On February 6th, 1918 Ireland’s women received the right to vote – but only some of them. The woman had to own property and be at least 30 years of age. Men were permitted to vote at the age of 21.
Only in 1922, with the formation of the Irish Free State, were women and men, at the age of 21, on equal terms when it came to voting. It took until 1928 before the UK granted their citizens the same equal rights.
A lot of Irish people believe that their women were amongst the last in the developed world to cast their vote. Far from it!
Finland 1906 – Canton Appenzell 1990
The last country in Western Europe to grant their female population the right to vote was the Principality of Liechtenstein in 1984. The Swiss canton Appenzell only allowed women to cast their vote in 1990, but only because a court of law forced them. Women in the rest of Switzerland were “already” permitted to participate in elections since 1971.
The very first country in the world to grant women the right to vote was Finland in 1906. Not only did they allow women to vote, but also to stand as a candidate.
Austria and Germany granted women the right to vote in November 1918.
Even though female citizens of some US states had restricted electoral rights since the 1800s, it took until 1920 that American women had the right to participate nationally in the Presidential elections.
