To think they could find at least ONE inspirational woman to put on our bank notes?

[MiniPenguinMaker]

I have to admit that I felt a bit miffed when I saw that Elizabeth Fry was being phased out and replaced by Winston Churchill from 2016.

There will be NO women left on British currency. Surely they could find a few? Emmeline Pankhurst perhaps?!

It gives the impression that the achievements of British women are not considered worthy of recognition. I have been getting really grumpy about this. I wonder who makes these decisions and whether this has even occurred to them. Am I being unreasonable to feel peeved that us women make up a significant proportion of the population and yet when we pay for things with our hard-earned cash it is a bunch of dead white men on there?

[Lucyellensmum95]

Maybe they could put Margeret thatcher on a tenner!!

[WTFisABooyhooISBooyhoo]

do you know i didn't realise there was anyone other than the queen on the bank notes (in my defence i live in NI and we have several different types of bank notes all legal here so 'english' notes aren't something i see everyday.

but yes this is awful if correct. how is it being justified?

[LadyMaryQuiteContrary]

Um... if you turn every bank note over you get... the Queen! Can't get any more inspirational than that!

[WTFisABooyhooISBooyhoo]

i'm not so sure the queen is inspirational.

[LadyMaryQuiteContrary]

She's the head of state! I do wish she'd get rid of the current government though.

[PatPig]

Maggie.

[CloudsAndTrees]

I'm sure they could, but I'd rather have no women (other than the queen) than have a token woman just for the sake of there being a woman.

[Teeb]

Agree with cloudAndTrees

[LadyMaryQuiteContrary]

Rosalind Franklin was vital in the discovery of DNA, it would be nice to see her on a note.

[MardyBra]

Yanbu. There are lots to choose from:

Mary Woolstencraft
Florence Nightingale
One of the Brontes
Jane Austen
Emmeline Pankhurst, like you say.
Elizabeth I
Boudicca
Eleanor of Acquitaine
Elizabeth Garret Anderson

[MardyBra]

But please not Maggie or Princess Di.

[WTFisABooyhooISBooyhoo]

"She's the head of state! "

she was born into it. hardly something i want my children to aspire to "look ds, you work hard and one day you can be royalty too" erm no, he wont be. ever. no matter how much he wanted it. i'd rather he had real aspirations and had real inspirational people to look to.

[OutragedFromLeeds]

Cheryl Cole?

[OutragedFromLeeds]

Seriously though, YANBU.

It's pathetic.

[LadyMaryQuiteContrary]

She's already on it, WTF.

Surely there's better inspirational women than Cheryl Cole?

[WTFisABooyhooISBooyhoo]

cheryl is a MN joke

shes already on what lady? the notes? yes i know, they aren't removing her are they? she's head of state, that's why she's on it. it's not because she is inspirtational.

[OutragedFromLeeds]

tbf though she might not be by 2016....she's fairly elderly you know....

[breatheslowly]

I was under the impression that having a beard was important for bank note security. Most women don't have beards, but nor did Churchill.

[LadyMaryQuiteContrary]

Poor Prince Phillip isn't looking in the best of health

[BigKidsMadeMeDoIt]

if I remember correctly, Florence Nightingale used to be on a bank note? the Bank of England have to change who is on each note every so often (maybe to help against forgery?)

I agree its a shame that there won't be a woman but its not like Churchill didn't do anything for this country.

perhaps the answer is to lobby for one of the women listed upthread to go onto the next changed note?

[TiggyD]

There was also that frumpy lady on notes. Forgot the name though. Lizzy Fry?

[LadyMaryQuiteContrary]

Elizabeth Fry was one of the key reformers of the prisons in the UK.

[Nux]

The Women's Room have started a petition on this if anyone is interested in signing - I signed, as I feel that women's contribution in history is marginalised at the best of times and it seems unfair and unnecessary to have no women represented on notes at all.

Petition

[TiggyD]

Apart from the queen.

[LadyMaryQuiteContrary]

Thank you, Nux