How far did the First World War change attitudes towards the role of women in British society?

Learning objective – to be able to evaluate the changing attitudes towards the role of women after the First World War. I can describe some of the ways attitudes changed towards women after the First World War. Grade D I can begin to evaluate the changing role that women played in British society after 1918. Grade B I can explain how far women’s role changed in British society after 1918. Grade A

Starter – Prediction – rate out of ten with ten being lots of change and zero being no change, how much did the position of women change within British society after 1918. Explain your rating out of ten.

What changed in British society to allow some women to vote from 1918? Militancy of the suffragettes was a distant memory in 1918. The government wanted to change voting laws to include citizens who lived outside Britain. Campaigners for women’s suffrage jumped at this chance for change to pressurise the government. The NUWSS was quietly continuing discussions and debates with the government. Change of Prime Minister – David Lloyd George was more sympathetic to the cause of women’s suffrage.

How did some women obtain the vote in 1918? Despite opposition in the House of Lords, the Representation of the People Act was passed in 1918. The Act allowed all men over the age of 21 and all women over 30 who owned their own home or was married to a homeowner to vote. This amounted to more than 9 million women. Women were now also allowed to stand for Parliament.

Why did only some women gain the vote in 1918? The Representation of the People Act of 1918 was a compromise which Millicent Fawcett accepted as MPs felt that married women or those who owned their own property were more responsible. This was despite the fact that most women who completed war work were young, single and working class. MPs did not want to give this group the vote fearing that they were too radical and irresponsible.

What was the impact of women gaining the vote in 1918? In 1918, the first woman to win a seat in a General Election was elected. Countess Markiewicz won but as an Irish Nationalist she refused to take up her seat in Parliament. The first would be Nancy Astor in 1919. The first woman to take a place in government would be Margaret Bondfield in 1924. Full rights for all women over the age of 21 to gain the vote would be granted in 1928.

What happened to women in the workplace after the First World war ended? Women were expected to relinquish their jobs and return to their domestic work once men had come back from the fighting. Munitions workers were given two weeks of extra pay and female civil servants were dismissed. Within eighteen months of the end of the First World War, three-quarters of women who worked during the war had left their jobs. There was a broad return to pre-First World War working conditions for women with many returning to low paid domestic work, financial dependency, unequal pay and often married women losing their jobs.

How far did social attitudes change towards the role of women? The idea of men being the breadwinners and decision-makers while women looked after the family was still dominant in British society. Although, a minority of women were beginning to challenge this traditional perception. Motherhood without marriage was still considered to be scandalous as was any suggestions of birth control. Inequalities in education continued with less than 1% of women educated beyond the age of 18. Cambridge would only award degrees to women from 1948. However, women could file for divorce for adultery from 1923 and attitudes were beginning to change …..

Starter – Prediction – rate out of ten with ten being lots of change and zero being no change, how much did the position of women change within British society after 1918. Explain your rating out of ten. Were you right? From what you have just learned, would you change your mind?

Main tasks Draw a continuum line in your exercise book and mark at one end ‘Big Change’ and at the other end ‘Little Change’. Place the aspects of women’s place in society listed below on your continuum depending on how much change there had been since the end of the war. Write a short paragraph for each area explain your decision about how much change had taken place in that specific area. Political rights. Rights in the workplace. Attitudes towards women’s role in British society. Equality in education. Extension Complete the source analysis square. Using the source answer the question – What can you learn from Source A about the position of women in Britain at the end of the First World War?

Plenary – a touch of Scrabble What are the three key words from this lesson that sums up your learning? Which word has the highest value if you used in a game of Scrabble? Compare with the person next to you. Which word has the highest value?