women Flashcards
why was changing attitudes towards women important
their status in society was changing and improving as they gained more rights and prejudice attitudes of males changed towards them, making them more suited to vote
why was changing attitudes towards women NOT important
women were still expected to leave their jobs upon marriage (the marriage bar) and they still weren’t awarded degrees from university
many middle class women didn’t want the vote and even Queen Victoria called the fight for women’s rights a “mad, wicked folly”
why were the suffragists important
they impressed the British people, including thousands of men, and proved that they were intelligent, sensible and trustworthy women capable of organising a peaceful movement and therefore deserved the vote
why were the suffragists NOT important
many historians argue that the peaceful tactics of the suffragists could be ignored by politicians who opposed women’s suffrage and that the suffragists never reached the same publicity of their counterparts, the suffragettes
why were the suffragettes important
the group regularly made national headlines and were unavoidable through their violent methods so were regularly talked about in parliament
they not only received support and affirmation from people all over the country but also sympathy with people wishing for women’s suffrage in order to end the violence
why were the suffragettes NOT important
historians argue that the suffragettes actually held back progress for women as they reinforced the idea that women were to immature and unable to cope with the responsibility of voting
why was women’s war work important
the work women took on was vital to Britain’s victory in WW1 so it stands to reason that the government would wish to reward them, with the timing of the war ending and the vote being given in 1918 seems to be evidence towards this “reward theory”
why was women’s war work NOT important
“reward theory” is flawed as it was mostly women in their 20s who took on these jobs but in 1918 the vote was given to women over 30 so the right people weren’t getting rewarded, making this theory hard to believe
why was example of other countries important
as the most developed country in the world, it was embarrassing for Britain to be seen as lagging behind “lesser” countries in terms of democracy
why was example of other countries NOT important
there is no evidence that foreign influence played a part in the decision to give women the vote and no evidence to say that it was even discussed by MPs in parliament, limiting the factor
