There is dispute over the extent to which the militant campaigns, led and inspired by Emily Pankhurst helped or hindered the women’s suffrage movement. Some argue, violence made the establishment more reluctant to agree to their demands, others say it helped raise the profile of the movement and was a factor in helping women gain the vote in 1918. Whatever the merits of her action, she epitomised the passionate belief that women deserved equal rights and helped to give this a higher profile. She lived through an age of rapidly changing opinions about the role of women in society, and ultimately saw women given the vote.