Why did activists boycott the 1911 census?

As one protest sign explained, “if women don’t count, neither will they be counted.” As the census only counted those on the property on 2 April, some women spoiled their forms while others spent the evening out. They walked the streets, met at cafes, or hid together — like the pictured group, which gathered at a house in Manchester renamed ‘Census Lodge’. Emily Davison even hid in a cupboard in parliament.

The protest’s impact on the nation was small but it did raise awareness for the cause.