it showed society the utility of women, and showed them as equals to men being able to do men’s jobs. Due to the lack of a full female vote at the end of 1918, women would not have achieved the vote until much later. Without the eruption of war, arguably women may have achieved a degree of voting rights pre 1918.
Had there been War or no War women would have gained the right to vote eventually. The sheer determination and will of Suffragette and Suffragist movements to acquire the vote was too much for the Government to ignore for much longer than 1914. Overall the Women War effort made little difference to women sooner or later getting the vote.
Society’s attitudes were changing on the status of women in Britain and continentally since it pioneered in the 1860’s with the work of Caroline Norton. As democracy and justice, the morals on which our country was based and is still based were becoming clearly evident in other cases in the nation. So eventually women would obtain the right to vote. It was not though women’s brave patriotic war service that they gained the right to vote in 1918; it was the gradual evolution of modern society’s way of thought. The belief that we are all equal, and must be treated as equals. As women’s as well as other once lesser people have obtained equal rights universally. In a strive to cut out sexism and racism as we can now see it’s unfair effects. As we strive to put equality in to practice not just speech.