Women's Suffrage - Without the First World War, British women would not have gained the right to vote in 1918.

Women’s Suffrage

Without the First World War, British women would not have gained the right to vote in 1918.

Do you agree or disagree with this interpretation?

In my opinion British women would not have gained the right to vote in 1918 without the First World War.

In my research to substantiate my view, I obtained my information from my history book and the Internet I will state the source of my information and explain how the information links to the causes and effects that enabled women to get the vote.

During the war, women were given responsibility and knowledge to carry out skilled work. They became more confident in their ability to influence people and to have their say. They learnt to juggle home and family, and manage financially. They wanted change and knew this had to come from the government. They wanted to choose a government with the policies they approved of. Realising that they were a valuable workforce and could become as skilled as men made them want to be valued and to have a say in the country’s affairs.

One argument in favour of women shows pictures of what men could be: A convict, lunatic, owner of white slaves, unfit for service and a drunkard. This portrayed men as being responsible, but they still could vote. Then it shows what women could achieve: Mayor, nurse, mother doctor or teacher or a factory hand, which showed them as responsible but they still couldn’t the vote.1 Men’s attitude towards women during the First World War was still negative. The ability of women to take on the roles of men meant that increasing numbers of men were vulnerable to conscription.2

The women were ...