Women magistrates, ministers and municipal councillors in the West Riding of Yorkshire, 1918-1939
In the two decades after the partial enfranchisement of women in 1918 and the removal of legal disabilities which excluded them from the magistracy, women in the West Riding of Yorkshire were mobilized to seek a new civic role as councillors and as justices of the peace through membership of women's organisations, of the women's sections of political parties and to a lesser extent as a consequence of their widespread involvement in charity work. By the post-war period, too, traditional arguments against the ordination of women in the Free Churches had lost credibility and a number of women became church ministers in the strongly Nonconformist West Riding. Women magistrates were rapidly accepted on equal terms and from the start shared duties equally with their male colleagues. Ordination of women in the Free Churches was premissed on the principle of complementarity and, although usually obliged to accept the less desirable churches, women ministers experienced little hostility. The majority of women councillors, however, justified the need for their election on the grounds of the distinctive contribution that women could make to local government. By identifying only certain issues on which women's views should
Dunkley, Sylvia Jane
Suffrage; Equality
Women magistrates, ministers and municipal councillors in the West Riding of Yorkshire, 1918-1939. In the two decades after the partial enfranchisement of women in 1918 and the removal of legal disabilities which excluded them from the magistracy, women in the West Riding of Yorkshire were mobilized to seek a new civic role as councillors and as justices of the peace through membership of women's organisations, of the women's sections of political parties and to a lesser extent as a consequence of their widespread involvement in charity work. By the post-war period, too, traditional arguments against the ordination of women in the Free Churches had lost credibility and a number of women became church ministers in the strongly Nonconformist West Riding. Women magistrates were rapidly accepted on equal terms and from the start shared duties equally with their male colleagues. Ordination of women in the Free Churches was premissed on the principle of complementarity and, although usually obliged to accept the less desirable churches, women ministers experienced little hostility. The majority of women councillors, however, justified the need for their election on the grounds of the distinctive contribution that women could make to local government. By identifying only certain issues on which women's views should
women magistrate minister municipal councillor west_riding_yorkshire partial enfranchisement woman removal legal disability exclude magistracy woman west_riding_yorkshire mobilize seek new civic role councillor justice peace membership woman organisation woman section political_party lesser_extent consequence widespread involvement charity work post_war_period traditional argument ordination woman free churches lose credibility number woman become church minister strongly nonconformist west_riding women magistrates rapidly accept equal term start share duty equally male colleague ordination woman free churches premiss principle complementarity although usually oblige accept less desirable church woman minister experience little hostility majority woman councillor however justify need election ground distinctive woman could_make local_government identify certain issue woman view