Davies' Committee for Women's Examinations

Davies' Committee for Women's Examinations was established to advocate for women's access to educational opportunities, particularly in the context of university examinations. The committee emerged from the broader education reform movement that sought to improve educational access for women, which had been gaining momentum through the efforts of various reformers, including Davies and the Langham group. Prior to the establishment of the committee, institutions such as Queen's College and Bedford College in London had begun to provide educational opportunities for women, marking a shift in societal attitudes towards women's education. The committee's primary goal was to persuade universities to allow women to participate in the Local Examinations that had been recently introduced. This initiative was significant as it represented a formal effort to challenge the exclusion of women from higher education assessments, which had been a barrier to their academic and professional advancement. The committee's advocacy led to partial success in achieving this goal by the mid-1860s, allowing some women to sit for these examinations and paving the way for further advancements in women's education.