Why Did Some Women Get the Vote in 1918?
This essay shall attempt to explain why some women got the vote in 1918 by discussing male and female spheres, the emergence of the suffrage societies and the similarities and differences between them. It shall proceed to discuss anti-suffrage, the role of politics, discuss how the war affected the women’s movement and finally the 1918 Representation of the People Act. It shall conclude was a summary of the points discussed.
To understand the reasons behind some women getting the vote in 1918, one must look back at the history of the women’s movement to fully understand the reason female suffrage was sought and gained. In Victorian Britain there was a longstanding and persistent belief that men and women occupied separate spheres. The separate spheres ideology promoted the belief that due to women’s roles in reproduction, they were best suited to occupy the private sphere of home and family. Alternatively, men were designed to occupy the public sphere work and politics . However, this ideology was a direct contradiction to the reality of Victorian women who, in 1871, constituted nearly 32 per cent of the total British labour force.
Women’s presence in the previously male sphere of employment was not the only contradiction of this time. Many women were beginning to enter the public sphere through charitable and Philanthropic activities. It enabled them gain experience as organisers by conducting meetings, taking minutes, raising funds, keeping accounts and learning to speak in public .
This facilitated the move into politics. Many Victorians regarded the act of voting as quite outside a ladies sphere regardless of the fact that women were already accepted as municipal voters. Moreover, women joined party-political organisations from the 1800s onwards, notably the Primrose League and the Women’s Liberal Federation. In this capacity the women became more than loyal followers and organisers of social events. They also canvassed the male electors,
To understand the reasons behind some women getting the vote in 1918, one must look back at the history of the women’s movement to fully understand the reason female suffrage was sought and gained. In Victorian Britain there was a longstanding and persistent belief that men and women occupied separate spheres. The separate spheres ideology promoted the belief that due to women’s roles in reproduction, they were best suited to occupy the private sphere of home and family. Alternatively, men were designed to occupy the public sphere work and politics . However, this ideology was a direct contradiction to the reality of Victorian women who, in 1871, constituted nearly 32 per cent of the total British labour force.
Women’s presence in the previously male sphere of employment was not the only contradiction of this time. Many women were beginning to enter the public sphere through charitable and Philanthropic activities. It enabled them gain experience as organisers by conducting meetings, taking minutes, raising funds, keeping accounts and learning to speak in public .
This facilitated the move into politics. Many Victorians regarded the act of voting as quite outside a ladies sphere regardless of the fact that women were already accepted as municipal voters. Moreover, women joined party-political organisations from the 1800s onwards, notably the Primrose League and the Women’s Liberal Federation. In this capacity the women became more than loyal followers and organisers of social events. They also canvassed the male electors,