Cross Century
Women and femininity in the history of science
By Claire Jones Women have always participated in scientific endeavour, even before the term ‘scientist’ was invented. (The term ‘scientist’ is usually attributed to William Whewell, Cambridge academic, who used it in its modern sense in 1841, but some scholars
Women’s access to higher education: An overview (1860-1948)
Women’s struggle for higher education did not begin in the mid-late nineteenth century. There had been calls for women to receive educational opportunities equivalent to their brothers well before, including pleas from notable women including Margaret Cavendish (1623-1673), Mary Astell
A brief history of feminism
By Claire Jones Many people think of feminism as beginning with the women’s movement of the 1970s, but feminism was around even before bras had been invented - let alone burned. Women scholars were arguing for a fairer deal for
Suffragists and Suffragettes
An overview of the Votes for Women campaign By Claire Jones Introduction Before the 1832 Reform Act most men and all women did not have the vote. This act created a wider franchise but used the term ‘male person’, specifically
What is women’s history?
History is all too often exactly that - His Story. Typically the narratives told are the stories of men, with major events interpreted according to their impact on the masculine sex, to the exclusion of any feminine point of view
