The first women in Australian that were able to vote were in South Australia, in 1895 , and quickly, other states and territories followed. This leap in women’s rights changed Australia into a nation of equality, and moved the nation into the next stage of cultural independence. Vida Goldstein was a Victorian citizen who followed in her mother’s footsteps in becoming a social reformer and a suffragist. She was firmly encouraged by her parents to become educated and independent, and this led her to become the leader in Victoria for women’s equality. She was an excellent public speaker, and this enabled her to grasp her audience and effect and change their opinions on women’s equality. Although she was campaigning for overall women’s equality, her main priority and passion was achieving women’s right to vote. She regularly stood for parliament, and in 1902 she helped in gaining women the vote. Even though Vida stood for parliament on many occasions, she was …show more content…
The suffragettes petitioned for equal rights for women in the workforce, due to the inequity of pay and the lack of female employees. In the 19th century, women counted for only 20 percent of the people in the workforces, but were slightly higher in urban areas, raising to 30 or 40 percent. Most of these women worked in factories or on farms, while the others stayed at home, cleaning and looking after the children. The suffragettes lobbied for women to have higher standard jobs and jobs with higher statuses that were usually given to men. Through the two World Wars, women were expected to join the work forces to claim the men’s positions, but were also expected to drop their jobs when the men returned . Through this, society was shown the capability of women and their desire to succeed. As society has changed, women in the workforce have changed as well. Women are now seen in a lot more key positions, but not as much as