ABSTRACT
The legal and social position of women gradually improved over the last two decades of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th to one of less extreme inequality with men. In particular, the Married Women’s Property Act 1882 enabled women to retain control of their own assets after marriage, and career opportunities were emerging for middle class women and the better-educated among the working classes in spheres such as teaching and nursing. Women were also increasingly involved in local government as members of county and borough councils and Poor Law guardians. These changes undermined the traditional view that women’s suffrage was inappropriate and it became increasingly difficult to justify the failure to accord votes to women on the same terms as men.
