Fifty years before the suffragettes fought to have the parliamentary vote, women in England were able to elect and be elected to local district councils, school boards and Poor Law boards. This pioneering study explores the world of those women who held office on behalf of other women, children, the old and the sick. They faced widespread hostility, but such was their success that in many cities and counties they were a stronger presence in 1900 than in 1975. Local
government offered that conjunction of "compulsory philanthropy", "municipal housekeeping" and local responsibility which made it a sphere suitable for women. Based on the records of some 20 towns and 10 rural districts, Ladies Elect describes and assesses their work in local government before 1914,
and places it in the context of the general movement towards woman's emancipation.
- ISBN10 0198221576
- ISBN13 9780198221579
- Publish Date 20 July 1989 (first published 1 November 1987)
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 7 August 2021
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Oxford University Press
- Format Paperback
- Pages 566
- Language English