The Admission of Women Fellows to the Royal Geographical Society, 1892-1914; the Controversy and the Outcome

Abstract

The decision of the Royal Geographical Society, in 1913, to admit women Fellows marked the conclusion of a protracted debate extending over 20 years. The controversy surrounding women's admission drew the Society into the broader questions within contemporary British science and politics. These included the nature of scientific progress, national efficiency, imperial patronage, social justice and the moral rights of citizens. This paper discusses the debate within the Society and the context within which the decision to admit women was reached. It reviews the group of women candidates who were proposed and elected Fellows during 1913 and briefly outlines their activities within the Society. In elaborating on what was a highly contentious issue in the history of geography and of its major institution at the time, the paper contributes to a rapidly expanding literature on the entry of women to learned societies and professional occupations in Europe and North America since the late nineteenth century.