Women over 30 gained the vote in 1918 mainly because of women’s contributions to the war effort. Do you agree? Explain your answer.
In 1918 an historic act was passed called the representation of people act. This act, for the first time gave the vote to some women. Not all women, but those over 30 and a householder or over 21 and married to a householder. The war produced particular situation which in some ways lead directly to this act being passed. During the war women played a vital role in running the country and this was very influential in them getting the vote. However there were many other factors involved in the campaign. To what extent was it war work and to what extent was it other factors that aided women getting the vote?
When Britain declared war on Germany in 1914 both the suffragists and suffragettes temporarily stopped their campaigns. They believed this to be a patriotic duty as many men were away serving in the war and a lot of vital jobs were severely understaffed. This gave women the opportunity to work in a new variety of jobs that were previously exclusively men’s jobs and many women were eager to prove that they were just as capable as men. The war made it acceptable for women to work in jobs that were typically male previous to the war such as shipyards, collieries ,and brickyards. In 1914-18 the number of women working in industries such as metals, wood and leather more than doubled. Women were also taking on highly skilled work such as engineers, lathe operators and carpenters and sometimes these women experienced resentment as they were doing jobs with little or no training that were previously regarded as skilled. As the war progressed women made up most of the workers in government munitions factories as there was increased demand for munitions. Many jobs were not directly related to the war effort, however they were vital to keeping the country functioning, such as bus conductors, postal workers, farm labourers, and coal deliverers. Many of the jobs women were doing during the war presented them with harsh or dangerous conditions for example women working with explosives developed burns and respiratory problems and women developed sickness from the varnish they used to paint planes. During the war women made themselves indispensable to the war effort and proved they were extremely capable and important to public life. They also proved they were very patriotic and were willing to risk their lives for jobs that were essential to the war effort.
