Suffragette city

In an extract from her new book, Dr Helen Pankhurst explains why she would give only three out of five for progress since the suffrage movement – and what she and others hope to do next

A statue of the suffragette Alice Hawkins was unveiled in Market Square, Leicester, yesterday, with the help of her great-great-granddaughter, Kate Barratt. Hawkins was jailed after fighting for rights in the 1900s. The colour purple denoted dignity, said the movement.

Writing about the experiences of half the population of Great Britain over a century has been fascinating but also painful – in no small part because I had to exclude so many voices and themes, in the interest of keeping my book to an almost acceptable length.

The distillation needed to conclude is even tougher. We can say, unequivocally, that social, economic, political, cultural and technological changes have all contributed to a society in which women’s lives are generally better than those of our mothers, grandmothers or greatgrandmothers. For most women, it’s a kinder, less cruel world.

However, on the centenary of what was only a partial right for women to vote (it only permitted women over 30 who owned a house the right to vote – full suffrage for all women was only granted a decade later on July 2 1928 with the Second Representation of the People (Equal Franchise) Act), the assessment is that we have made important but incomplete gains since then. Moreover, this is not a simple trajectory of progress or of stasis, but of constant evolution, reversals and change experienced differently for a multitude of reasons.

In every substantive area there is more to be done.

Politically we have gone from the first time women could vote to almost within touching distance of a representation that counts as critical mass. Furthermore, this applies to most of the institutions of our democracy. The sense that women are usurpers of the public sphere still lurks in the shadows.

As Penny Mordaunt, the Conservative MP, puts it: “Clearly, there are still those for whom the idea of a woman in a position of authority is hard to comprehend, and of those people a number feel they must express their incomprehension in unpleasant ways. I do believe, though, that society at large regards such views as outmoded and, in the case of abuse directed at female MPS and others, deserving of censure.”

Nevertheless, obstacles for the political woman abound, and feminist policies are far from being embedded in the establishment. In my conclusion to how far we have come on politics, I opted for three out of five as a fair summary. As Justine Greening, the former Minister for Women and Equalities, reflected: “As we celebrate the centenary of women’s suffrage, this is our opportunity to reignite the campaign for equality fought 100 years ago. Parliament is most effective when it reflects the society it has been elected to represent. We cannot just wait for equality to happen, we need to push for a 50:50 Parliament. Our society and democracy will be richer for it.”

The title of my book is the suffragette slogan Deeds Not Words, and their legacy has been a golden thread running throughout. There are those that dislike the saying, arguing that what was needed then and still today, is both deeds and words – that the two are intertwined. This is true but the expression draws attention to the need for activism – that words on their own are not enough. We need to walk the talk.

There is a great yearning for deeds that will create fairness. As 12-yearold Olivia told me: “I’m on our school council and help to make decisions about what’s best. I would not be happy if only the boys could be on the council and not the girls. The boys don’t always think about what the girls want, so it would not be fair.” Olivia is taking her first few important steps as an activist, clear in her mind that she has a role in ensuring fairness prevails.

If the past 100 years have taught us anything, it is that there is no silver bullet. The goal of equality and social transformation still lies before us. We can expect some sliding backwards and it could well be that the last few miles will be particularly difficult. I would like to end with a 10-year horizon, to 2028, the centenary of when women were granted the right to vote on the same grounds as men.

These are just some of the hopes expressed in the words of women and girls of different experiences and backgrounds.

In 10 years, we want….

While great strides have been made since the battles fought by the suffragettes, our politics still do not reflect our society as a whole. No matter how daunting and impossible it looks, I urge every woman with an interest in politics to get involved – only with a wider engagement will our politics and our society flourish. Do something. Anything. Get involved. (Leanne Wood, AM, Leader of Plaid Cymru and Assembly Member for the Rhondda)

I love being a woman, and sometimes the concept of feminism can be misconstrued. By 2028, women will be celebrated for their differences and not exploited because of them.

(Lesley Covington, full-time wife and mother and part-time Olympic suffragette) By 2028, I hope that women actors are no longer put out to grass at 60, that they are as visible as older men, that films and plays no longer fixate on youth and beauty and instead reflect the real world – in all its wonderful complexity. (Dame Julie Walters, actress and writer)

As an elected MLA in the Northern Ireland Assembly, I am very aware that legislative change happens slowly. By 2028, women will no longer be plagued by the 1861 law on forced pregnancy and birth and they will have full access to opportunities in all aspects of life that are so freely afforded to men.

(Clare Bailey, member of the Legislative Assembly in Northern Ireland, member of the Green Party Northern Ireland)

We won’t think of a job as a male or a female job.

(Fiona Martin, heritage officer, Luton Irish Forum)

We will no longer have men doing high-quality jobs and women doing low-quality jobs – all genders should be able to do what they want when they get older.

(Amber Lewis, aged 12) By 2028, we need to have changed the societal norm of women being the first call for a sick child. (Rosina, writer)

I don’t think anything illustrates the gender pay gap problem better than the BBC Woman’s Hour presenters working on a programme designed to celebrate and promote women, their stories and their achievements. They were routinely paid less than the presenters of less successful but apparently more important shows. I sincerely hope this has been rectified by 2028. (Jane Garvey, radio presenter, currently of BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour) By 2028, I hope that the normalisation of everyday sexism will have been eroded, so that people no longer ignore it when a woman is being harassed, turn the other way when they witness workplace discrimination, or dismiss a rape survivor’s account with “She was asking for it”. (Laura Bates, founder of the Everyday Sexism Project)

Until the queues outside public toilets are the same for women and men there is no gender equality. I hope that by 2028 the problem will have been resolved – it’s a simple enough indicator of whether women are welcome in society.

(Elaine De Fries, independent domestic violence advocate and mother) By 2028, I hope that girls will not just dream of being princesses and mermaids, but will dream of being astronauts, scientists and superheroes… and that women heroes in graphic novels won’t have such skimpy costumes while saving the world from the bad guys. (Siofra Mawdsley, aged 11)

I hope by 2028 no girl child will hear the words “girls can’t…” and that no woman will hear the words “as a woman you cannot expect to…” (Vivienne Abbott, engineer)

Women’s football is becoming one of the most popular sports in the United Kingdom. I hope that the inclusivity of football will continue to develop and improve, with girls being given the chance to play the game that I love at all schools around the country… I hope that I and my team-mates can inspire and influence the next generation of girls…

(Steph Houghton, footballer, captain of Manchester City and the England women’s national football team)

I hope in 2028 that I am talking about cake and spending sunny days with my friends and family. That I have put my marching shoes away and that the world is a better place. The good thing is in 2028 the young people of 2018 will be blossoming into the wonderful activists I see developing. I am sure that some of them will smash through the glass ceiling, but mainly I hope that for most women the floor beneath them does not continue to collapse.

(Sandi Toksvig, comedian, writer, presenter, founder of the Women’s Equality Party)