By a law passed in May, 1908, women employees in the postal service were given the same pay as the men employees. As a result of this the women telegraph operators, supported by the Norwegian Woman’s Suffrage Association, drew up a petition requesting the same concession as was made the women postal employees, and presented the petition to the government and the Storthing. This movement favoring an increase of wages was strongly supported by the woman’s suffrage movement.

The women taxpayers (including married women) have possessed active and passive suffrage in municipal affairs since 1901. The property qualification requires that a tax of 300 crowns ($80) must be paid in the rural districts, and 400 crowns ($107) in cities. In 1902 women exercised the suffrage in municipal affairs for the first time; in Christiania 6 women were elected to municipal offices.

The Norwegian League of Women’s Clubs and the woman’s suffrage associations protested to the government and to the Parliament because suffrage in the national elections had been withheld from the women. The separation of Sweden and Norway (1906), which concerned the women greatly, but in which they could exercise no voice, was a striking proof of woman’s powerlessness in civil affairs. Hence the Norwegian Woman’s Suffrage League instituted a woman’s ballot, in which 19,000 votes were cast in favor of separation, none being cast against it.

In 1907 six election bills favorable to woman’s suffrage were presented to the Storthing; and June 10, 1907, women taxpayers were granted active and passive suffrage in municipal elections (affecting about 300,000 women; 200,000 are still not enfranchised). This right of suffrage is accorded to married women. The next general elections will take place in 1909.

Since the Norwegian men have active and passive suffrage in parliamentary elections, the women also made their demands to the Storthing. The Ministry resolved, in pursuance of this demand, to present the Storthing with the requisite constitutional amendment (Article 52). The Storthing requested that before the next municipal elections (1910) the Ministry present a satisfactory bill providing for woman’s suffrage in municipal elections. At the present time 142 women are city councilors (122 in the cities). In the autumn of 1909 women will for the first time participate in the parliamentary elections.

At two congresses of the International Woman’s Suffrage Alliance (Amsterdam, in 1908; and London, in 1909), Norway was officially represented by the wife of the Minister of State, Qvam.

The emancipation of women legally and in the professions had preceded their political emancipation. Norwegian women first practiced as dentists in 1872; since 1884, women have been druggists and have practiced medicine. They practice in all large cities. There are 38 women engaged as physicians for the courts, as school physicians, as university assistants in museums and laboratories, and as sanitary officers. Since 1904 there have been two women lawyers. Cand. jur. Elisa Sam was the first woman to profit by this reform. The first woman university professor was Mrs. Matilda Schjott in Christiania; to-day there are three such professors. There are 37 women architects. In 1888 married women were given the right to make marriage contracts providing for separate property holding. Even where there is joint property holding, the wife controls her earnings.

In Norway the law protects the illegitimate mother and her child better than elsewhere. The Norwegian law regards and punishes as accomplices in infanticide all those that drive a woman to such a step,—the illicit father, the parents, the guardians, and employers, who desert a woman in such circumstances and put her out into the street. Since 1891, women have been eligible to hold office as poor-law administrators; since 1899 they can be members of school boards. The number of workingwomen is 67,000. Of these 2000 are organized.

DENMARK

Total population:2,588,919.
Women:1,331,154.
Men:1,257,765.