Paving the way for equality
Today marks the 100th anniversary of the Act which allowed women to vote in Britain for the very first time.
The Representation of the People Act passed on February 6, 1918, enabled all men over the age of 21 and some women over the age of 30, who met a property qualification, to vote for the first time and paved the way for women's right to vote through the 1928 Equal Franchise Act, which finally granted equal voting rights to all women and men aged 21.
To mark this historic day, Principal and Vice-Chancellor Professor Pamela Gillies CBE FRSE shared her thoughts.
She said: "Our founding college was established in 1875 as a College of Science for women from poorer backgrounds in Glasgow. It fostered many feisty female leaders and students, some of whom bravely campaigned as suffragists for the right for women's voices to be heard in society through the right to vote.
"I am proud to say that the female and male staff and students of Glasgow Caledonian University have continued this age old commitment, ensuring our women's voices are heard and we also strongly support the development of female leaders in our university community.
"We believe in nourishing a culture which allows women's voices to be heard and acted upon to provide the right environment within which our university presently flourishes and will continue so to do in the years ahead."
Grace Paterson, pictured below, was the founder of the Glasgow School of Cookery and campaigned for the improvement of domestic education for working-class girls and women. She was active in a number of causes including women's suffrage.
Ahead of International Women's Day on March 8, GCU is highlighting its continued commitment to equality of opportunity.
The University was delighted to recently announce the appointment of our first female Chancellor, Dr Annie Lennox OBE, and we are proud of the supportive culture we have fostered in the University where 40% of our Professors are women, one of the highest ratios of male to female Professors in UK Universities.