 Women had climbed regularly in the Alps since the 1850s, but in the Himalayas, mountaineering had been dominated by wealthy English men.No other women, however, climbed in the Himalaya until well after World War I, by which time improvements in equipment and organization had shifted that nature of risks and difficulties of expeditions.Workman, herself an ardent feminist and a supporter of women's suffrage, wanted her readers to understand how her contributions and achievements reflected all women's potential.