Female Sufffrage in Great Britain

In 1866, the first collective petition for women's sufffrage was presented to the House of Commons by John Stuart Mill, the radical Liberal member of parliament,who had included the demand for women's sufffrage in his election address.Many women became determined to refute the opposition's main argument - that women did not want the vote - by demonstrating support for their demands as widely as possible, thus facilitating the spread of a national campaign.There were also a number of religious societies (including the Catholic Women's Sufffrage Society and the Jewish League for Women's Sufffrage) and occupationally based groups, including one for teachers.The appointment of a minister for women in 1997 and the establishment of the Government Equalities Office in 2007 enabled coordination around legislation aimed at improving women's lives, and there have been noticeable advances in the availability of childcare for working mothers and in help with its cost. Keywords:equality; female sufffrage; Great Britain