Trade unions, which were led by men, continued to be concerned that women would be employed as cheap labour in these new industries. The wartime demand for wage equality had previously been utilised to recruit women to trade unions. But during the inter-war years most unions drew back from this demand. Instead they actively campaigned to restrict women’s employment in certain industries by calling for the stricter implementation of a ‘marriage bar’ or the introduction of such a bar in new industries. So in the interwar years the goal of equal pay receded. By 1931, a working woman's weekly wage had returned to the pre-war situation of half the male rate in most industries. During this period, women gained the right to vote and this led to some early attempts to mobilise the women’s votes on issues of concern to women, including issues at work.