Women and the Professions in Early Twentieth Century Britain Professor Pat Thane, Institute of Contemporary British History, College London King’s This paper is designed to briefly survey the background to the entry of women to the legal profession in Britain in 1919 and their experiences in the early years. By the early nineteenth century women had always been excluded from the professions in Britain. From the middle of the century some of them began to demand access to equal education with males as both desirable in itself and the route to independent careers. Secondary education for girls- private high schools providing high quality education potentially fitting them for access to university or other further training - expanded through the second half of the century and access to universities slowly expanded also, initially in female-only institutions. In the 1840s two university colleges were founded for women in London, Bedford and Westfield Colleges. In 1873 the first college was founded in Oxford or Cambridge, women’s Girton College. Emily Davies who founded Girton was very explicit that she believed that females and males should have identical education and career opportunities. By 1919 there were two colleges women’s in Cambridge, four in Oxford. Women were allowed to study many subjects, to attend lectures and take exams, but not actually to receive degrees or appointments to academic posts from these august institution, until 1920 in Oxford, in Cambridge not until 1948. Not until the nineteen seventies, following the Sex Discrimination Act, 1975, did Oxbridge colleges begin to be co-educational. In 1878 University College London became the first co-educational institution, admitting women to most of its courses and to degrees, though not to medicine until 1917. Through the remainder of the century more universities were founded and most admitted women, though not always to all courses. By 1900 women were 16 per cent of all
Women and the Professions in Early Twentieth Century Britain Professor Pat Thane, Institute of Contemporary British History, King’s College London This paper is designed to briefly survey the background to the entry of women to the legal profession in Britain in 1919 and their experiences in the early years. By the early nineteenth century women had always been excluded from the professions in Britain. From the middle of the century some of them began to demand access to equal education with males as both desirable in itself and the route to independent careers. Secondary education for girls- private high schools providing high quality education potentially fitting them for access to university or other further training - expanded through the second half of the century and access to universities slowly expanded also, initially in female-only institutions. In the 1840s two university colleges were founded for women in London, Bedford and Westfield Colleges. In 1873 the first women’s college was founded in Oxford or Cambridge, Girton College. Emily Davies who founded Girton was very explicit that she believed that females and males should have identical education and career opportunities. By 1919 there were two women’s colleges in Cambridge, four in Oxford. Women were allowed to study many subjects, to attend lectures and take exams, but not actually to receive degrees or appointments to academic posts from these august institution, until 1920 in Oxford, in Cambridge not until 1948. Not until the nineteen seventies, following the Sex Discrimination Act, 1975, did Oxbridge colleges begin to be co-educational. In 1878 University College London became the first co-educational institution, admitting women to most of its courses and to degrees, though not to medicine until 1917. Through the remainder of the century more universities were founded and most admitted women, though not always to all courses. By 1900 women were 16 per cent of all
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