Name/TitlePlacard: Equal Rights for Women
About this objectDouble-sided placard with bamboo pole bearing hand-painted slogans and images, made by a woman in HMP Greenock as part of GWL's Vote 100 project. One side is painted a blue and orange and features the slogan 'EQUAL RIGHTS FOR WOMEN' in gold and black lettering. The other side is painted deep blue with the word 'PEACE' in black lettering, flanked by CND symbols.
Date Made2018
Period2010s
Place MadeScotland, Greenock
Place NotesEducation Centre, HMP Greenock, Old Inverkip Road, Greenock PA16 9AJ
Medium and MaterialsOrganic, cardboard and bamboo
MeasurementsH: 700 x W: 355 mm (placard only)
H: 965 x W: 355 mm (placard and pole)
Subject and Association Keywordswomen's suffrage, right to vote
Subject and Association KeywordsPolitical activism
Subject and Association KeywordsCraftivism
Subject and Association DescriptionVote 100 was a GWL project to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Representation of the People Act; more details here: https://womenslibrary.org.uk/discover-our-projects/vote-100-the-moving-story.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Representation_of_the_People_Act_1918:
The Representation of the People Act 1918 was an Act of Parliament passed to reform the electoral system in Great Britain and Ireland. It is sometimes known as the Fourth Reform Act. The Act extended the franchise in parliamentary elections, also known as the right to vote, to men aged over 21, whether or not they owned property, and to women aged over 30 who resided in the constituency or occupied land or premises with a rateable value above £5, or whose husbands did. At the same time, it extended the local government franchise to include women aged over 21 on the same terms as men. It came into effect at the 1918 general election. As a result of the Act, the male electorate was extended by 5.2 million to 12.9 million. The female electorate was 8.5 million. The Act also created new electoral arrangements, including making residence in a specific constituency the basis of the right to vote, institutionalising the first-past-the-post method of election, and rejecting proportional representation, although this failed by only seven votes in the Commons during the Act's progress.
It was not until the Representation of the People (Equal Franchise) Act 1928 that women gained electoral equality. The 1928 Act gave the vote to all women aged over 21, regardless of any property qualification, which added another five million women to the electorate.
Named CollectionGlasgow Women's Library
Object TypePlacard
Object numberGWL-2018-66-7
Copyright LicenceAll rights reserved