Women over 30 gained the vote in 1918 mainly because of women’s contributions to the war effort. Do you agree?

It is believed by many that the conclusion to over twenty years of women’s campaigning was down to their work during the war. I would say this is a naïve comment, taking the work women did before the war much less seriously than it warrants.

The NUWSS had previously postponed their protests, and when the WSPU realised how long this war could last they too postponed their protests. They even went on a march demanding the right to be more involved with the war effort. This campaign however, was almost immediately successful as many considered their actions to be not only patriotic but also responsible.
During the war women were given the opportunity to do jobs it would simply be unheard of for them to do before the war, jobs such as bus conductresses (clippies), shopkeepers, welders and engineers. Women did almost every job under the sun, except coal mining.
One of the most popular jobs was working in munitions factories. The 900,000 women who worked in munitions factories would ...