To what extent was the changing social status of women after 1850 the most significant reason that led to most women gaining the right to vote in 1918?

At the turn of the century, the battle for women’s fundamental rights had reached a climax.  The fight for these rights developed against a backdrop of industrialisation, urbanisation and changes within the wider structure of British society.  In 1918, Parliament voted overwhelmingly (by 341 votes to 62) to pass a Representation of the People Act which meant the majority of women gained the right to vote.  Be that as it may, this act was a result of a century long struggle endured by the women of Britain, fighting for their equality. A broad range of factors are considered to be vital in understanding the reasons why many women gained the vote in 1918, including the changing status of women after 1850, the Suffragist and Suffragette movements, wider democratic trends and finally women’s contribution to the war effort during the Great War.  This essay will argue that, although other factors are worth crediting, the changing status of women after 1850 was the most salient reason why many women gained the vote in 1918 as this factor set out a path to female enfranchisement with the introduction of legislations that ensured women were increasingly independent and politicised. Many historians believe that the changes in the social status of women after 1850 are an extremely significant reason why many British women gained the right to vote by 1918.  Before 1850 women lead very inferior lives compared to that of men, however after this year the domination of an urbanised, industrial society provoke social change. For example, the Matrimonial Causes Acts of 1857 and 1878 allowed women to file for a divorce on the grounds of adultery, cruelty or desertion.  The Married Women’s Property Acts were also passed in 1870 and 1884, giving women the same rights over property as their single counterparts. These legal changes in the status of women were crucial in gaining women the right to vote in 1918 as they allowed women more personal equality and greater financial security.  Furthermore, these acts were the starting blocks that provided a so called catalyst for female enfranchisement as women began to become equal in other aspects of their lives. Other changes in the social status of women after 1850 were shown in education. Feminists worked hard to bring about higher education for women, by 1860 two London colleges, Queen’s and Bedford, accepted women to be tutored.  The work of these feminists continued until by the end of the 19th Century, universities in London and Manchester accepted women, even Oxford and Cambridge set up various women’s colleges. This education was important in women getting the vote as it proved that women were well educated and could not be seen as only being good for having children and household work. In addition to this, workplace opportunities for women expanded.  A School for Nursing, was established in 1860 by Florence Nightingale which attracted middle class women. By 1881, according to the census, there were 35,715 trained nurses. They also gained the right to become doctors, architects, factory workhouse inspectors and to enter the civil service. This aspect was important in women gaining the vote in 1918 as these were respected professions that contributed to society and therefore earned the women themselves further respect and equality in Britain.   Overall, in judging this evidence, it is obvious that this is the most important factor leading to many women gaining the vote by 1918 as it shows that female enfranchisement was inevitable as women had proved they were playing an extremely important role within British society in their jobs and education and also became increasingly equal to their male counterparts in terms of marriage and property rights.
Women’s contribution during the Great War could be considered one of the most crucial factors in understanding why women gained the right to vote in 1918 as the right was awarded to them just after the war ended.  The war gave women the opportunity to prove that they were in fact capable of doing ‘male’ jobs and hence, provided them with an argument for receiving the right to vote. Many women took up positions in agriculture, factories, offices and hospitals.  Over 700,000 women worked in munitions factories producing weapons and ammunition which was vital to Britain’s success in war. Some women even worked on the front line as nurses and ambulance drivers, joining groups such as the Voluntary Aid Detachment and the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry.  This was important in understanding why women were awarded the vote in 1918 as it shows that women were able to prove their abilities and worth, and therefore had strong arguments for their equality with men. Lewis, agrees with this view, stating that ‘The highly skilled and dangerous work done by women during the war… was probably the greatest factor in the granting of the vote to women.’  In addition, The Suffragists and Suffragettes also put their campaigns on hold in order to support Britain’s men. The Suffragists raised money in order to send ambulances driven by women to France and organised voluntary work for the women. The Suffragettes completely suspended their militant campaign and their leader, Emmeline Pankhurst became extremely patriotic, renaming the Suffragette newspaper “Britannia”, and in 1915 she organised a large march through London demanding that women have the “right to serve”.  This was crucial in women gaining the right to vote in 1918 as it gave the two women’s suffrage groups an opportunity to reverse any derogatory opinions about their actions as during the war they supported the men of Britain- as Martin Pugh says “Male prejudice against women melted in the face of revelations about their capabilities during wartime”. Overall, this evidence shows that women’s contribution during the Great War was a very significant area of impact in them receiving the vote as it provided proof that women were equal to men.  However, the factor may be deemed less important as many of the women who actually contributed to the war effort were not awarded the vote in 1918, as the bill only allowed women over 30 whose husband owned property to vote. Historian, Paul Bartley agrees with this evaluation stating that ‘It would be naive to believe that women received to vote solely for services rendered in the First World War. It must be remembered that only women over 30 were given the vote and the very women who had helped in the war effort – the young women of the munitions factories – were actually denied the vote.’  Hence, this factor is less important than the social changes for women after 1850, as this factor ensured that all women became more equal to men under the Matrimonial Causes Act, setting them on the road to female enfranchisement. Although women's contribution to the Great War was an important contributing factor that caused their enfranchisement, overall, the most important factor in understanding why the majority of women gained the vote in 1918 was the changes to the social statuses of women after 1850.  This is because the changes show that female enfranchisement was inevitable as women had proved they were capable of playing a role within British political life as well as becoming increasingly equal in aspects of their everyday lives.  This politicisation of women at a municipal level made their right to vote in the general election almost inevitable.