The Representation of the People Act 1918 extended the vote to some women in the United Kingdom for the first time. In the same year, the Parliament (Qualification of Women) Act allowed women to stand for election to become a Member of Parliament.
The centenary is an opportunity for all of us to remember and pay tribute to the individual women whose actions through the suffrage movement and to the war effort in 1914-18, eventually made Parliament take heed and grant at least some women the vote. It would, of course, take another 10 years and the passing of the Equal Franchise Act 1928 for women to be granted the vote on same terms as men.
Funding announced by the Scottish Government will be used both to celebrate and commemorate the passing of the Representation of the People Act 1918 and to look forward to the future and how we can best support women’s political participation here and now.
Scottish Government Vote Centenary Grant Scheme
The Scottish Government Vote Centenary Grant Scheme is now closed.
Almost £170,000 has been awarded to the following successful applicants to celebrate and commemorate the centenary with grants of between £500 and £5000:
| Grant Awarded (£) | Organisation/Project | Location |
| 500 | Pilmeny Development Project | Leith, Edinburgh |
| 500 | Unstfest | Shetland |
| 500 | ANGUSalive | Arbroath |
| 500 | Youth Team | Stirling/Glasgow |
| 526 | One Dalkeith | Edinburgh |
| 1,043 | Make and Create Arts | Airdrie |
| 1,230 | Dundee International Women’s Centre | Dundee |
| 1,325 | LGBT Health and Wellbeing | Edinburgh |
| 1,355 | Heart of Africa | Hamilton, South Lanarkshire |
| 1,600 | Generations Working Together | Glasgow |
| 1,860 | Volunteer Centre East Ayrshire | Kilmarnock |
| 2,000 | Garioch Women for Change | Aberdeenshire |
| 2,000 | Joan Glen-Stuart – Stories from a Scottish Island | Isle of Arran |
| 2,060 | Art Space for Women | Edinburgh |
| 2,350 | Raploch Community Partnership | Stirling |
| 2,500 | Lea Taylor – Storytelling | Edinburgh |
| 2,543 | Community Asset Project | Glasgow |
| 2,697 | Tarbet Guide Unit | Argyll and Bute/Edinburgh |
| 3,015 | Glasgow ESOL Forum | Glasgow |
| 3,220 | Blackford Study Group | Perth & Kinross |
| 3,230 | Culture Perth and Kinross | Perth & Kinross |
| 3,300 | Active Communities Scotland Ltd | Renfrewshire |
| 3,500 | Dundee Women’s Festival | Dundee |
| 3,640 | Aberdour Festival | Aberdour |
| 3,840 | Ak-meezan/Sakina Group | Glasgow |
| 3,850 | KWISA | Glasgow |
| 4,150 | Mosaic Shack CIC Ltd | Glasgow |
| 4,155 | The Orkney News | Orkney |
| 4,300 | The National Autistic Society | Glasgow |
| 4,500 | Saheliya | Edinburgh and Glasgow |
| 4,500 | CultureNL | Coatbridge |
| 4,696 | Helensburgh Heroes | Argyll & Bute |
| 4,700 | Govanhill Baths Community Trust | Govan, Glasgow |
| 4,758 | Hope Amplified | South Lanarkshire |
| 4,850 | Lyth Arts Centre | Caithness and North Sutherland |
| 4,858 | New Tannahill Centre | Paisley |
| 4,875 | Kinning Park Complex (CIC) | Glasgow |
| 4,880 | Sunny Govan Community Media | Govan |
| 4,900 | Sara Stroud – Filmmaker | Aberdeen |
| 4,950 | Moray – PROCESSIONS | Moray/Edinburgh |
| 4,969 | Edinburgh City Youth Café (6VT Youth Café) | Edinburgh |
| 4,978 | Gorgie Collective | Gorgie, Edinburgh |
| 5,000 | Women’s Festival in Aberdeen | Aberdeen |
| 5,000 | Shaper/Caper | Dundee |
| 5,000 | YWCA Scotland | Edinburgh |
| 5,000 | Engender | Edinburgh |
| 5,000 | Interfaith Scotland | Glasgow, Aberdeen and Dumfries |
| 5,000 | West Lothian Council | West Lothian |
| 5,000 | WEA Highland | Highlands |
| 5,000 | Fife Centre for Equalities | Fife |
Contact us
You can contact us by email at CentenaryofWomensSuffrage@gov.scot or 0131 244 7977.
Other Activity
In addition to the Scottish Government Vote Centenary Grant Scheme funding has been provided to Glasgow Women’s Library and Artichoke to celebrate and commemorate the suffrage movement and the centenary and the passing of the Representation of the People Act 1918.
Glasgow Women’s Library
The Scottish Government has provided funding to Glasgow Women’s Library, for range of activity to mark this centenary. GWL is the only Accredited Museum in the UK dedicated to women’s lives, histories and achievements.
PROCESSIONS
On Sunday 10th of June, women and girls in Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh and London mass participation artwork events are scheduled. Wearing either green, white or violet, the colours of the suffrage movement, the PROCESSIONS is an opportunity to take part in a mass participation artwork to celebrate one hundred years of votes for women.
You can find out more on the PROCESSIONS website.
Suffrage Flag Relay
The flag of the UK women’s suffrage movement
The UK Civil Service Suffrage Flag Relay is currently travelling around the UK to departments and agencies across government. When organisations host the flag, they will also be hosting wider events and discussions on gender equality – including the returners programmes, gender pay gap and gender stereotypical language in the workplace.
The Suffrage Flag will be arriving in Scotland in July 2018 and will visit Scottish Government buildings, prisons and the Glasgow Women’s Library – the UK’s only Accredited Museum dedicated to women’s lives, histories and achievements.
In parallel, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and Department for International Development (DFID) are organising a global suffrage flag relay. This has already started, and has so far travelled to South Africa and Nigeria.
Gender champions and employee networks are working together to host a vast range of local events throughout the year. These include ‘EqualiTeas’, a ‘living museum’, talks by suffrage speakers, panel discussions and history walks.
You can follow the flag @SufferageFlag on Twitter, flag relay pictures are being shared using the hashtag #SuffrageFlagRelay.
