Women’s suffrage | Definition, History, Causes, Effects, Leaders, & Facts

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[{"p":2,"t":646779},{"p":2,"t":647122},{"p":5,"t":724633},{"p":1,"t":633044},{"p":1,"t":2078487},{"p":5,"t":550924},{"p":1,"t":2180872},{"p":4,"t":119368},{"p":1,"t":495422},{"p":1,"t":1377314}], "sequence": 1, "topics": {} }); </script> <article class="article-content container-lg qa-content px-0 pt-0 pb-40 py-lg-20 content md-expanded" data-topic-id="646779"> <div class="grid gx-0"> <div class="col-auto"> <div class="topic-left-rail md-article-drawer position-relative d-flex border-right-sm border-left-sm open"> <div class="drawer d-flex flex-column open"> <div class="left-rail-section-content"> <div class="topic-left-rail-header text-truncate bg-gray-50 position-relative text-right d-flex align-items-center"> <div class="tlr-title px-20 py-15 text-left"> <em class="material-icons text-gray-400 d-lg-none" data-icon="toc"></em> <a class="font-serif font-weight-bold text-black link-blue" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/woman-suffrage">women’s suffrage</a> </div> <button aria-label="Close" class="js-sections-close-button btn-link btn-sm btn d-lg-none position-absolute top-0 p-10 right-0" > <em class="material-icons font-26" data-icon="close"></em> </button> </div> <div class="section-content pl-10 pr-20 pl-sm-50 pr-sm-60 pl-lg-5 pr-lg-10 pt-10 pt-lg-0 bg-gray-50 clear-catfish-ad"> <div class="toc mb-20"> <div class="font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mx-15 mb-15 mt-20"> Table of Contents </div> <ul class="list-unstyled my-0" data-level="h1"><li data-target="#ref1"><div class="pl-25"><a class="link-gray-900 w-100" href="/topic/woman-suffrage">Introduction & Top Questions</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref284442"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/woman-suffrage#ref284442">Overview</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref284443"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/woman-suffrage#ref284443">Great Britain</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref284444"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/woman-suffrage/The-United-States">The United States</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li></ul> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/woman-suffrage/additional-info">References & Edit History</a> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="/facts/woman-suffrage">Quick Facts & Related Topics</a> </div> <div class="tlr-media-slider pb-10 mb-30"> <a class="section-header link-gray-900 font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mb-10 mx-10" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/woman-suffrage/images-videos">Images, Videos & Interactives</a> <div class="slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100 "> <div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex overflow-hidden text-nowrap ml-15"> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/52/172652-050-34E6A943/Suffragettes-signs-London-1912.jpg" data-href="/media/1/646779/214297" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/52/172652-004-1ED74674/Suffragettes-signs-London-1912.jpg" alt="Women's suffrage: London demonstrators" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/59/172659-050-95274632/Women-voters-country-womens-suffrage-first-Tahakopa-1893.jpg" data-href="/media/1/646779/238736" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/59/172659-004-6737DCE5/Women-voters-country-womens-suffrage-first-Tahakopa-1893.jpg" alt="Women's suffrage: New Zealand" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/61/172661-050-CE1B0632/Queensland-Australia-state-election-women-voting-1907.jpg" data-href="/media/1/646779/242460" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/61/172661-004-17BC23C1/Queensland-Australia-state-election-women-voting-1907.jpg" alt="Women's suffrage: Australia" height="50" /> </a> <a href="/video/difference-suffragist-suffragette/259238" data-href="/media/1/646779/259238" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <div class="position-relative --aspect-ratio: 16/9"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/76/226776-138-3649185D/difference-suffragist-suffragette.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="Is there a difference between a suffragist and a suffragette?" class="col-100" /> <div class="btn btn-sm btn-white btn-circle position-absolute shadow" style="top: 50%; left:50%; transform: translate(-50%, -50%)"> <em class="material-icons font-14" data-icon="play_arrow" > </em> </div> </div> </a> <a href="/video/history-woman-suffrage-world/187145" data-href="/media/1/646779/187145" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <div class="position-relative --aspect-ratio: 16/9"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/65/172165-138-DF1A6EFF/history-woman-suffrage-world.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="How women won the right to vote around the world" class="col-100" /> <div class="btn btn-sm btn-white btn-circle position-absolute shadow" style="top: 50%; left:50%; transform: translate(-50%, -50%)"> <em class="material-icons font-14" data-icon="play_arrow" > </em> </div> </div> </a> <a href="/video/Five-reasons-why-people-thought-women-shouldnt-vote-womens-suffrage/247523" data-href="/media/1/646779/247523" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <div class="position-relative --aspect-ratio: 16/9"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/32/217232-138-4B3E4F09/Five-reasons-why-people-thought-women-shouldnt-vote-womens-suffrage.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="Five absurd reasons women were denied the vote" class="col-100" /> <div class="btn btn-sm btn-white btn-circle position-absolute shadow" style="top: 50%; left:50%; transform: translate(-50%, -50%)"> <em class="material-icons font-14" data-icon="play_arrow" > </em> </div> </div> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/38/19138-050-54F9A4F6/suffragists-British-London-Houses-of-Parliament-spectators-1910.jpg" data-href="/media/1/646779/242458" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/38/19138-004-4CEBDE5E/suffragists-British-London-Houses-of-Parliament-spectators-1910.jpg" alt="Women's suffrage: England" height="50" /> </a> <a href="/video/Britain-passage-petition-1918-Representation-of-the-1918/219953" data-href="/media/1/646779/219953" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <div class="position-relative --aspect-ratio: 16/9"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/23/193323-138-FE0A42E4/Britain-passage-petition-1918-Representation-of-the-1918.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="Hear about the journey of women's suffrage in Britain from the first mass-suffrage petition (1866) to the passage of the 1918 Representation of the People Act" class="col-100" /> <div class="btn btn-sm btn-white btn-circle position-absolute shadow" style="top: 50%; left:50%; transform: translate(-50%, -50%)"> <em class="material-icons font-14" data-icon="play_arrow" > </em> </div> </div> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/93/84993-050-73B1AADC/Title-page-American-edition-Mary-Wollstonecraft-A-1792.jpg" data-href="/media/1/646779/76126" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/93/84993-004-64130AA0/Title-page-American-edition-Mary-Wollstonecraft-A-1792.jpg" alt="Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman: With Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/32/135832-050-218CC423/Dame-Christabel-Harriette-Pankhurst-Emmeline.jpg" 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Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). </div> <div class="type-menu"> <label for="feedback-type" class="label mb-10">Feedback Type</label> <select id="feedback-type" class="form-select mb-30" name="feedbackTypeId" required> <option value="" selected="selected">Select a type (Required)</option> <option value="1">Factual Correction</option> <option value="2">Spelling/Grammar Correction</option> <option value="3">Link Correction</option> <option value="4">Additional Information</option> <option value="5">Other</option> </select> </div> <label for="feedback" class="label mb-10">Your Feedback</label> <textarea id="feedback" class="form-control mb-30" name="feedback" maxlength="3000" rows="7" required></textarea> <button class="btn btn-blue" type="submit">Submit Feedback</button> </form> <div class="success-messaging d-none mt-30"> <div class="title">Thank you for your feedback</div> <p>Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="md-websites-modal size-lg d-none"> <div class="md-modal-body"> <div class="h2 font-serif pb-15 border-bottom font-weight-bold"> External Websites </div> <div class="pb-20"> <ul class="list-unstyled mt-20 lh-lg"> <li><a class="external" href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R45805" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Congressional Research Service - Women’s Suffrage: Fact Sheet</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/womens-suffrage" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">National Museum of Australia - Women’s suffrage</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.historynet.com/womens-suffrage-movement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">HistoryNet - Women’s Suffrage Movement — Facts and Information on Women’s Rights</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/woman-suffrage/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">National Geographic - Education - Woman Suffrage</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://law.und.edu/_files/docs/ndlr/pdf/issues/95/3/95ndlr475.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">University of North Dakota - School of Law - 100 Years of Women's Suffrage: Celebrating Pilgrims on the journey for Equality one-step at a time</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://spartacus-educational.com/USAsuffrage.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">Spartacus Educational - Women's Suffrage</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entries/woman-suffrage-movement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture - Woman Suffrage Movement</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.nps.gov/jeff/learn/historyculture/the-virginia-minor-case.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">National Park Service - Gateway Arch - Virginia Minor and Women's Right to Vote</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://64parishes.org/entry/woman-suffrage" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">64 Parishes - Woman Suffrage</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.theworldwar.org/learn/about-wwi/womens-suffrage" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">The National WWI Museum and Memorial - Women’s Suffrage</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.ncpedia.org/women-suffrage" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">NCPedia - Women Suffrage</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/suffrage/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">The Canadian Encyclopedia - Women's Suffrage</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/WIC/Historical-Essays/No-Lady/Womens-Rights/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">U.S. House of Representatives - Exhibitions & Publications - The Women's Rights Movement, 1848–1920</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.bbc.com/bitesize/guides/zx9887h/revision/1" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">BBC - Bitesize - Why women won greater political equality by 1928</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/womens-suffrage-movement-4252/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture - Women's Suffrage Movement</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="md-websites-ebk-title">Britannica Websites</div> <div class="md-websites-ebk-subtitle">Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.</div> <ul class="list-unstyled bps-topic-web-sites lh-lg"> <li><a class="external" href="https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/womens-suffrage/601308" target="_blank" rel="noopener">women’s suffrage - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="toc-header-marker"></div> <button class="ai-ask-button btn btn-sm border-2 btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 d-none mr-0 mr-lg-10 ml-5 ml-sm-10 ml-lg-0 p-10 px-sm-5 px-md-10 js-header-ai-ask-button"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> <div class="caption alternate-titles">Also known as: woman suffrage</div> <div class="md-byline module-spacing "> <div class="font-serif font-12"> <span class="written-by text-gray-700"> Written and fact-checked by </span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 qa-editor-popup gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor" href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 text-black">Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <span class="text-gray-700"> Last Updated: <time datetime="2025-02-21T00:00:00CST" >Feb 21, 2025</time> •</span> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/woman-suffrage/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button js-sections-inline-button module-spacing"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <button class="ai-ask-button btn btn-sm border-2 btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 module-spacing js-inline-ai-ask-button p-10 ml-5"> Ask the Chatbot </button> </div> <div class="js-qf-module qf-module px-40 px-sm-20 py-15 mx-auto module-spacing font-14 bg-gray-50 rounded"> <div class="facts-list mt-10"> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Also called: </dt> <dd>woman suffrage</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Key People: </dt> <dd><a href="/biography/Jovita-Idar" topicid="2218333">Jovita Idár</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Susan-B-Anthony" topicid="27385">Susan B. Anthony</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Elizabeth-Cady-Stanton" topicid="563303">Elizabeth Cady Stanton</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Victoria-Woodhull" topicid="647589">Victoria Woodhull</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Emily-Davison" topicid="1924224">Emily Davison</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Related Topics: </dt> <dd><a href="/topic/feminism" topicid="724633">feminism</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/suffrage" topicid="571785">suffrage</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/equality-human-rights" topicid="275667">equality</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/women" topicid="646901">women</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> <div class="text-center"> <a class="btn btn-sm btn-link p-0" href="/facts/woman-suffrage"> See all related content </a> </div> </div> </div> </div><script type="application/ld+json"> { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "FAQPage", "mainEntity": [ { "@type" : "Question", "name" : "<div>What did the women\u2019s suffrage movement fight for?<\/div><em><\/em>", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "The women\u2019s suffrage movement fought for the right of women by law to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/suffrage\">vote<\/a> in national or local <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/election-political-science\">elections<\/a>." } } , { "@type" : "Question", "name" : "<div>When did the women\u2019s suffrage movement start?<\/div><em><\/em>", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "The women\u2019s suffrage movement made the question of women\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/suffrage\">voting rights<\/a> into an important political issue in the 19th century. The struggle was particularly intense in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/United-Kingdom\">Great Britain<\/a> and in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/United-States\">United States<\/a>, but those countries were not the first to grant women the right to vote, at least not on a national basis." } } , { "@type" : "Question", "name" : "<div>Where did women\u2019s suffrage start?<\/div><em><\/em>", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "By the early years of the 20th century, women had won the right to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/suffrage\">vote<\/a> in national <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/election-political-science\">elections<\/a> in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/New-Zealand\">New Zealand<\/a> (1893), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Australia\">Australia<\/a> (1902), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Finland\">Finland<\/a> (1906), and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Norway\">Norway<\/a> (1913). <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/event\/World-War-I\">World War I<\/a> and its aftermath speeded up the enfranchisement of women in the countries of Europe and elsewhere. In the period 1914\u201339, women in 28 additional countries acquired either equal voting rights with men or the right to vote in national elections." } } , { "@type" : "Question", "name" : "<div>How did the women\u2019s suffrage movement end?<\/div><em><\/em>", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "In the 21st century most countries allow women to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/suffrage\">vote<\/a>. In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Saudi-Arabia\">Saudi Arabia<\/a> women were allowed to vote in municipal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/election-political-science\">elections<\/a> for the first time in 2015. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/United-Nations\">United Nations<\/a> Convention on the Political Rights of Women, adopted in 1952, provides that \u201Cwomen shall be entitled to vote in all elections on equal terms with men, without any discrimination.\u201D" } } ] } </script> <div class="top-questions qa-accordion d-flex flex-column module-spacing"><div class="font-weight-bold font-14 mb-5"> Top Questions </div><div id="intent-accordion" class="md-intent-accordion"><div class="top-question bg-gray-50 rounded" data-value="1"><h3 class="accordion--question font-14 font-weight-normal cursor-pointer rounded"><div class="pe-none d-flex justify-content-between align-items-center"><div>What did the women’s suffrage movement fight for?</div><em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></em></div></h3><div class="accordion--answer hidden p-15 pt-5 font-16 mb-5"><div class="accordion--answer-copy"><p>The women’s suffrage movement fought for the right of women by law to <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/suffrage" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">vote</a> in national or local <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/election-political-science" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">elections</a>.</p></div></div></div><div class="top-question bg-gray-50 rounded" data-value="2"><h3 class="accordion--question font-14 font-weight-normal cursor-pointer rounded"><div class="pe-none d-flex justify-content-between align-items-center"><div>When did the women’s suffrage movement start?</div><em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></em></div></h3><div class="accordion--answer hidden p-15 pt-5 font-16 mb-5"><div class="accordion--answer-copy"><p>The women’s suffrage movement made the question of women’s <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/suffrage" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">voting rights</a> into an important political issue in the 19th century. The struggle was particularly intense in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/United-Kingdom" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Great Britain</a> and in the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/United-States" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">United States</a>, but those countries were not the first to grant women the right to vote, at least not on a national basis.</p></div></div></div><div class="top-question bg-gray-50 rounded" data-value="3"><h3 class="accordion--question font-14 font-weight-normal cursor-pointer rounded"><div class="pe-none d-flex justify-content-between align-items-center"><div>Where did women’s suffrage start?</div><em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></em></div></h3><div class="accordion--answer hidden p-15 pt-5 font-16 mb-5"><div class="accordion--answer-copy"><p>By the early years of the 20th century, women had won the right to <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/suffrage" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">vote</a> in national <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/election-political-science" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">elections</a> in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/New-Zealand" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">New Zealand</a> (1893), <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Australia" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Australia</a> (1902), <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Finland" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Finland</a> (1906), and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Norway" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Norway</a> (1913). <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/World-War-I" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">World War I</a> and its aftermath speeded up the enfranchisement of women in the countries of Europe and elsewhere. In the period 1914–39, women in 28 additional countries acquired either equal voting rights with men or the right to vote in national elections.</p></div></div></div><div class="top-question bg-gray-50 rounded" data-value="4"><h3 class="accordion--question font-14 font-weight-normal cursor-pointer rounded"><div class="pe-none d-flex justify-content-between align-items-center"><div>How did the women’s suffrage movement end?</div><em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></em></div></h3><div class="accordion--answer hidden p-15 pt-5 font-16 mb-5"><div class="accordion--answer-copy"><p>In the 21st century most countries allow women to <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/suffrage" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">vote</a>. In <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Saudi-Arabia" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Saudi Arabia</a> women were allowed to vote in municipal <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/election-political-science" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">elections</a> for the first time in 2015. The <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/United-Nations" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">United Nations</a> Convention on the Political Rights of Women, adopted in 1952, provides that “women shall be entitled to vote in all elections on equal terms with men, without any discrimination.”</p></div></div></div><button class="show-more-button js-toggle-top-questions btn btn-unstyled font-14 d-flex pr-10 rounded-sm"><em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></em></button></div></div><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong><span id="ref138179"></span>women’s suffrage</strong>, the right of <span id="ref1329872"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/women" class="md-crosslink ">women</a> by law to <span id="ref1329870"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/suffrage" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">vote</a> in national or local elections.</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="marker h2"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref284442"> <h2 class="h1">Overview</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies multiple medialist slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100" data-type="other"><div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex"><div class="rw-track d-flex align-items-center"><div class="position-relative rw-slide col-100 px-20 "><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="238736" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/59/172659-050-95274632/Women-voters-country-womens-suffrage-first-Tahakopa-1893.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/646779/238736"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/59/172659-050-95274632/Women-voters-country-womens-suffrage-first-Tahakopa-1893.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/59/172659-050-95274632/Women-voters-country-womens-suffrage-first-Tahakopa-1893.jpg?w=300" alt="Women's suffrage: New Zealand" data-width="1600" data-height="1170" loading="eager"></picture><div class="position-absolute top-10 left-10 assembly-slide-tag rounded-lg">1 of 2</div><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/59/172659-050-95274632/Women-voters-country-womens-suffrage-first-Tahakopa-1893.jpg" data-href="/media/1/646779/238736">Women's suffrage: New Zealand</a><span>Women voters in Tahakopa, New Zealand, after the country became the first to grant women's suffrage, 1893.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div><div class="position-relative rw-slide col-100 px-20 "><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="242460" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/61/172661-050-CE1B0632/Queensland-Australia-state-election-women-voting-1907.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/646779/242460"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/61/172661-050-CE1B0632/Queensland-Australia-state-election-women-voting-1907.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/61/172661-050-CE1B0632/Queensland-Australia-state-election-women-voting-1907.jpg?w=300" alt="Women's suffrage: Australia" data-width="970" data-height="836" loading="eager"></picture><div class="position-absolute top-10 left-10 assembly-slide-tag rounded-lg">2 of 2</div><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/61/172661-050-CE1B0632/Queensland-Australia-state-election-women-voting-1907.jpg" data-href="/media/1/646779/242460">Women's suffrage: Australia</a><span>Women voting for the first time in a Queensland state election, Australia, 1907.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div></div><button disabled="true" class="prev-button js-prev-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue-dark m-20"><span class="material-icons" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_left"></span></button><button disabled="true" class="next-button js-next-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue-dark m-20"><span class="material-icons" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></span></button></div><p class="topic-paragraph">Women were excluded from voting in ancient <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Greece" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Greece</a> and republican Rome, as well as in the few <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="democracies" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/democracies" data-type="MW">democracies</a> that had emerged in Europe by the end of the 18th century. When the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/suffrage" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">franchise</a> was widened, as it was in the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/United-Kingdom" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">United Kingdom</a> in 1832, women continued to be denied all <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/voting-rights" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">voting rights</a>. The question of women’s voting rights finally became an issue in the 19th century, and the struggle was particularly intense in Great Britain and the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/United-States" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">United States</a>, but those countries were not the first to grant women the right to vote, at least not on a national basis. By the early years of the 20th century, women had won the right to vote in national elections in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/New-Zealand" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">New Zealand</a> (1893), <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Australia" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Australia</a> (1902), <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Finland" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Finland</a> (1906), and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Norway" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Norway</a> (1913). In <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Sweden" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Sweden</a> and the United States they had voting rights in some local elections.</p><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies multiple medialist slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100" data-type="other"><div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex"><div class="rw-track d-flex align-items-center"><div class="position-relative rw-slide col-100 px-20 "><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="259238" data-asm-type="video"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="video" video-id="226776"><a data-id="226776" class="gtm-assembly-link d-flex justify-content-center" style="--aspect-ratio: 16/9" href="/video/difference-suffragist-suffragette/-259238"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/76/226776-138-3649185D/difference-suffragist-suffragette.jpg?w=800&h=450&c=crop" alt="Is there a difference between a suffragist and a suffragette?" loading="lazy"><script type="application/json"> { "sources": [ { "file" : "//content.jwplatform.com/manifests/RkFEAJzh.m3u8" } ], "image": "https://cdn.britannica.com/76/226776-138-3649185D/difference-suffragist-suffragette.jpg" ,"tracks": [ { "file" : "//assets-jpcust.jwpsrv.com/tracks/IcHhjwdW.vtt", "label": "English" } ] ,"adfile": "//content.jwplatform.com/manifests/VoQY52vR.m3u8" } </script><div class="btn btn-xl btn-white btn-circle position-absolute shadow" style="top: 50%; transform: translateY(-50%)"><em class="material-icons" data-icon="play_arrow"></em></div><div class="position-absolute top-10 left-10 assembly-slide-tag rounded-lg">1 of 2</div></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><span class="md-assembly-title font-weight-bold mr-5 d-inline font-sans-serif md-video-caption" video-control="226776">Is there a difference between a suffragist and a suffragette?</span><span>We wouldn't blame you for thinking they were synonyms.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div><a class="font-14 mt-10 d-inline-block" href="/topic/woman-suffrage/images-videos">See all videos for this article</a></figcaption></figure></div><div class="position-relative rw-slide col-100 px-20 "><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="187145" data-asm-type="video"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="video" video-id="172165"><a data-id="172165" class="gtm-assembly-link d-flex justify-content-center" style="--aspect-ratio: 16/9" href="/video/history-woman-suffrage-world/-187145"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/65/172165-138-DF1A6EFF/history-woman-suffrage-world.jpg?w=800&h=450&c=crop" alt="How women won the right to vote around the world" loading="lazy"><script type="application/json"> { "sources": [ { "file" : "//content.jwplatform.com/manifests/dEZsrXZ8.m3u8" } ], "image": "https://cdn.britannica.com/65/172165-138-DF1A6EFF/history-woman-suffrage-world.jpg" ,"tracks": [ { "file" : "//assets-jpcust.jwpsrv.com/tracks/HNXVkxAs", "label": "English" } ] ,"adfile": "//content.jwplatform.com/manifests/kaUEhI4y.m3u8" } </script><div class="btn btn-xl btn-white btn-circle position-absolute shadow" style="top: 50%; transform: translateY(-50%)"><em class="material-icons" data-icon="play_arrow"></em></div><div class="position-absolute top-10 left-10 assembly-slide-tag rounded-lg">2 of 2</div></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><span class="md-assembly-title font-weight-bold mr-5 d-inline font-sans-serif md-video-caption" video-control="172165">How women won the right to vote around the world</span><span>A history of women's suffrage around the world.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div><a class="font-14 mt-10 d-inline-block" href="/topic/woman-suffrage/images-videos">See all videos for this article</a></figcaption></figure></div></div></div><button disabled="true" class="prev-button js-prev-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue-dark m-20"><span class="material-icons" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_left"></span></button><button disabled="true" class="next-button js-next-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue-dark m-20"><span class="material-icons" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></span></button></div><p class="topic-paragraph"><a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/World-War-I" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">World War I</a> and its aftermath speeded up the enfranchisement of women in the countries of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/history-of-Europe" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Europe</a> and elsewhere. In the period 1914–39, women in 28 additional countries <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="acquired" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/acquired" data-type="EB">acquired</a> either equal voting rights with men or the right to vote in national elections. Those countries included Soviet Russia (1917); <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Canada" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Canada</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Germany" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Germany</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Austria" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Austria</a>, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Poland" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Poland</a> (1918); <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Czechoslovakia" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Czechoslovakia</a> (1919); the United States and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Hungary" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Hungary</a> (1920); Great Britain (1918 and 1928); Burma (<a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Myanmar" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Myanmar</a>; 1922); <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Ecuador" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Ecuador</a> (1929); <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/South-Africa" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">South Africa</a> (1930); <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Brazil" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Brazil</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Uruguay" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Uruguay</a>, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Thailand" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Thailand</a> (1932); <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Turkey" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Turkey</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Cuba" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Cuba</a> (1934); and the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Philippines" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Philippines</a> (1937). In a number of those countries, women were initially granted the right to vote in municipal or other local elections or perhaps in provincial elections; only later were they granted the right to vote in national elections.</p><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD4 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="247523" data-asm-type="video"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="video" video-id="217232"><a data-id="217232" class="gtm-assembly-link d-flex justify-content-center" style="--aspect-ratio: 16/9" href="/video/Five-reasons-why-people-thought-women-shouldnt-vote-womens-suffrage/-247523"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/32/217232-138-4B3E4F09/Five-reasons-why-people-thought-women-shouldnt-vote-womens-suffrage.jpg?w=800&h=450&c=crop" alt="Five absurd reasons women were denied the vote" loading="lazy"><script type="application/json"> { "sources": [ { "file" : "//content.jwplatform.com/manifests/23eqcijG.m3u8" } ], "image": "https://cdn.britannica.com/32/217232-138-4B3E4F09/Five-reasons-why-people-thought-women-shouldnt-vote-womens-suffrage.jpg" ,"tracks": [ { "file" : "//assets-jpcust.jwpsrv.com/tracks/FH1kXQB4", "label": "English" } ] ,"adfile": "//content.jwplatform.com/manifests/E6tIKpZz.m3u8" } </script><div class="btn btn-xl btn-white btn-circle position-absolute shadow" style="top: 50%; transform: translateY(-50%)"><em class="material-icons" data-icon="play_arrow"></em></div></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><span class="md-assembly-title font-weight-bold mr-5 d-inline font-sans-serif md-video-caption" video-control="217232">Five absurd reasons women were denied the vote</span><span>Learn about some of the strange justifications that used to be made for not allowing women the right to vote in elections.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div><a class="font-14 mt-10 d-inline-block" href="/topic/woman-suffrage/images-videos">See all videos for this article</a></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph">Immediately after <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/World-War-II" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">World War II</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/France" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">France</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Italy" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Italy</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Romania" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Romania</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Yugoslavia-former-federated-nation-1929-2003" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Yugoslavia</a>, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/China" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">China</a> were added to the group. Full suffrage for women was introduced in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/India" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">India</a> by the constitution in 1949; in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Pakistan" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Pakistan</a> women received full voting rights in national elections in 1956. In another decade the total number of countries that had given women the right to vote reached more than 100, partly because nearly all countries that gained independence after World War II guaranteed equal voting rights to men and women in their constitutions. By 1971 <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Switzerland" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Switzerland</a> allowed women to vote in federal and most cantonal elections, and in 1973 women were granted full voting rights in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Syria" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Syria</a>. The <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/United-Nations" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">United Nations</a> Convention on the Political Rights of Women, adopted in 1952, provides that “women shall be entitled to vote in all elections on equal terms with men, without any discrimination.”</p><span class="marker MOD4 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD5 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Historically, the United Kingdom and the United States provide characteristic examples of the struggle for women’s suffrage in the 19th and 20th centuries.</p><a class="link-module shadow-sm d-block qa-quiz-module" href="/quiz/quick-quiz-women-in-the-voting-booth" data-link-module-iframe-link=""> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/52/172652-131-F8AE4EBC/Suffragettes-signs-London-1912.jpg" alt="Suffragettes with signs in London, possibly 1912 (based on Monday, Nov. 25). Woman suffrage movement, women's suffrage movement, suffragists, women's rights, feminism." class="rounded-sm mr-15" width="70" /> <div class="line-clamp clamp-5"> <div class="module-title bg-green">Britannica Quiz</div> <div class="font-weight-semi-bold mt-5">Quick Quiz: Women In The Voting Booth</div> </div> </a><span class="marker MOD5 mod-inline"></span> </section> <span class="marker h3"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref284443"> <h2 class="h1"><span id="ref138187"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/United-Kingdom" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Great Britain</a></h2> <span class="marker PREMOD6 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies multiple medialist slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100" data-type="other"><div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex"><div class="rw-track d-flex align-items-center"><div class="position-relative rw-slide col-100 px-20 "><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="242458" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/38/19138-050-54F9A4F6/suffragists-British-London-Houses-of-Parliament-spectators-1910.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/646779/242458"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/38/19138-050-54F9A4F6/suffragists-British-London-Houses-of-Parliament-spectators-1910.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/38/19138-050-54F9A4F6/suffragists-British-London-Houses-of-Parliament-spectators-1910.jpg?w=300" alt="Women's suffrage: England" data-width="1487" data-height="1096" loading="eager"></picture><div class="position-absolute top-10 left-10 assembly-slide-tag rounded-lg">1 of 3</div><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/38/19138-050-54F9A4F6/suffragists-British-London-Houses-of-Parliament-spectators-1910.jpg" data-href="/media/1/646779/242458">Women's suffrage: England</a><span>British suffragists marching on the Houses of Parliament, London, followed by jeering spectators, c. 1910. </span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div><div class="position-relative rw-slide col-100 px-20 "><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="219953" data-asm-type="video"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="video" video-id="193323"><a data-id="193323" class="gtm-assembly-link d-flex justify-content-center" style="--aspect-ratio: 16/9" href="/video/Britain-passage-petition-1918-Representation-of-the-1918/-219953"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/23/193323-138-FE0A42E4/Britain-passage-petition-1918-Representation-of-the-1918.jpg?w=800&h=450&c=crop" alt="Hear about the journey of women's suffrage in Britain from the first mass-suffrage petition (1866) to the passage of the 1918 Representation of the People Act" loading="lazy"><script type="application/json"> { "sources": [ { "file" : "//content.jwplatform.com/manifests/vnQC8SQy.m3u8" } ], "image": "https://cdn.britannica.com/23/193323-138-FE0A42E4/Britain-passage-petition-1918-Representation-of-the-1918.jpg" ,"tracks": [ { "file" : "//assets-jpcust.jwpsrv.com/tracks/aZ47ti49", "label": "English" } ] ,"adfile": "//content.jwplatform.com/manifests/42x47zlY.m3u8" } </script><div class="btn btn-xl btn-white btn-circle position-absolute shadow" style="top: 50%; transform: translateY(-50%)"><em class="material-icons" data-icon="play_arrow"></em></div><div class="position-absolute top-10 left-10 assembly-slide-tag rounded-lg">2 of 3</div></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><span class="md-assembly-title font-weight-bold mr-5 d-inline font-sans-serif md-video-caption" video-control="193323">Hear about the journey of women's suffrage in Britain from the first mass-suffrage petition (1866) to the passage of the 1918 Representation of the People Act</span><span>From Britain's first mass-suffrage petition (1866) to the passage of the 1918 Representation of the People Act.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div><a class="font-14 mt-10 d-inline-block" href="/topic/woman-suffrage/images-videos">See all videos for this article</a></figcaption></figure></div><div class="position-relative rw-slide col-100 px-20 "><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="76126" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/93/84993-050-73B1AADC/Title-page-American-edition-Mary-Wollstonecraft-A-1792.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/646779/76126"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/93/84993-050-73B1AADC/Title-page-American-edition-Mary-Wollstonecraft-A-1792.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/93/84993-050-73B1AADC/Title-page-American-edition-Mary-Wollstonecraft-A-1792.jpg?w=300" alt="Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman: With Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects" data-width="1600" data-height="1349" loading="eager"></picture><div class="position-absolute top-10 left-10 assembly-slide-tag rounded-lg">3 of 3</div><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/93/84993-050-73B1AADC/Title-page-American-edition-Mary-Wollstonecraft-A-1792.jpg" data-href="/media/1/646779/76126">Mary Wollstonecraft's <em>A Vindication of the Rights of Woman: With Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects</em></a><span>Title page of the 1792 American edition of Mary Wollstonecraft's <em>A Vindication of the Rights of Woman: With Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects</em>. The facing page contains an inscription by women's suffragist Susan B. Anthony.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div></div><button disabled="true" class="prev-button js-prev-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue-dark m-20"><span class="material-icons" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_left"></span></button><button disabled="true" class="next-button js-next-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue-dark m-20"><span class="material-icons" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></span></button></div><p class="topic-paragraph">In Great Britain woman suffrage was first advocated by <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mary-Wollstonecraft" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Mary Wollstonecraft</a> in her book <em><span id="ref1187526"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/A-Vindication-of-the-Rights-of-Woman" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">A Vindication of the Rights of Woman</a></em> (1792) and was demanded by the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Chartism-British-history" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Chartist movement</a> of the 1840s. The demand for woman suffrage was increasingly taken up by prominent liberal <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="intellectuals" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/intellectuals" data-type="MW">intellectuals</a> in England from the 1850s on, notably by <span id="ref138188"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Stuart-Mill" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">John Stuart Mill</a> and his wife, Harriet. The first woman suffrage committee was formed in Manchester in 1865, and in 1867 Mill presented to <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Parliament" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Parliament</a> this society’s <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/petition-law" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">petition</a>, which demanded the vote for women and contained about 1,550 signatures. The <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Reform-Bill" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Reform Bill</a> of 1867 contained no provision for woman suffrage, but meanwhile woman suffrage societies were forming in most of the major cities of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/United-Kingdom" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Britain</a>, and in the 1870s these organizations submitted to Parliament petitions demanding the franchise for women and containing a total of almost three million signatures.</p><span class="marker MOD6 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD7 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies multiple medialist slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100" data-type="other"><div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex"><div class="rw-track d-flex align-items-center"><div class="position-relative rw-slide col-100 px-20 "><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="137930" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/32/135832-050-218CC423/Dame-Christabel-Harriette-Pankhurst-Emmeline.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/646779/137930"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/32/135832-050-218CC423/Dame-Christabel-Harriette-Pankhurst-Emmeline.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/32/135832-050-218CC423/Dame-Christabel-Harriette-Pankhurst-Emmeline.jpg?w=300" alt="Dame Christabel Harriette Pankhurst and Emmeline Pankhurst" data-width="1286" data-height="1600" loading="eager"></picture><div class="position-absolute top-10 left-10 assembly-slide-tag rounded-lg">1 of 4</div><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/32/135832-050-218CC423/Dame-Christabel-Harriette-Pankhurst-Emmeline.jpg" data-href="/media/1/646779/137930">Dame Christabel Harriette Pankhurst and Emmeline Pankhurst</a><span>Dame Christabel Harriette Pankhurst (left) and her mother, Emmeline Pankhurst.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div><div class="position-relative rw-slide col-100 px-20 "><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="8028" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/09/5209-050-9EA052A7/suffragette-British-arrest-attack-Buckingham-Palace-London-1914.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/646779/8028"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/09/5209-050-9EA052A7/suffragette-British-arrest-attack-Buckingham-Palace-London-1914.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/09/5209-050-9EA052A7/suffragette-British-arrest-attack-Buckingham-Palace-London-1914.jpg?w=300" alt="Women's suffrage: Buckingham Palace demonstration, 1914" data-width="1600" data-height="1093" loading="eager"></picture><div class="position-absolute top-10 left-10 assembly-slide-tag rounded-lg">2 of 4</div><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/09/5209-050-9EA052A7/suffragette-British-arrest-attack-Buckingham-Palace-London-1914.jpg" data-href="/media/1/646779/8028">Women's suffrage: Buckingham Palace demonstration, 1914</a><span>British suffragette under arrest after participating in an attack on Buckingham Palace, London, in 1914.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div><div class="position-relative rw-slide col-100 px-20 "><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="219951" data-asm-type="video"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="video" video-id="187584"><a data-id="187584" class="gtm-assembly-link d-flex justify-content-center" style="--aspect-ratio: 16/9" href="/video/struggle-womens-right-part-British-elections/-219951"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/84/187584-138-A5279CBB/struggle-womens-right-part-British-elections.jpg?w=800&h=450&c=crop" alt="Learn how Constance Lytton campaigned for the women's right to vote despite being from a royal family" loading="lazy"><script type="application/json"> { "sources": [ { "file" : "//content.jwplatform.com/manifests/nZvVjzDx.m3u8" } ], "image": "https://cdn.britannica.com/84/187584-138-A5279CBB/struggle-womens-right-part-British-elections.jpg" ,"tracks": [ { "file" : "//assets-jpcust.jwpsrv.com/tracks/ylNm2kqX", "label": "English" } ] ,"adfile": "//content.jwplatform.com/manifests/lOnE2EAC.m3u8" } </script><div class="btn btn-xl btn-white btn-circle position-absolute shadow" style="top: 50%; transform: translateY(-50%)"><em class="material-icons" data-icon="play_arrow"></em></div><div class="position-absolute top-10 left-10 assembly-slide-tag rounded-lg">3 of 4</div></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><span class="md-assembly-title font-weight-bold mr-5 d-inline font-sans-serif md-video-caption" video-control="187584">Learn how Constance Lytton campaigned for the women's right to vote despite being from a royal family</span><span>The struggle for women's right to vote in British parliamentary elections, part 1.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div><a class="font-14 mt-10 d-inline-block" href="/topic/woman-suffrage/images-videos">See all videos for this article</a></figcaption></figure></div><div class="position-relative rw-slide col-100 px-20 "><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="219952" data-asm-type="video"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="video" video-id="187585"><a data-id="187585" class="gtm-assembly-link d-flex justify-content-center" style="--aspect-ratio: 16/9" href="/video/struggle-womens-right-part-British-elections/-219952"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/85/187585-138-2E2316D8/struggle-womens-right-part-British-elections.jpg?w=800&h=450&c=crop" alt="Learn how Constance Lytton became Jane Wharton for her struggle for women's right to vote in Britain" loading="lazy"><script type="application/json"> { "sources": [ { "file" : "//content.jwplatform.com/manifests/cKpibOU5.m3u8" } ], "image": "https://cdn.britannica.com/85/187585-138-2E2316D8/struggle-womens-right-part-British-elections.jpg" ,"tracks": [ { "file" : "//assets-jpcust.jwpsrv.com/tracks/OoaqWMql", "label": "English" } ] ,"adfile": "//content.jwplatform.com/manifests/Wwn9ep7u.m3u8" } </script><div class="btn btn-xl btn-white btn-circle position-absolute shadow" style="top: 50%; transform: translateY(-50%)"><em class="material-icons" data-icon="play_arrow"></em></div><div class="position-absolute top-10 left-10 assembly-slide-tag rounded-lg">4 of 4</div></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><span class="md-assembly-title font-weight-bold mr-5 d-inline font-sans-serif md-video-caption" video-control="187585">Learn how Constance Lytton became Jane Wharton for her struggle for women's right to vote in Britain</span><span>The struggle for women's right to vote in British parliamentary elections, part 2.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div><a class="font-14 mt-10 d-inline-block" href="/topic/woman-suffrage/images-videos">See all videos for this article</a></figcaption></figure></div></div></div><button disabled="true" class="prev-button js-prev-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue-dark m-20"><span class="material-icons" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_left"></span></button><button disabled="true" class="next-button js-next-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue-dark m-20"><span class="material-icons" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></span></button></div><p class="topic-paragraph">The succeeding years saw the defeat of every major suffrage bill brought before Parliament. This was chiefly because neither of the leading politicians of the day, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Ewart-Gladstone" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">William Gladstone</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Benjamin-Disraeli" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Benjamin Disraeli</a>, cared to affront Queen <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Victoria-queen-of-United-Kingdom" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Victoria</a>’s <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="implacable" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/implacable" data-type="MW">implacable</a> opposition to the women’s movement. In 1869, however, Parliament did grant women taxpayers the right to vote in municipal elections, and in the ensuing decades women became eligible to sit on county and city councils. The right to vote in parliamentary elections was still denied to women, however, despite the considerable support that existed in Parliament for legislation to that effect. In 1897 the various suffragist societies united into one <span id="ref1329874"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/National-Union-of-Womens-Suffrage-Societies" class="md-crosslink ">National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies</a>, thus bringing a greater <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/degree-education" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">degree</a> of <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="coherence" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/coherence" data-type="MW">coherence</a> and organization to the movement. Out of frustration at the lack of governmental action, however, a segment of the woman suffrage movement became more militant under the leadership of <span id="ref1329875"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Emmeline-Pankhurst" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Emmeline Pankhurst</a> and her daughter <span id="ref1329876"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Christabel-Pankhurst" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Christabel</a>. After the return to power of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Liberal-Party-political-party-United-Kingdom" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Liberal Party</a> in 1906, the succeeding years saw the defeat of seven suffrage bills in Parliament. As a consequence, many suffragists became involved in increasingly violent actions as time went on. These women militants, or <span id="ref1329868"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/suffragette" class="md-crosslink ">suffragettes</a>, as they were known, were sent to prison and continued their protests there by engaging in hunger strikes.</p><div class="module-spacing"> <DIV class="marketing-INLINE_SUBSCRIPTION marketing-content" data-marketing-id="INLINE_SUBSCRIPTION"><style> .student-promo-banner-wrapper { container-type: inline-size; margin-bottom: 15px; } @container (min-width: 475px) { .student-promo-banner { flex-direction: row; } .student-promo-banner-img-wrapper { margin-bottom: 0; margin-right: 10px; justify-content: flex-start; } .student-promo-banner-text-wrapper { text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; } .student-promo-banner-button-wrapper { margin-right: 0; } }</style> <div class="student-promo-banner-wrapper"> <div class="student-promo-banner d-flex flex-column align-items-center bg-blue rounded p-20"> <div class="student-promo-banner-img-wrapper mb-20 mr-0 d-flex justify-content-center"> <img class="rounded" style="max-width: 100px; min-width: 80px" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/BlueThistle.webp" /> </div> <div class="student-promo-banner-text-wrapper ml-0 mb-10 text-center text-white"> <div class="h2 mb-10">Get Unlimited Access</div> <div class="h4 font-weight-semi-bold">Try Britannica Premium for free and discover more.</div> </div> <div class="student-promo-banner-button-wrapper d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center ml-auto mr-auto"> <a class="btn btn-m btn-orange" href="https://premium.britannica.com/premium-membership/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=inline-cta&utm_campaign=august-2024">Subscribe</a> </div> </div> </div> </DIV></div><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><span class="marker MOD7 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD8 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Meanwhile, public support of the woman <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="suffrage" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/suffrage" data-type="EB">suffrage</a> movement grew in volume, and public demonstrations, exhibitions, and processions were organized in support of women’s right to vote. When World War I began, the woman suffrage organizations shifted their energies to aiding the war effort, and their effectiveness did much to win the public wholeheartedly to the cause of woman suffrage. The need for the enfranchisement of women was finally recognized by most members of Parliament from all three major parties, and the resulting <span id="ref1329867"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Representation-of-the-People-Acts" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Representation of the People Act</a> was passed by the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/House-of-Commons-British-government" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">House of Commons</a> in June 1917 and by the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/House-of-Lords" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">House of Lords</a> in February 1918. Under this act, all women age 30 or over received the complete franchise. An act to enable women to sit in the House of Commons was <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="enacted" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/enacted" data-type="EB">enacted</a> shortly afterward. In 1928 the voting age for women was lowered to 21 to place women voters on an equal footing with male voters.</p><span class="marker MOD8 mod-inline"></span> </section> <span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-simplify-root"></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article> </div> </div> </div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":2,"pageId":646779,"pageLength":1009,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-133/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.133.36"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-133/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.133.36' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"C","adLeg":"C","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"PAGINATED","gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":true} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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Women’s suffrage | Definition, History, Causes, Effects, Leaders, & Facts | Britannica