Study Guides

Unit Summary

In this unit, pupils consolidate and extend their knowledge of history before 1066 by examining how women's roles in British society have changed from the medieval period to the present.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to assess the impact the campaign for female suffrage had on the role of women in British society.

Key Notes

• By 1900, many women believed the ability to vote was essential to further improve the lives of women.
• Suffragists and suffragettes campaigned for the franchise for women using very different tactics.
• Women's contribution during the First World War helped women win the franchise in 1918.
• Winning the franchise did not immediately lead to a radical transformation in the status and position of women.
• Young women in urban areas began to challenge traditional social expectations for women during the 1920s.

Vocabulary To Learn

• franchise: the franchise is the ability to vote
• suffrage: suffrage is the right to vote
• suffragist: a suffragist was a person who campaigned for women's right to vote using peaceful methods
• suffragette: a suffragette was a person who campaigned for women's right to vote using militant, sometimes violent, methods
• flapper: a flapper was a more independent, fashionable woman who challenged traditional ideas about how women were expected to behave in the 1920s

Common Mistakes To Avoid

• Winning the right to vote in 1919 led to a radical transformation in the status and position of women in society in the 1920s and 1930s.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

More Lessons In This Unit

• The changing role of women Study Guide
• The role of women in post-war Britain, 1945-1975 Study Guide
• The role of women in the early modern period Study Guide
• Women and the Industrial Revolution Study Guide
• Women and the medieval Church Study Guide