Changing Social Attitudes

Changing Social Attitudes: Women & Vote

Introduction

By the early 20th century, societal views on women were evolving, manifesting in new opportunities in employment, education, and legal rights. However, these changes were often met with resistance.

1. Legal Advancements:

Infant Custody Act (1873):

• Allowed women to retain custody of their children post-divorce.

Married Women's Property Act (1882):

• Permitted women to maintain property ownership post-marriage.

Implication:

• As women's legal rights expanded, it laid the foundation for broader rights, including voting. However, with growing influence came resistance, and anti-women's suffrage groups emerged.

2. Educational Progress:

• From 1872, Scotland mandated primary education for both genders.
• 1878 saw the University of London become the UK's first university to grant degrees to women.

Implication:

• Better-educated women challenged the notion that they couldn't grasp political intricacies. However, even after four decades post compulsory education, women hadn't secured voting rights, suggesting education wasn't the sole factor.

3. Local Politics:

• Starting 1894, select women (aged 30+ with property) could vote in local elections.
• 1908: Elizabeth Garrett Anderson became Britain's first female mayor.

Implication:

• Women's participation in local politics showcased their earnestness and competency in political affairs. Yet, low turnout in initial local elections, with many eligible women not registering, was used to argue that women might not want national voting rights.

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Changing Social Attitudes

Changing Social Attitudes: Women & Vote

Introduction

By the early 20th century, societal views on women were evolving, manifesting in new opportunities in employment, education, and legal rights. However, these changes were often met with resistance.

1. Legal Advancements:

Infant Custody Act (1873):

• Allowed women to retain custody of their children post-divorce.

Married Women's Property Act (1882):

• Permitted women to maintain property ownership post-marriage.

Implication:

• As women's legal rights expanded, it laid the foundation for broader rights, including voting. However, with growing influence came resistance, and anti-women's suffrage groups emerged.

2. Educational Progress:

• From 1872, Scotland mandated primary education for both genders.
• 1878 saw the University of London become the UK's first university to grant degrees to women.

Implication:

• Better-educated women challenged the notion that they couldn't grasp political intricacies. However, even after four decades post compulsory education, women hadn't secured voting rights, suggesting education wasn't the sole factor.

3. Local Politics:

• Starting 1894, select women (aged 30+ with property) could vote in local elections.
• 1908: Elizabeth Garrett Anderson became Britain's first female mayor.

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Changing Social Attitudes

4. Women at Work:

• Pre-World War One, many women held significant roles, like nurses or teachers.
• Some women were primary or sole breadwinners, such as mill workers in Dundee.

Implication:

• Women's critical roles in Britain's economy weakened arguments against their voting capability. Notably, working women weren't a recent phenomenon; they were central to the industrial revolution (c.1750s-1850s). Still, many working women, especially younger and less affluent ones, were excluded from the 1918 voting rights.

Conclusion:

Changing social attitudes towards women, evident through legal, educational, and employment opportunities, paved the way for their fight for suffrage. Yet, these advancements were juxtaposed against societal resistance and the long road to fully realized voting rights.

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Changing Social Attitudes

Implication:

• Women's participation in local politics showcased their earnestness and competency in political affairs. Yet, low turnout in initial local elections, with many eligible women not registering, was used to argue that women might not want national voting rights.

4. Women at Work:

• Pre-World War One, many women held significant roles, like nurses or teachers.
• Some women were primary or sole breadwinners, such as mill workers in Dundee.

Implication:

• Women's critical roles in Britain's economy weakened arguments against their voting capability. Notably, working women weren't a new phenomenon; they were central to the industrial revolution (c1750s-1850s). Still, many working women, especially younger and less affluent ones, were excluded from the 1918 voting rights.

Conclusion:

Changing social attitudes towards women, evident through legal, educational, and employment opportunities, paved the way for their fight for suffrage. Yet, these advancements were juxtaposed against societal resistance and the long road to fully realized voting rights.