Living in the nineteenth and early twentieth century: Would you go into political life?

If men had greater spending power than women (this was most usually the case) then this brought more opportunity to develop interests outside the household.  In the autobiographies men often sought to trumpet their journeys away from working class origins.  For example one autobiography in Emma Griffin’s “Breadwinner” written by a man was entitled “From workshop to War Cabinet”.  Social mobility and possible political activity for women could only follow the interest of the husband and the income derived from his employment.  Even those women who succeeded in entering more middle class professions, such as secretarial work or teaching, were rarely able to aspire to further career progression or political activism.

In Emma Griffin’s study one quarter of the male autobiography writers reported engagement in some sort of political activity whereas only thirteen per cent of women did likewise.  The working class education of children was poor so for any advancement to a position of authority there was a need to obtain education.  Due to higher disposable incomes men could make self-directed attempts to expand their knowledge through books (purchased from book shops) and night classes.  Some periodicals assisted through publishing articles and examples to encourage and assist.  Pearsons’ Weekly of 1906 published a series entitled “How I got on” from Members of Parliament (the first generations of Labour MPs originated from deprived working class backgrounds).

Women could become involved in political discussions if they worked outside the home.  Sometimes such women did realise that they needed to obtain education if they wished to progress further but upon trying to do might classes they found that only classes like sewing and cookery were open to the enrolment of women.  Discussion groups (where they existed) were predominately male but there were some who would accept women.  Family responsibilities such a child care often hindered political involvement for women.  The female autobiography writers who were politically active were largely concentrated in well paid employment such as office work and health visiting.   Women who did succeed in going into politics were usually those who did not marry, or if they did marry, they did not bear children.  Society’s fabric meant that marriage and motherhood did not confer any right to spend money thus preventing education and political involvement.

Church attendance, the Womens  Guild and Mothers Union did provide women with a chance to get out of the household and to learn about the world outside.  The first four female MPs did not come from poor homes, they went to university (a privilege restricted to few people of wealth) and most came from families with an established political interest.  The low status of women was reinforced by low pay and few opportunities.  With all the technological advances of the later twentieth century and the twenty first century, why is this still largely the case?