Ethel Ayres Purdie ( Ayres) (1874–1923) was a chartered accountant and

suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

. She specialised in counselling women and women's suffragist organisations. She was active in the Women's Tax Resistance League which argued that no vote meant no tax.

Personal life

Ethel Ayres was born in 1874 in

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

, London. Her father was an engineer toolmaker. After leaving school, she worked for the

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

in the Telegraph Department. She married Frank Sidney Purdie in 1897, and they had two children.

Career

Ayres Purdie began her suffragist work in 1894 at a trade union protest against the treatment of female

telegraphist A telegraphist (British English), telegrapher (American English), or telegraph operator is an operator who uses a telegraph key to send and receive the Morse code in order to communicate by land lines or radio. During the Great War the Roya ...

s. The telegraphists contributed to pension funds that they never received, as the women typically left their jobs when they were married. Ayres' protest wanted women to receive a portion of the money. After her marriage, she studied

accountancy Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the measurement, processing, and communication of financial and non financial information about economic entities such as businesses and corporations. Accounting, which has been called the "language ...

at the

Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

. Ayres Purdie opened her accountancy firm, which she named ''The Women Taxpayer’s Agency'', in 1908. In 1909, she finally became a member of the London Association of Accountants. In doing so, she became the first female registered accountant in the United Kingdom. Her accountancy firm advertised in many women's papers, including ''Common Cause'', ''Votes for Women'' and ''The Vote''. The adverts encouraged women to collect a portion of their

income tax An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...

, and argued against discrimination particularly from husbands who taxed their wives. Ayres Purdie was the only woman allowed to represent clients in front of the Special Commissioners of Income Tax. In 1912, her accountancy firm was vandalised by

suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...

s, who argued that the inclusion of women in the firm's name was discriminatory. Ayres Purdie was the

auditor An auditor is a person or a firm appointed by a company to execute an audit.Practical Auditing, Kul Narsingh Shrestha, 2012, Nabin Prakashan, Nepal To act as an auditor, a person should be certified by the regulatory authority of accounting and au ...

for the

Women's Freedom League The Women's Freedom League was an organisation in the United Kingdom which campaigned for women's suffrage and sexual equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access ...

, in particular she campaigned for more women in the accountancy industry. She was also an organiser of the Women's Tax Resistance League, which encouraged women not to pay taxes on principle, and provided assistance for them when faced with fines and prison sentences for not paying taxes.

Publications

* ''Married Women & Tax Resistance'' (pamphlet), Women's Tax Resistance League, 1910 * ''Echoes'', The Englishwoman, vol. 32, 1911, pp. 224–8 * '' A red tape comedy'', The Vote, vol. VII, no 160, 16 November 1912 * ''A red tape comedy II'', The Vote, vol. VII, no 161, 23 November 1912 * ''A red tape comedy III'', The Vote, vol. VII, no 162, 30 November 1912 * Married Women & Income Tax (pamphlet), Women's Tax Resistance League, 1913

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayres Purdie, Ethel Women accountants 1874 births 1923 deaths British accountants British suffragists English tax resisters People from Islington (district)