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Year 9

The contribution of women during WW1

I can explain that women's contributions during the First World War were a crucial turning point in the campaign for women's suffrage.

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Year 9

The contribution of women during WW1

I can explain that women's contributions during the First World War were a crucial turning point in the campaign for women's suffrage.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. War broke out in Europe in 1914, causing the suffrage campaign to be suspended.
  2. Women entered the workforce in unprecedented numbers during the war to replace men who had gone to fight.
  3. Women's contributions to the war effort strengthened the campaign for women's suffrage.
  4. The 1918 Representation of the People Act gave the vote to all men and married women aged over 30.
  5. In 1928, the Equal Franchise Act gave votes to everyone aged 21 or older, including women.

Keywords

  • Suffrage - the right to vote

  • Unprecedented - never known or done before

  • Franchise - the ability to vote

Common misconception

The belief that all women supported the war, and that women were immediately involved in war work from 1914.

Some women were pacifists and did not support the war effort. Women were only brought into the workforce from 1916 due to labour shortages.


To help you plan your year 9 history lesson on: The contribution of women during WW1, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Ask pupils to recall prior learning on attitudes towards women and how these were still evident in attitudes to women's war work and in the granting of the vote only to women over 30.
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Teacher tip
content-guidance

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
supervision-level

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

copyright

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Put the following events in chronological order.
1 - Women in New Zealand were granted suffrage.
2 - Suffragettes began to go on hunger strike in prison.
3 - The government passed the Cat and Mouse Act.
4 - Emily Davison died following her publicity stunt at the Epsom Derby.
5 - WW1 started.
Q2.
Which keyword describes a prolonged refusal to eat, carried out in protest by a prisoner?
Correct Answer: hunger strike, Hunger strike, Hunger Strike
Q3.
Complete the sentence: Emily threw herself in front of King George V's horse in 1913 at the Epsom Derby and died a few days later.
Correct Answer: Davison
Q4.
Why did the suffragettes call the 1913 law which allowed for the temporary release of suffragettes on hunger strike the Cat and Mouse Act?
because the process was like a cat (suffragette) chasing a mouse (government)
Correct answer: because the process was like a cat (government) chasing a mouse (suffragette)
because the process was like a cat (public) chasing a mouse (suffragette)
Q5.
Which of the following were reasons why the suffragettes began using increasingly violent tactics following 1912?
Emmeline Pankhurst and Annie Besant called on members to use more violence.
Some moderate, middle-class suffragettes wanted to start a workers' revolution.
Correct answer: Christabel Pankhurst and Annie Besant called on members to use more violence.
Correct answer: Some radical, working-class suffragettes wanted to start a workers' revolution.
Q6.
How many women were arrested and imprisoned during the suffragette campaign from 1906-1914?
around 1500
Correct answer: around 1300
around 150
around 130

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Match the keywords to the correct definitions.
Correct Answer:suffrage,the right to vote
tick

the right to vote

Correct Answer:franchise,the ability to vote
tick

the ability to vote

Correct Answer:unprecedented,never known or done before
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never known or done before

Q2.
Which of the following happened when World War One broke out in 1914?
Correct answer: The suffragists suspended their peaceful campaign and joined the war effort.
The suffragettes suspended their peaceful campaign and joined the war effort.
Correct answer: The suffragettes suspended their violent tactics and many joined the war effort.
The suffragists suspended their violent tactics and many joined the war effort.
Q3.
What did the WSPU organise in 1915 to push for an increased role for women in the war effort?
a campaign of chaining themselves to railings
Correct answer: a protest march called ‘the Right to Serve’
a protest march called ‘the Right to Help’
an arson and vandalism campaign
Q4.
Which of the following did women not do during WW1?
work on farms
work in a munitions factory
Correct answer: fight in the army
work as nurses
Q5.
Complete the sentence by adding the correct year: The Representation of the People Act gave the vote to all men and married women aged over 30.
Correct Answer: 1918
Q6.
Complete the sentence by adding the correct year: In , the Equal Franchise Act gave votes to everyone aged 21 or older, including women.
Correct Answer: 1928

Additional material

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