The first wave of feminism is generally considered to be the suffragettes. These were a group that was active in the 19th-20th century that were mainly concerned with gaining women the right to vote due to the fact that they believed that once they had achieved this right then they could vote in politicians who would support women further. They often used extreme forms of protest against the government such as they would attack MPS on their way to work, fire bomb their houses and some even refused to pay their taxes. One of their most famous protests was when Emily Davison threw herself under the kings horse at a horse race which gave the suffragettes their first martyr. They also often allowed themselves to be taken to prison and would then go on hunger strikes which concerned the government as if suffragettes died in prison then it would create bad press for them. Prisons then organised force feeding to ensure their survival but the suffragettes were able to use this to their advantage by making propaganda photos for their newspapers which depicted these force feedings. The cruelty shown in those pictures turned many people against the government giving the suffragettes an advantage in their campaign. When World War One started the suffragettes abandoned their campaign for the vote and instead focused on aiding Britain's war effort. They worked in jobs that men could no longer do due to being out at war and focused their propaganda on encouraging women to help the war effort. They even changed their magazine from votes for women to Britannia. Their work was rewarded with the 1918 representation act of the People Act. This gave all women over the age of thirty who owned property the right to vote. Although this did not grant all Women the vote it was a strong step in that direction.


During the 1960s-1970s Women had still not achieved full equality as they could be paid less than a man could for doing the same job. However in the 1960s the contraceptive pill was invented which gave women sexual independence as they could decide when to have children and how many to have. This led to the second wave of feminism which alongside other movements such as the anti Vietnam movement or the Black Power group. As a result of these other groups this wave was initially not given as much attention so feminists formed women's only groups. Unlike the first wave which consisted of mainly middle class women this wave often had women of colour and considered women as a social class. They were able to have several legislations made including the women's equal pay act of 1963 which made gender based discrimination illegal. The Roe vs. Wade ruling declared that it was a woman's choice if she wished to have an abortion. It also had the first marital rape laws passed in America and led to the pregnancy discrimination act. It also changed attitudes to women as it was seen as more common for women to work in male dominated careers such as law, military or policing. It also allowed women to have more of a voice and stand up against issues such as rape which was previously unheard of. Overall these things meant women were closer to being on an equal ground than they ether were before.