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Canadian Women's Role In World War Two

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How would you come to your country’s aid if you were a Canadian woman in the midst of World War 2? This question was on the minds of many Canadian women. Canada entered World War Two on September 10th, 1939; at that time, the women stayed home to cook, sew, and nurture their children. This is the reason that from 1939 to 1940, the largest contribution made by Canadian women came from volunteer work. During World War Two, when there was a deficiency in the workforce, the Canadian women became actively involved in supporting the Canadian economy. August 13th, 1941 marked the formation of the Canadian Women’s Army Corps, through which Canadian women played an increasingly important role in all areas of the Canadian military. Canadian women made …show more content…

In the early stages of World War Two, the greatest contribution that women were allowed to make was to volunteer. These selfless women should be commended because they continued to volunteer knowing that they would not be recognized. Not until September 1942, did Ottawa step in and recognize the numerous volunteers by the name of Women’s Voluntary Services. Until then, these women continued to volunteer by visiting wounded soldiers, making care packages, and dressing the wounded through an organization known as the Nursing Sisters of Canada. Often times, the efforts of these women were not taken into account. Near the end of World War 2, there were over 4,480 women who had enlisted as nurses. The nurses also expanded into the Navy, Army, and Airforce. They travelled into other countries to assist wounded Canadian soldiers, wearing a different uniform required for each branch of the armed forces. A nurse is just an example of a possible job a Canadian woman could have, but it is nothing compared to the number of areas in which women volunteered and worked …show more content…

In addition, there were over 1.1 million Canadians who served in World War 2, causing an additional economic deficit due to the lack of workers. This is reason why Canadian women were required to step in to fill the vacant positions. Four hundred thousand Canadian women entered the workforce, taking over the retail, banking, and office jobs that were normally filled by men. In a survey conducted by the Ministry of Labour , the percentage of women in industrial jobs increased from 19.75 percent to 27 percent. During those years, Canadian women made countless accomplishments which benefit to the status of Canadian women during World War Two. The salary for women in the workforce was two thirds less than the pay for men, but in July 1943, there was an outcry led by the National Council of Women and the pay was raised by 80%. Another accomplishment was that there were working mothers in need of subsidized nursery care, which is why from 1942-46, the Dominion-Provincial Wartime Agreement allowed these Canadian women to do so. The Canadian women entered the workforce to support Canada in time of war but their initiative full action has completely changed the lives of Canadian women

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