Yorkshire would be all the poorer without its influential women

Yorkshire would be all the poorer without its influential women - The Yorkshire Post says

Whilst it is pleasing that powerful Yorkshire women including Dewsbury-born Betty Boothroyd, the only woman to have served as Speaker of the House of Commons, and Alice Bacon, the region’s first female MP, are known for their pioneering exploits, the efforts of many more have been all but forgotten to the passage of time.

Author Gaynor Haliday with her new book 'Struggle and Suffrage in Wakefield'. Picture Gerard Binks

Yet, for centuries, women in this county have blazed a trail, pushing for reform in areas like healthcare, education and equal rights at work.

Now the endeavours of many in the century from 1850 – a transformative period in which women first received the right to vote – have been captured in a series of books looking at struggle and suffrage in the West Riding.

This, as well as the determined work of all those fighting for blue plaque parity between men and women in Wakefield, and plans for a sculpture to celebrate the feats of great women in Leeds, should be commended. Without the steadfastness of so many women, Yorkshire society would be all the poorer.