The changing role and status of women: the right to vote and political…

The idea

This topic examines how women’s role and status changed in Britain from 1918 to 1979. In 1918, the Representation of the People Act enfranchised women over 30 meeting a property qualification; the 1928 Equal Franchise Act extended it to all women over 21. Political advancement continued with Constance Markievicz elected as the first female MP in 1918, and Nancy Astor becoming the first to take her seat in 1919. In family life, experiences changed through smaller families, rising divorce and more married women in paid work after 1945. The quest for personal freedoms included campaigns for equal pay, reproductive rights and the 1967 Abortion Act. Assess how far these changes improved women’s status or were limited by persistent inequality.

What earns the marks

• Explains the significance of the 1918 Representation of the People Act and the 1928 Equal Franchise Act for women’s political rights, including the property and age qualifications in 1918.
• Analyses changes in family life, including declining birth rates, the availability of contraception, rising divorce rates, and the increasing number of married women in paid employment after 1945.
• Explains the quest for personal freedoms, including campaigns for equal pay, the 1967 Abortion Act, and the women’s liberation movement of the late 1960s and 1970s.
• Evaluates the limitations on women’s role and status, such as unequal pay, the marriage bar in some professions, and the persistence of domestic expectations.

Common mistakes and how to put them right

• Assuming that the 1918 Representation of the People Act gave all women the vote.

  Put it right: Explain that it enfranchised women over 30 who met a property qualification, and that equal franchise came in 1928.

• Stating Nancy Astor was the first elected female MP.

  Put it right: Note that Constance Markievicz was elected in 1918 but did not take her seat, while Astor was the first to take her seat in 1919.

• Treating the 1967 Abortion Act as granting abortion on demand.

  Put it right: Note that it legalised abortion under specified conditions, such as risk to the woman’s health, and required medical approval.

• Confusing the women’s liberation movement with earlier suffrage campaigns.

  Put it right: Distinguish the late 1960s and 1970s movement, which focused on personal freedoms and equality, from the pre-1918 suffrage societies.

Exam tips

• Use precise dates and legislation, such as 1918, 1928, 1967 and 1970, to anchor arguments about political and social change.
• Compare the experiences of different groups of women, for example middle-class and working-class women, to show depth of understanding.