The historic struggle for equality at Cambridge

In a rapidly changing educational landscape, Cambridge’s refusal to grant women equality stood out.

The University of London was the first to admit women to degrees in 1878, and thereafter the rapid creation of new universities meant that by 1914 there were many institutions offering women degrees. Oxford fell in line in 1920, leaving Cambridge isolated until it gave women full membership of the University in 1948.

In 1897 and 1921 requests for equality were put to a vote and were rejected.

Why did Cambridge resist the rising tide for so long? Victorian ideas about female intellectual or physical inferiority were soon dispelled. More important was a sense that, unlike other universities, Cambridge existed to produce a certain kind of elite masculinity that was best cultivated in exclusively male environments. Also important was the fear that granting women degrees would give them a say in running the University. In 1897 the proposal was carefully worded to grant women formal recognition of their degrees, but no share in University government.