Equality Now

Interwar England witnessed the change of a new generation of socially and financially independent young working-class women who worked in offices, shops, and factories. These increasing earning opportunities, and rising economic importance to the household, enabled them to become important consumers, thus giving them the right to express their opinion in different matters. In 1918 the British parliament passed the Reform Act of 1918 where “important measures effecting large improvements in the status of women” were taken. These reforms allowed women to enter certain professions; to ask fathers to pay toward the maintenance of an illegitimate child, to improved health and welfare facilities for mothers and children and even allowed women to work in these newly established courts of arbitration. At least twenty-three laws were passed between 1918 and 1930 to promote gender equality. These included changes in marriage and family to equal the right to sue for divorce, equal guardianship rights over children and greater equalization of property rights. In 1929 the permissible age of marriage for both sexes was raised to sixteen.


Women voters also made an impact on British local government. In 1937 sixteen per cent of London borough councillors were female and women made up five per cent of the membership of other councils.

In the United States, during the beginning of the 20th century, the women suffrage movement, known as the National Women's Party led by suffragette Alice Paul became the first "cause" to picket outside the White House. Paul and Lucy Burns led a series of protests against the Wilson Administration in Washington. Wilson ignored the protests for six months, but on June 20, 1917, suffragettes showed a banner which stated; "We women of America tell you that America is not a democracy. Twenty million women are denied the right to vote. President Wilson is the chief opponent of their national enfranchisement". Another banner on August 14, 1917, referred to "Kaiser Wilson". With this manner of protest, the women were subject to arrests and many were jailed. On October 17, Alice Paul was sentenced to seven months and on October 30 began a hunger strike, but after a few days prison authorities began to force feed her. After years of opposition, Wilson changed his position in 1918 to advocate women's suffrage. The key vote came on June 4, 1919, when the Senate approved the amendment by 56 to 25 after four hours of debate.


To conclude we can see that the role of women changed a lot during the interwar period. Especially in England, were it started. Women pressure to make changes started small like the demands to increase child support, and ended with more sustainable changes like the right to vote on the United States and other countries.

Arianne Velez