Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919
Encyclopedia
The Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919 is an Act of Parliament
in the United Kingdom
. It became law when it received Royal Assent
on 23 December 1919.
, "... to amend the Law with respect to disqualification on account of sex", which it achieved in four short sections and one schedule. Its broad aim was achieved by section 1, which stated that:
The Crown
was given the power to regulate the admission of women to the civil service
by Orders in Council, and judges were permitted to control the gender composition of juries
. By section 2, women were to be admitted as solicitor
s after serving three years only if they possessed a University degree which would have qualified them if male, or if they had fulfilled all the requirements of a degree at a University which did not, at the time, admit women to degrees. By section 3, no statute or charter of a University was to preclude University authorities from regulating the admission of women to membership or degrees. By section 4, any orders in council, royal charter
s, or statutory
provisions which were inconsistent with this Act were to cease to have effect.
by the Representation of the People Act 1918
, and had been able to stand for Parliament
, but most of the less high-profile restrictions on women participating in civil life remained. In effect, this Act lifted most of the existing common-law restrictions on women; they were now able, for example to serve as magistrate
s or jurors, or enter the professions. Marriage was no longer legally considered a bar to a woman's ability to work.
The Act came into force on the day it became law, 23 December 1919; the first female Justice of the Peace
- Ada Summers, ex-officio a Justice by virtue of being the Mayor of Stalybridge
- was sworn in a week later, on 31 December. However, it took until December 1922 for a female solicitor to be appointed.
The Act was, by the standards of its time, astonishingly broad. It only addressed three areas specifically - the Civil Service, the courts, and the Universities - leaving all other areas to the sweeping alterations made by section 1. Francis Bennion
later described it as "splendidly general", arguing that it went "further in emancipating women than [did] the Sex Discrimination Act 1975
".
However, the Act was rarely invoked by the courts - the first court case to rule based on it was Nagle v. Fielden in 1966. The one significant ruling as to the extent of the Act was not in a court of law, but rather in the House of Lords
, where the Committee for Privileges was asked by Margaret Mackworth, 2nd Viscountess Rhondda
to rule if the Act's provisions for exercising "any public function" extended to permitting a woman to sit in the House as a peeress in her own right. After some debate, it was held 22-4 that it did not. Women would not be permitted to sit in the Lords until 1958, when appointed female life peer
s were expressly permitted by the Life Peerages Act 1958
, whilst hereditary peer
esses gained the right to take their seats after the passage of the Peerage Act 1963
.
Much of the Act has been repealed, although the first part of section 1 remains in force (outside Scotland, where it was repealed by the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975), as well as the whole of section 3,
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. It became law when it received Royal Assent
Royal Assent
The granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...
on 23 December 1919.
Provisions of the Act
The basic purpose of the Act was, as stated in its long titleLong title
The long title is the formal title appearing at the head of a statute or other legislative instrument...
, "... to amend the Law with respect to disqualification on account of sex", which it achieved in four short sections and one schedule. Its broad aim was achieved by section 1, which stated that:
The Crown
The Crown
The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...
was given the power to regulate the admission of women to the civil service
Civil service
The term civil service has two distinct meanings:* A branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations....
by Orders in Council, and judges were permitted to control the gender composition of juries
Jury
A jury is a sworn body of people convened to render an impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Modern juries tend to be found in courts to ascertain the guilt, or lack thereof, in a crime. In Anglophone jurisdictions, the verdict may be guilty,...
. By section 2, women were to be admitted as solicitor
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
s after serving three years only if they possessed a University degree which would have qualified them if male, or if they had fulfilled all the requirements of a degree at a University which did not, at the time, admit women to degrees. By section 3, no statute or charter of a University was to preclude University authorities from regulating the admission of women to membership or degrees. By section 4, any orders in council, royal charter
Royal Charter
A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...
s, or statutory
Statute
A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs a state, city, or county. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. The word is often used to distinguish law made by legislative bodies from case law, decided by courts, and regulations...
provisions which were inconsistent with this Act were to cease to have effect.
Effects of the Act
Women had previously been given a (limited) right to voteWomen's suffrage
Women's suffrage or woman suffrage is the right of women to vote and to run for office. The expression is also used for the economic and political reform movement aimed at extending these rights to women and without any restrictions or qualifications such as property ownership, payment of tax, or...
by the Representation of the People Act 1918
Representation of the People Act 1918
The Representation of the People Act 1918 was an Act of Parliament passed to reform the electoral system in the United Kingdom. It is sometimes known as the Fourth Reform Act...
, and had been able to stand for Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
, but most of the less high-profile restrictions on women participating in civil life remained. In effect, this Act lifted most of the existing common-law restrictions on women; they were now able, for example to serve as magistrate
Magistrate
A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
s or jurors, or enter the professions. Marriage was no longer legally considered a bar to a woman's ability to work.
The Act came into force on the day it became law, 23 December 1919; the first female Justice of the Peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
- Ada Summers, ex-officio a Justice by virtue of being the Mayor of Stalybridge
Stalybridge
Stalybridge is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside in Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 22,568. Historically a part of Cheshire, it is east of Manchester city centre and northwest of Glossop. With the construction of a cotton mill in 1776, Stalybridge became one of...
- was sworn in a week later, on 31 December. However, it took until December 1922 for a female solicitor to be appointed.
The Act was, by the standards of its time, astonishingly broad. It only addressed three areas specifically - the Civil Service, the courts, and the Universities - leaving all other areas to the sweeping alterations made by section 1. Francis Bennion
Francis Bennion
Francis Alan Roscoe Bennion is a barrister in the United Kingdom. He is the author of several leading UK legal texts, including in particular Bennion on Statutory Interpretation ....
later described it as "splendidly general", arguing that it went "further in emancipating women than [did] the Sex Discrimination Act 1975
Sex Discrimination Act 1975
The Sex Discrimination Act 1975 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which protected men and women from discrimination on the grounds of sex or marriage. The Act concerned employment, training, education, harassment, the provision of goods and services, and the disposal of premises...
".
However, the Act was rarely invoked by the courts - the first court case to rule based on it was Nagle v. Fielden in 1966. The one significant ruling as to the extent of the Act was not in a court of law, but rather in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
, where the Committee for Privileges was asked by Margaret Mackworth, 2nd Viscountess Rhondda
Margaret Mackworth, 2nd Viscountess Rhondda
Margaret Haig Mackworth, 2nd Viscountess Rhondda was a Welsh peeress and active suffragette.In 1908 she joined the Women's Social and Political Union , and became secretary of the WSPU's Newport branch...
to rule if the Act's provisions for exercising "any public function" extended to permitting a woman to sit in the House as a peeress in her own right. After some debate, it was held 22-4 that it did not. Women would not be permitted to sit in the Lords until 1958, when appointed female life peer
Life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
s were expressly permitted by the Life Peerages Act 1958
Life Peerages Act 1958
The Life Peerages Act 1958 established the modern standards for the creation of life peers by the monarch of the United Kingdom. Life peers are barons and are members of the House of Lords for life, but their titles and membership in the Lords are not inherited by their children. Judicial life...
, whilst hereditary peer
Hereditary peer
Hereditary peers form part of the Peerage in the United Kingdom. There are over seven hundred peers who hold titles that may be inherited. Formerly, most of them were entitled to sit in the House of Lords, but since the House of Lords Act 1999 only ninety-two are permitted to do so...
esses gained the right to take their seats after the passage of the Peerage Act 1963
Peerage Act 1963
The Peerage Act 1963 is the Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that permitted peeresses in their own right and all Scottish hereditary peers to sit in the House of Lords, and which allows newly inherited hereditary peerages to be "disclaimed".-Background:The Act resulted largely from the...
.
Much of the Act has been repealed, although the first part of section 1 remains in force (outside Scotland, where it was repealed by the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975), as well as the whole of section 3,