Krista Cowman, Lincoln School of Humanities, University of Lincoln

Date: 6-7 May 2011
Venue: University of Lincoln, UK
Deadline for proposals: not announced

In 1890 no woman in Britain had a Parliamentary vote and their membership of political parties was restricted to auxiliary organisations such as the Women’s Liberal Federation and the Primrose League. In 1997, the number of women elected to Westminster rose above 100 for the first time. Between these two dates, a number of key milestones facilitated a greater involvement by women in formal political processes including partial, then equal suffrage; equal membership of political parties; legislation on equal pay and sexual discrimination and affirmative actions including all-women shortlists.
There were also attempts to challenge the gendering of politics through alternative sites including the peace movement, the Women’s Liberation movement and the short-lived Women’s Party. This conference seeks to explore such things in more detail to understand the processes through which women’s relationship to politics has changed as well as to interrogate the longer-term effects of such changes. The conference will conclude with a special event celebrating the life of Caroline Martyn (1867-1896), the Lincoln-born socialist speaker and writer who was an early pioneer of women’s political activism. We welcome proposals for papers or full panel sessions.

Topics might include:
Women in individual political parties; Scottish or Welsh experiences; the Edwardian suffrage movement; women, politics and war; the Women’s Liberation Movement; women at Westminster; individual organisations; single-issue political campaigns.

Please send proposals to conferences@lincoln.ac.uk marked „Women in British Politics“ to Conference organiser: Professor Krista Cowman, Lincoln School of Humanities, University of Lincoln