“Why did it take so long for women to achieve the franchise?”

Evonne Buchan

It was in 1928 that women after a tiring and long drawn struggle eventually gained the vote, and with it they achieved a greater sense of importance within society. The extension of the franchise to women at this time most importantly gave them the equality they desired with that of their male counterparts. It is wrong to state that women did not have the right to vote, some women were able to vote in local council elections, it was in parliamentary elections that women could not cast a vote, therefore had no power in parliamentary elections. The road to achieving the extension was one of trial and tribulation; they had many barriers to overcome and perceptions to shatter. Many factors hindered the path to the extension, at this time all men did not have the franchise; although some men supported women’s suffrage most thought it was ludicrous to even consider extending the franchise when they were not entirely enfranchised themselves. The Victorian attitudes that were adhered to women seemed at most times irremovable; these included the perceptions of the role of women in marriage/ education and the economy. The lack of successful women’s pressure groups also held back enfranchisement for women, this involved the minimalist effects of the suffragette movement. Finally and most arguably the biggest factor in delaying the extension of the franchise was the outbreak of the First World War. It is evident that many other factors were present but it is the three above that seemingly hindered women’s suffrage greatly.

In the years before 1928 women’s rights had undoubtedly improved but not enough to give them the vote. The Victorian attitudes that men placed on women were still present, many still believed that the woman’s place was at home were the woman played a central role, caring for the children, completing domestic duties and of course tending to the needs of her husband. The husband was the head of the family and the wife was subject to that of her husband, just as in society at this time women were under the authority of men. Thus the aim of a “respectable” woman was to marry an “honest” man and bare his children. The historian Angela Holdsworth put into perspective the place of women in society when she remarked, “By necessity, their own horizons were limited to their own private world at home.” As in society women were also underprivileged when it came to education. Education for the working class prior to 1850 was lacking indefinitely, but it was not just the working class, the middle class did not receive adequate means of education either. For the working and middle class, education was seen as unnecessary and by some it was even perceived as being dangerous. Middle class girls like working class girls did not obtain any serious means of education. In most cases middle class girls were brought up at home and educated by a governess. They learned to read, sew and play piano. Serious educational study, which may have lead to future employment, was exceedingly rare. Although stated above that a woman’s place was firmly rooted in the home, this idealised scene exceeded the truth, and is a measure of the hypocrisy that existed at the time. A census taken in 1851 revealed that almost 29% of women of working age were in some form of paid employment, in addition it concluded that women made up 33% of the nations work force. It is stated that 1.14 million women were involved in domestic service. Working in homes of the middle and upper class expending a vast amount of physical energy in order to maintain the upper class in an environment in which they were accustom to but the employees themselves were alien to. Low pay was a problem for most women in work generally earning half of that of a man’s wage. Underpayment was seemingly the least of woman’s worries, they also had to endure the worst of the factory system such as long hours and poor conditions in terms of light, ventilation and protection from dangerous toxic substances. Unfairly after a strenuous days work they were expected to return home, carry out domestic duties and serve their husbands. These misperceptions of women were hard to change, but in time to follow women were to show that they were not as fragile as once thought, the suffragette movement was to portray women in an entirely different manner.

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As mentioned previously the lack of successful pressure groups slowed enfranchisement. “The feminist movement” is the term given to refer to the efforts of women in the 19th century to improve their rights in law and society. The “Feminist movement” had no real organisation until the early twentieth century, and had no real starting date. The leaders were women from the upper class who had access to material resources and sufficient leisure time to enable them to pursue their various causes. The suffragette movement promised much but on the scale of things delivered very little, they militancy attracted publicity and concentrated media attention as it was supposed. Marches and demonstrations, battles with the police and attacks on property were avidly reported by the press, although what the suffragettes did not intend to do was set back “The Cause” and that was exactly what they did. For women to achieve the franchise it was necessary to demonstrate that they had public opinion and support on their side, to build and consolidate a parliamentary majority in favour of women’s suffrage and to persuade the government to introduce its own franchise reform for women. It is apparent that the suffragettes achieved none of these objectives. Suffragette demonstrations attracted large crowds of onlookers but this does not necessarily imply that they were sympathetic to the protesters. Indeed the militancy of 1912-1914 appears to have provoked the opposite reaction to that which the suffragettes were trying to achieve. In parliament the pro-suffrage majority turned into an anti-suffrage majority. The suffrage bills of 1897,1904 and 1908 had all archived majorities of supporters, however the 1911 Conciliation Bill was defeated by a small majority, another Private Members Bill in 1913 was rejected by an even larger margin this shows the apparent revolt of supporters of the suffragettes. In the years 1910-1914 the government had many serious problems to contend with and the issue of women’s suffrage was far from the top of the agenda. It is evident that the lack of successful women’s pressure groups delayed enfranchisement but the unfolding events in 1914-1918 removed the debate for women’s suffrage from parliamentary discussion.

While the outbreak of war in 1914 proved to be advantageous in the long-term cause of women’s suffrage, in the short-term it removed the reform issue from the political agenda. The suffragists and suffragettes could be criticised for ending their campaigns too readily. When men left for war it gave women an excellent opportunity not only to prove to the government or to men, but to themselves that they were as equally needed in society as there male counterparts. Women took over the jobs that men had occupied before them, women were literally found in every profession, they undertook work in munitions factories

showing that they were not as fragile or docile as once thought, they proved that they too could undertake hard physical labour. What the war did was to highlight the economic and strategic value of women to the state. The government could not deny the franchise to the women that had so gallantly carried on the war effort at home, although the government and men alike noticed their efforts it still took another ten years for the Representation of the People Act (1928) to be passed. All women over twenty one gained the vote, provided they had resided in Britain for six months.

In conclusion it is clear that all factors discussed above hindered greatly the path to enfranchisement for women, the Victorian attitudes to women from men did not aid them in anyway when trying to further their place in society, it is also clear that the lack of successful female pressure groups did not totally break the barrier to enfranchisement for women. The outbreak of war killed off the momentum of the reform campaign, and delayed enfranchisement even further although it must be mentioned that when the war began many felt that the issue of the vote was miniscule in comparison with the current affairs. Women’s suffrage was no dout achieved through piecemeal advancements but when it eventually did come the work and effort of women had paid off, equality was now theirs.